The workshop was designed to give researchers from the national laboratories and the EPSCoR states an opportunity to meet with leading experts, to share their own work, and to develop multi-institutional research collaborations. There were five focus areas featured at the meeting which represent areas of research excellence at the host laboratories, including:

· Chemical and Analytical Sciences
· Environmental Sciences
· Biological Sciences
· High Performance Computing
· Materials Science

In addition to these breakout areas, there were inter-group working caucuses on neutron science and networking resources for collaborative research.

The workshop provided a meeting place for researchers and research administrators from the national laboratories and from universities in those states which participate in the EPSCoR program and from historically minority universities and colleges.

The primary purpose of the workshop was to stimulate and facilitate research collaborations among researchers from different institutions. It also provided participants with a better understanding of national priorities in the research area and helped them to become more competitive for mainstream funding.

The program was divided into both plenary and breakout sessions. The plenary sessions focused on providing information regarding national priorities for research, and descriptions of ongoing work. Each breakout section focused on one of the five research foci, through sessions specific to the field. Breakout sessions addressed sources of funding and supported discussions aimed at identifying and developing new collaborative research projects among the participants. In addition, there was a poster session where individuals could present information on their current research activities and interests.

For more information, please contact the Research Competitiveness Program at rcp@aaas.org.