Newsline: Brethren faculty report on conference at N. Korean university

[CoBNews <CoBNews@brethren.org>]

Newsline: Church of the Brethren News Service, News Director Cheryl
Brumbaugh-Cayford, 800-323-8039 ext. 260, cobnews@brethren.org

Brethren faculty report on conference at N. Korean university

(Nov. 3, 2011) Elgin, IL -- Pyongyang University of Science and Technology in 
North Korea held its first International Conference on Science and Technology 
on Oct. 4-7 with 27 foreign and almost as many DPRK guests/speakers. 

The conference opened with keynote speakers Nobel Laureate Peter Agree 
addressing "Aquaporins" and Lord David Alton essaying on "Education for 
Virtue." Parallel sessions were then held on 1) Computer/Information 
Technology, 2) Agriculture and Life Sciences, 3) International 
Finance/Management, and 4) Science Diplomacy and Environment, followed by a 
panel discussion of integrating educational training. I and my department DPRK 
partner co-chaired the Ag/Life Science session by alternating introduction of 
speaker/topics. My co-chair also presented on bacterial cellulose filters for 
research and industry. The conference closed with a day long tour of Pyongyang 
city attractions and the national apple research farm. 

DPRK and foreign scientists and students had ample time to share and question 
together during coffee and meals since they were all housed and fed on campus. 
Among the presentations, there was much mutual admiration between students and 
speakers, especially when former astronaut David Helmers gave a side 
presentation of his four space missions to a packed room. From outer space he 
decided to devote the rest of his life to nourishing our planet's people, and 
presented his Baylor research on the etiology and physiology of malnutrition. 

In other presentations, Paul McNamara, University of Illinois Agricultural 
Economics extensionist, reported on working models of technology transfer 
throughout the world and the importance of getting research results to the 
local producer. David Chang showed vivid photos of his MD Anderson team's 
ability to do reconstructive bone and tissue surgery on cancer patients. Chin 
Ok Lee from Rockefeller University showed how Digitalis (foxglove) affects the 
strength of the heartbeat in aging patients. A DPRK researcher presented his 
work on detection of avian influenza virus with Monoclonal antibodies. And my 
co-chair presented his work on bacterial cellulose nanofilters.

Our graduate students had many good questions for the speakers and my botany 
students were amazed that they had just studied Active Facilitated Transport 
among cells and completely understood the Nobel laureate's work on Aquaporins. 
Our DPRK administrative partners, our session co-chairman, students, and guest 
speakers all agreed that the conference was a huge success and should be 
repeated again next year. 

Any professionals interested in getting on the rostrum for next year should 
contact me now. Our 16 graduate students and 34 undergraduate students have 
varied interests and we have open teaching positions in microbiology, tissue 
culture engineering, and Genomics. Teaching positions are available for 6 to 16 
weeks starting with the March semester.

-- This report was provided by Robert Shank, dean of Agriculture and Life 
Sciences at Pyongyang University of Science and Technology in North Korea. He 
and his wife, Linda, are teaching at PUST with sponsorship from the Church of 
the Brethren Global Mission and Service program.

The Church of the Brethren is a Christian denomination committed to continuing 
the work of
Jesus peacefully and simply, and to living out its faith in community. The 
denomination is based in the Anabaptist and Pietist faith traditions and is one 
of the three Historic Peace Churches. It celebrated its 300th anniversary in 
2008. It counts some 123,000 members across the United States and Puerto Rico, 
and has missions and sister churches in Nigeria, Brazil, the Dominican 
Republic, Haiti, and India.

># # #

>For more information contact:

>Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford
>Director of News Services
>Church of the Brethren
>1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120
>800-323-8039 ext. 260
>cobnews@brethren.org