Washington, DC - The U.S. Civilian Research and Development Foundation (CRDF) and the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation (RF Minobr) announced at a press conference in Moscow today the results of the third competition under their Basic Research and Higher Education (BRHE) program. The four universities that will each receive a grant award of $1 million under BRHE and their areas or specialization are, in alphabetical order:

• Moscow State Engineering Physics Institute, Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (joint award): Basic Investigation of Matter Under Extreme Conditions
• Perm State University: Non-Equilibrium Transition in Continuous Media
• St. Petersburg State University: Molecular Biology for Human and Environmental Health in Northwest Russia
• Voronezh State University: Wave Processes in Inhomogeneous and Nonlinear Media

The BRHE program seeks to transform and invigorate the training of young Russian scientists by strengthening the basic research capabilities of Russian higher education institutions in the natural sciences (biology, chemistry, earth sciences, mathematics, physics). BRHE establishes Research and Education Centers (RECs) within selected Russian institutions. The RECs

• support innovative programs and approaches to combining high-quality research and education in universities and other higher education institutions;
• develop state-of-the-art equipment bases for research and teaching, which are available to both faculty and students;
• promote collaborative links with other research institutions, both Russian and foreign, and with industry; and
• provide special research opportunities for promising young investigators.

The 2001 BRHE competition was held in March - October 2001 and consisted of two rounds. Russian universities submitted 52 eligible proposals for evaluation by Rus
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Contact: Chantal Guess
cguess@crdf.org
703-526-6746
U.S. Civilian Research and Development Foundation
14-Dec-2001