WASHINGTON — The National Academy of Sciences' Kavli Frontiers of Science (KFoS) symposium program has entered into a new partnership with Indonesia. This new collaboration was initiated in 2010 following a visit to Indonesia by NAS President Emeritus Bruce Alberts, serving in his capacity as one of the first U.S. science envoys appointed by President Obama to strengthen scientific and technical collaboration between the U.S. and Muslim-majority nations. The new symposium series is co-organized by NAS and the Indonesian Academy of Sciences (AIPI) and is supported by funds from the U.S. State Department and the Kavli Foundation.

The KFoS symposia are designed for outstanding early-career scientists, under 45 years of age, to share ideas across disciplines and to build national and international networks that will serve them as they advance in their careers. The first symposium, for U.S. scientists, took place in 1989; the joint program with Indonesia is the latest in a set of bilateral symposia that have connected young U.S. scientists with their counterparts in China, England, France, Germany, India, and Japan.

The U.S.-Indonesia symposia will take place each summer in Indonesia and be attended by approximately 70 distinguished young researchers representing universities, government laboratories, and private industry. Participants are selected by NAS and AIPI from among leading young researchers in the U.S. and Indonesia. Unlike the typical discipline-specific scientific meeting, KFoS symposia are highly participatory, with many opportunities—during both the session discussion periods and the poster sessions—to explore ideas and techniques from a variety of disparate fields.

The first Indonesian-American Frontiers of Science symposium took place last July in Bogor, Indonesia. The symposium was organized by a committee of young scholars, co-chaired by Jamaluddin Jompa of Hasanuddin University and Beth Shapiro of the Pennsylvania State University. AIPI selected 40 young Indonesian researchers to attend the symposium, representing 27 different universities and institutes throughout Indonesia. NAS selected 31 distinguished young U.S. researchers, representing 29 different universities, government laboratories and institutions across the U.S. The meeting covered a variety of topics in sessions focusing on alternative energy supply, biodegradable plastics, climate change, infectious diseases, rapid exploration of marine microbial diversity with metagenomic methods, and rice genomics. The 2012 symposium will take place in Solo, Indonesia, in the summer of 2012.

The following scientists were selected as general participants in the 2011 symposium:

Andria Agusta; Research Centre for Biology Indonesian Institute of Sciences
Muhamad Ali; University of Mataram
Rohani Ambo Rappe; Hasanuddin University
Sintho Wahyuning Ardie; Bogor Agricultural University (IPB)
Paul H. Barber; University of California, Los Angeles
Mohammad Basyuni; University of Sumatera Utara
Yudi Darma; Institute of Technology, Bandung (ITB)
Fenny M. Dwivany; Institute of Technology, Bandung (ITB)
Akhmad Faqih; Bogor Agricultural University (IPB)
Woodward Fischer; California Institute of Technology
David A. Fowle; University of Kansas
Lynford Goddard; University of Illinois
Richard Edward Green; University of California, Santa Cruz
Siana Halim; Petra Christian University
Libai Huang; University of Notre Dame
Indriana Kartini; Gadjah Mada University
Caroline Kiehle; Institute for Systems Biology
Alan Frendy Koropitan; Bogor Agricultural University
Aldes Lesbani; Sriwijaya University
Hanifah Nuryani Lioe; Bogor Agricultural University
Puspita Lisdiyanti; Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI)
Jennifer Lukes; University of Pennsylvania
Rino Rakhmata Mukti; Institute of Technology, Bandung
Vanny Narita; National Innovation Council of the Republic of Indonesia
Matthew Parrow; University of North Carolina, Charlotte
Aep Patah; Institute of Technology, Bandung
Bret Payseur; University of Wisconsin, Madison
Poerbandono; Institute of Technology, Bandung
Nino Rinaldi; Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI)
Dodi Safari; Eijkman Institute for Molecular Biology
Jeff Sakamoto; Michigan State University
Wendy Shaw; Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Donald Siegel; University of Michigan
Chelsea D. Specht; University of California, Berkeley
Luki Subehi; Kompleks LIPI – Cibinong Science Center (LCC – LIPI)
Hagi Yulia Sugeha; Genetic Laboratory
Brent S. Sumerlin; Southern Methodist University
Ivandini Tribidasari Anggraningrum; University of Indonesia
Kevin Wanner; Montana State University
Diah Permata Wijayanti; Diponegoro University
Rika Yuliwulandari; YARSI University

Speakers at the meeting were:

Edvin Aldrian; Agency for Meteorology Climatology and Geophysics (BMKG)
Andrew E. Allen; J. Craig Venter Institute
Eniya Listiani Dewi; Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT)
Patrick Gonzalez; U.S. National Park Service
Marsia Gustiananda; Eijkman Institute for Molecular Biology
Agus Haryono; Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI)
Jessica Hellmann; University of Notre Dame
Timothy J. Messitt; Epivax Inc.
Stephen A. Miller; University of Florida
Satya Nugroho; Research Center for Biotechnology-Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI)
Yessi Permana; Institute of Technology, Bandung
Michael Purugganan; New York University
Ocky Karna Radjasa; Diponegoro University
Kevin Redding; Arizona State University
Sara Sawyer; University of Texas, Austin
Sebastian Sudek; Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
Zaki Suud; Institute of Technology, Bandung
Utut Widyastuti Suharsono; Bogor Agricultural University

The organizers of the symposium were:

Charles F. Delwiche; University of Maryland, College Park
Arjun M. Heimsath; Arizona State University
Ismunandar; Bandung Institute of Technology
Jamaluddin Jompa; Hasanuddin University
Richard Loomis; Washington University
Rintis Noviyanti; Eijkman Institute for Molecular Biology
Rika Raffiudin; Bogor Agricultural University
Beth Shapiro; Pennsylvania State University
Abhijit V. Shevade; NASA-Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Vanessa Sperandio; University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Yanri Wijayanti Subronto; Gadjah Mada University
Dwi Susilaningsih; Indonesian Institute of Sciences

The Kavli Frontiers of Science symposium series is sponsored by the National Academy of Sciences. Major support is provided by the Kavli Foundation, with additional funding from the National Academy of Sciences.

The National Academy of Sciences is a private organization of scientists and engineers dedicated to the furtherance of science and its use for the general welfare. It was established in 1863 by a congressional act of incorporation signed by Abraham Lincoln that calls on the Academy to act as an official adviser to the federal government, upon request, in any matter of science or technology.

A meeting program and more information about Kavli Frontiers of Science are available at http://www.nasonline.org/kfos.