South Asian Physics Foundation

The South Asian Physics Foundation is a new US-based nonprofit organization supporting international collaboration in physics research and education in South Asia. We discuss the highlights of our unique Professor Faheem Hussain Student Conference Program, launched in 2009 as our first initiative. This program provides funding for South Asian physics students to give a presentation at a scientific conference in a South Asian country other than that of their university or citizenship. During the program's first year we funded one student from Bangladesh to attend a conference in India, and during it's second year we funded eight students to attend two different conferences. Our expanding activities underscore a need for facilitating such exchanges in developing regions of the world. We discuss issues related to offering this type of program as well as the challenges and satisfactions of implementing programs that foster regional scientific cooperation. We also solicit suggestions and ideas for further developing and broadening our activities. SAPF's website is www.southasianphysicsfoundation.org.