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SCIENCE POLICY Incorporating WASHINGTON NEWS and policy news from around the world.

NSF Weaves a Global Network “Our goal is to promote international collaboration in materials research,” said Carmen Huber of the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF). Huber was explaining to MRS Bulletin the background to the Materials World Network (MWN), the NSF’s program to promote international collaboration between materials researchers. NSF recently invited proposals for a new round of projects under the Network scheme. “To bring forward the frontiers of the field, you need to make use of the talent wherever it resides,” said Huber, program director in the Office of Special Programs of the NSF’s Division of Materials Research. “Talent resides everywhere in the world.” The MWN program taps into that talent pool.

NSF’s partners in the program have also invited researchers to submit proposals. In the United Kingdom, for example, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), the leading funding agency for academic research in the physical sciences and engineering, has issued a call for new projects. The Australian Research Council, a new signatory to the MWN, has put out a similar invitation to its research community. An important objective for NSF, said Huber, is to enhance the training of the next generation of researchers. As the Foundation’s proposal document states, “Projects proposed to NSF are expected to offer students and junior researchers the opportunity to participate in an international research and education

Germany’s “nanoTruck” Presents Interactive View of Nanotechnologies The “nanoTruck,” a mobile exhibition designed to inform the general public about the world of nanotechnology, visited Brussels last May. The exhibit was devised jointly by the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) and the German Science in Dialogue (Wissenschaft im Dialog) initiative. “A journey to the nanocosmos—a world of minute proportions” is the theme of the nanoTruck, which sets out to explain nanoscience and nanotechnology in terms that can be readily understood by young people and the public at large. Among distinguished visitors during the two-day stopover at the Cinquantenaire Park, close to Brussels’ city center, were European Union Research Commissioner Philippe Busquin and Wolf-Dieter Dudenhausen, state secretary of the BMBF. Some 60 m2 of displays in the nanoTruck feature instruments that make atoms visible, vivid graphic panels, and examples of high-performance nanomaterials, nanobiotechnology, nanoanalytical devices, nanochemistry, and nanofabrication. A hands-on program includes guided tours through the exhibition, multimedia presentations, a laser show, and a play-and-win game on nanotechnology. Since its launch at the end of January, the roadshow spent the next three months touring within Germany and participating in events connected with the German Technology Year 2004 initiative. Before Brussels, it had appeared at 29 locations and welcomed more than 35,000 visitors. By the end of 20