Development Workshops 

 MWN was developed via a series of NSF-co-sponsored Development Workshops around the world:

1. Tri-lateral / North American (1995) held in Saltillo, Mexico
2. Europe (1996) held in Leuven, Belgium
3. Pan-American (1998) held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
4. Asian-Pacific (1998) held in Hawaii, US
5. Africa (2000), held in Pretoria, South Africa
6. India (2004) held in Bangalore, India
7. Middle East (2005) held in Doha, Qatar

 Each workshop invited researchers, educators, and industry leaders to exchange experience and work in groups to generate region-specific recommendations for improving international collaborations in materials research and education. These recommendations were later presented to government policy makers at a series of implementation meetings.

This international planning process produced several important outcomes:

• A more seamless integration of research and education
• A stronger global networking infrastructure, including Materials Research Societies in Africa and the Americas, and another under development in the Gulf region
• A growing Framework of Joint Funding Agreements between the US NSF and its international counterparts, to support collaborations in materials research and education

MWN Tenth Anniversary

 To celebrate its 10th anniversary in August 2005, MWN organized a special symposium in Cancun, Mexico called “Materials World Network: The Next Ten Years." The event showcased the accomplishments of the Materials World Network (MWN) during its first decade and solicited input from international scientists, engineers, and policy makers to guide its future development. Participants formed working groups to brainstorm potential initiatives to mobilize the global membership of the MWN. 

 NSF Director, Arden Bement, Jr.praised the network stating “Over the past decade, the Materials World Network has reached out to nearly every region of the globe. To my knowledge, there is no comparable effort to encourage a genuinely integrated world community in any other field of science and engineering.”

Dr. Bement challenged MWN to “foster a global network to achieve common, long-term goals,” “build intimate intellectual connections and collegiality” “solve persistent problems in environment, health, energy, and security” and train an “international cadre of sophisticated young scientists and engineers who will carry forward our work in decades to come.” In response to these challenges, MWN has launched a new initiative called Global School for Advanced Studies (GSAS).

View Dr. Bement’s full comments