Basic Facts

The ideas of the Consortium are based on three factors:

1. The first has to do with the current excitement and potential associated with the focus topics. The field of nanoscience is poised to blossom under a concerted approach by physicists, chemists, mathematicians and biologists, aided by computational scientists and engineers. Some of the research goals are of immediate practical interest as in optical tweezers and nanosize light emitting devices; others are of fundamental nature as in tunneling of Bose-Einstein condensates between traps; all are challenging and exciting. The importance of investigations of computationally complex systems has become enormous in contexts ranging from earthquakes (earth science) and evolution of landscapes (ecological science) to wave propagation in reaction diffusion systems (biological cells) and sintering of powders (aspects of manufacture). And new tools are making possible a truly basic understanding (and consequent tailoring) of novel materials on length scales varying from nanoscale through mesoscale to macroscale. Such novel materials include biologically inspired self-assembled materials, magnetic materials with highly controllable properties, and even granular materials (sand) and porous materials (rock). Required is an interdisciplinary gathering of investigators from a variety of sciences, linked by a common language such as that of physics and/or applied mathematics, to solve basic problems in these four fields.

2. The second factor is the willingness and the suitability of the University of New Mexico to play host to a collaborative enterprise involving Latin American science. UNM's willingness is evident from the clear statement of one of the goals in its Strategic Plan: "...to become prominent in our Hemisphere as a University of the Americas..." through such collaborative activities. UNM's suitability stems both from the Latin flavor of the state unique in the entire USA, as well as the state's unique scientific location as a result of the proximity to Los Alamos and Sandia Laboratories.

3. The third factor is the availability of substantial talent in the chosen four fields of interdisciplinary science in Latin American universities and research institutions. There is a great deal of expertise and interest which, it is amply clear, can be utilized with the help of precisely the kind of intellectual exchanges supported by the Consortium to the benefit of all parties involved.