Penn State professors explore partnership opportunities in Kazakhstan

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — In November of 2024, two professors from the Penn State College of Engineering — Igor Aronson, Huck Chair Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Chemistry, and Mathematics, and Slava V. Rotkin, Frontier Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics, and professor of physics and of biomedical engineering — visited four leading research universities in Kazakhstan to deepen and expand strategic collaborations.: Satbayev Kazakh National Technical University and Al-Farabi Kazakh National University in Almaty, and Nazarbayev University and Gumilyov Eurasian National University in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan. 

Specifically, the visit's purpose was to inform Kazakh faculty and students about research capabilities and opportunities at Penn State, as well as the possibilities of direct scientific exchange and collaboration.

In recent years, Penn State has signed memoranda of understanding with several universities in Kazakhstan, from which several Penn State alumni hail and have returned to assume leading administrative and research positions in academia and governmental agencies. For the last 30 years, the Bolashak Scholarship Program has provided support for Kasakh researchers and aspiring students to pursue graduate studies and research internships. Last year, Penn State launched the Experiential Collaborative Engagement Leadership (ExCEL) Program that welcomed an inaugural cohort of nine visiting scholars from Kazakhstan supported by the Bolashak ‘500 Scholars’ initiative.

While previous institutional engagement between Penn State and Kazakhstani universities mainly involved international program offices and university administration, Aronson and Rotkin said their visit aimed to broaden the partnerships by reaching out directly to university faculty and students.

“Faculty-to-faculty connections, together with institutional leadership commitment are essential to building a meaningful university partnership,” said Vlad Likholetov, associate director for partnership agreements and Eurasia partnerships, Penn State Global. “This exploratory trip was successful in uncovering tangible opportunities for future collaboration with our key partner institutions in Kazakhstan.”

During their five-day visit to four universities,  Aronson and Rotkin presented 11 lectures in well-attended sessions that included scientific discussions with colleagues. Aronson presented a talk titled “Applications of synthetic micromachines for cancer therapy and drug delivery,” and Rotkin presented, “Near-field microscopy of 2D-materials: From fundamental physics of polaritons to device applications.”

Aronson also gave three public lectures for the university administration and faculty on the organization of scientific research at U.S. public universities. 

The Penn State professors spoke with the faculty, identifying potential areas of collaboration, and answering students' and postdocs' questions. Aronson and Rotkin also met with the leadership of each university and discussed future avenues for collaboration, including the organization of joint conferences and workshops, the submission of joint research grant proposals, and the exchange of faculty, students and postdoctoral fellows.

Following their return from travel, partially funded by the Penn State Global Faculty and Staff Travel Award program, Rotkin, Aronson and the global partnerships team continue to work closely with their Kazakhstani counterparts to actualize and implement the ideas generated during their trip.

For additional information about partnerships in Eurasia, please contact Vlad Likholetov at vzl12@psu.edu.