Progress towards an International Campus

Our strongest international partnerships are with China (ST Wu, Yeqing Bao, Alan Chou), India (Heggere Ranganath, Vistasp Karbhari) and with Central America through the NASA/UAH SERVIR (Spanish for “to serve”) program in The Earth Systems Science Center (Dan Irwin, Tom Sever, John Christy).

China
Professor ST Wu has opened the door to possible partnerships with universities in Macau and Wuhan. Professors Jim Simpson and Yeqing Bao have strong contacts with Tsinghua University in Beijing. The USSRC (United States Space and Rocket Center) has strong contacts in Hong Kong and Beijing. There is the possibility that a privately funded Space Camp will be established in Hong Kong. Given the strong contact with the USSRC, the provision of university-level education for Space Camp graduates in Hong Kong is worth exploring. A recent visit to the UAHuntsville campus by the Head of the Hong Kong Trade Delegation in the US is another contact that needs to be strengthened. Lew Radonovich proposed building partnerships via 2 + 2 programs with China.

Action item:
Dave Williams will explore ST Wu’s contacts in China and Macau and Yeqing Bao’s contact in Beijing. A trip was planned to Hong Kong, Macau, Wuhan, and Beijing in March but is currently on hold because of the financial conditions.

India
Vistasp Karbhari is exploring contacts with the India Institute of Technology. David Springer, an independent contractor already working with Auburn and UAB to create joint programs in China, has offered his services to UAH. Provost Karbhari is expecting a proposal from Mr. Springer and will inform the committee of the opportunities. One novel outcome might be the establishment of an extension of an Indian University on UAHuntsville’s campus by Indian entrepreneurs– an intriguing reversal of UAHuntsville’s original goal.

Action items:
Vistasp Karbhari will visit India if Mr. Springer’s proposals are worth exploring.

Explore Gopi Podila’s agreement with a biotech company in India and possible links with NAITA (North Alabama International Trade Association) and ADO (Alabama Development Office).

Assessment of Central America
Dave Williams and Tom Sever visited Panama City and Guatemala in conjunction with NASA personnel, Dan Irwin and Jim Smoot, to see if the established contact through the SERVIR program can act as a basis for an international campus. SERVIR is a satellite visualization system monitoring the environment of Central American countries. SERVIR also performs joint research with Guatemalan and other US researchers using satellite imaging to explore the history and collapse of the Mayan civilization in the Yucatan and Peten regions and provides resources for natural disaster management. UAHuntsville software is now being installed to predict flooding and to identify landslide locations and post-disaster problem areas to aid emergency services. The SERVIR-Panama node has taken the NASA/UAHuntsville hardware and software and created the second SERVIR (Africa) node in Nairobi, Kenya. The UAHuntsville logo is occasionally displayed on SERVIR sites.

Initial contacts were made with the Director of the Panama National Science Foundation. Plans are underway to get UAHuntsville students to spend the summer at CATHALAC (Centro del Agua del Trópico Húmedo para América Latina y el Caribe) and increase the number of visits from CATHALAC to NSSTC. SERVIR is well established in Panama City at CATHALAC.

Initial links were established with the US Embassy staff in Guatemala City. They introduced Dave Williams and Tom Sever to the Vice Minister for Culture and Sport. A Guatemala-Alabama partnership has existed since 1965 via the Partners of the Americas program. The current contacts in both countries are extensive. UAH has a high profile there already. A group of Guatemalan students is already planning to spend a few weeks at UAH later in the spring.

Our existing research contacts with multiple Central American nations and Dr. Irwin’s personal contacts at the highest political levels, as well as established exchanges of students and faculty, indicate that Central America is the strongest possibility for creating an international campus.

Action Items:
Build on the existing partnership to explore joint exchanges of faculty and students. Find ways to extend future Guatemalan student visits to our campus. Involve them with SERVIR.
Pursue the partnership with CATHALAC. Establish exchange visits for UAHuntsville and CATHALAC students and staff. Seek to establish an education component at all SERVIR nodes via USAID (United States Agency for International Development) and other federal funding. Establish a joint research agreement with CATHALAC.