2016 AAAS Annual Meeting (February 11-15, 2016)

February 10 - 15, 2016

Toward a Sustainable Future in the Middle East: Building Scientific Collaborations

The Middle East is a region of great importance to the world in part because it has a strategic energy resource: fossil fuel. This non-renewable source of energy is not only fueling economic and political conflicts; its worldwide use is also putting the sustainability of life on Earth at risk by polluting the environment and contributing to climate change. An international conference series known as the Malta Conferences, formally titled “Frontiers of Chemical Science: Research and Education in the Middle East – A Bridge to Peace, ” were held in 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, and 2013. In each of these conferences, chemists from 15 Middle Eastern nations gathered with 6 Nobel laureates to discuss solutions to the problems of air and water quality, renewable energy sources, and chemistry education at all levels. The Malta Conferences have provided a mechanism for scientists in the Middle East to collaboratively solve problems common to the region. This symposium looks at these collaborations between chemists, and how they have yielded results that form a cornerstone for a bridge to peace.