Castro, baseball and chemistry: nurturing Cuban-American scientific partnerships
ORLANDO, Fla., April 7 — An island of about 11 million people, Cuba is better known for its Communist leader and its baseball prodigies than for its scientific research. Yet scientists in Cuba, which boasts some 230 research centers nationwide, have developed a vaccine for meningitis, improved therapies for speech- and hearing-impaired children and enhanced treatments for sleep apnea and psychiatric disorders.
It is estimated that 160,000 people have graduated with degrees in chemistry in Cuba in the past 30 years. Cuban scientists, at the forefront of research in areas such as oceanography and marine studies, biotechnology, natural products chemistry and nanotechnology, have only recently begun collaborating with American scientists, and such work is still rare.
As part of its 223rd national meeting, April 7-11, in Orlando, Fla., the American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific society, will examine scientific connections between the U.S. and Cuba. Cuban scientists and scientists with Cuban connections will discuss topics ranging from chemical education to fostering Cuban-American research partnerships.
WHAT: U.S.-Cuba Connections
WHEN: Sunday, April 7, 1:30 - 5 p.m.
WHERE: Orange County Convention Center, Room 307D
WHO: Organizer and presider: Zafra Lerman, Columbia College, Chicago Morton Hoffman, Boston University Ernest Eliel, University of North Carolina Luis Echegoyen, University of Miami Roberto Cao, University of Havana, Cuba Hessy Taft, St. John’s University, New York Luis Bello, Universidad de Oriente, Cuba Thomas Manning, Valdosta State University Ellen Burns, College of Wooster
Media wishing to attend this event must contact the ACS press office in advance at 407-685-8070 or 202-872-4445.
===== Kevin Dean Buffalo, NY ICQ: 8616001 AIM: KDean75206 Buffalo Activist Network http://www.buffaloactivist.net http://www.yaysoft.com
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