Professor Montaser general philosophy on broadening participation has been and is centered on his own core beliefs first set by his parents and his deep roots in the Persian culture, and also guided from the very early age of adulthood by the noble Sufi poet Mawlānā Jalāl-ad-Dīn Muhammad Balkhi known as Rūmi, or a 13th century Persian (September 30, 1207–December 17, 1273). Rumi stated then, "I go to a synagogue, church, and a mosque, and I see the same spirit and the same altar". This attitude in terms of broadening participation and inclusion is not necessarily followed due to mandated policies established and gradually practiced in the United States for the past 50 years. Professor Montaser often has stated that even the fools sense the miracle of the force that created us, just by looking at multihued roses, watching the beauty of stars at night, or the romance of the moonlight. In short, the immense benefits of broad participation are evident, similar to the majesty of the blue sky prevalent in a perfect sunny day in the exquisite State of Montana . Such views are not just held as empty slogans, but entirely practiced through all endeavors in our research team. Naturally, we expect the same basic standards from over 20 prominent research teams in the United States and worldwide. We are indeed fortunate for collaborating in our research with the cited groups, all mentored by the best minds in diverse fields. These collaborations and their contributions persistently have and will improve the products of our research in all aspects.

To illustrate our past and current practices, we list here the products of one of our research programs sponsored by the Department of Energy during 2002-07. Professor Montaser and his team published 24 peer-reviewed papers in high-impact journals, obtained or filed 4 U.S. patent/applications, offered 1 Cover Page article, presented 53 lectures (37 invited or plenary lectures) at key national and international conferences, organized 8 invited symposia at key meetings such as FACSS (2002-06) and Pittcon (2005), contributed 7 Ph.D. Dissertations, several MS degrees, and 6 undergrad Theses. Importantly, 1 African American high school female student and 2 visiting male and female Hispanic professors received training in ICP emission and ICP mass spectrometry. Since 1998, Professor Montaser has mentored 33 postdocs and graduate/undergrad students, with all having prestigious academic, industrial or government positions. As always, the Professor Montaser group strives to reach students from ethnically diverse background. For example in 2004-2007, our group had 5 US citizens and 4 international students/visitor from 3 countries and 3 religions, including 4 females, 2 Hispanics, 2 black females, 1 Asian American, and 1 physically-challenged student. Professor Montaser’s PhD graduates have had exceptionally diverse educational and research trainings to an extent that they are usually gainfully employed by major, prestigious firms, academic institutions, and federal laboratories before graduation, and often with salaries ranging from $5,000 to $15,000 above their peers at other institutions. The students in these projects acquire modern technical skills, learn how to present the findings at local, national, and international meetings, and travel to national laboratories, instrument manufacturers, and prestigious research laboratories in countries such as Germany and France to conduct joint research and broaden their experience. Most significantly, they learn how to utilize the scientific method to explore their subject and ultimately how to use all these skills to contribute to society. For instance, Billy W. Acon, an Asian American, conducted collaborative research with several colleagues worldwide such as Dr. L. Allen, Leco Corp. (St. Joseph, MI); Dr. M. Cree, Varian Inc. (Florham Park, NJ); Dr. M. Hamester, Thermo Finnigan MAT (Bremen, Germany); Dr. W. Lai, Aerometrics-TSI Inc. (St. Paul, MN); Dr. W. F. Bauer, Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (Idaho Falls, ID); Dr. J. S. Becker and Dr. H. J. Dietze, Forschungszentrum Jülich (Jülich, Germany); Dr. C. Stehlé, Observatoire de Paris (Meudon); Prof. Patierno, Pharmacology-GWU; Prof. A. Okino, Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo, Japan); Prof. Jose R. Chirinos, Universidad Central de Venezuela (Caracas, Venezuela); Prof. Y. Lahaye, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universitat Frankfurt am Main (Frankfurt, Germany); and Prof. M. Dolores Calzada, Universidad de Cordoba (Cordoba, Spain). The record for Dr. Acon is notable (he also had one patent, 10 papers, and 22 presentations), but our group has been fortunate to offer many such examples for other students during federal and industrial support.

In sum, our achievements have been and are attributed to the genuine acceptance of the teachings of Rumi who elegantly articulated his philosophy in 13^th Century on broad participation, similar to, some 400 years later, one of the world's greatest leaders, the famed Italian physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher, Galileo Galilei (15 February 15, 1564 to January 8, 1642). Galilei never led a revolution, commanded an army, ruled a country, never witnessed a battle field or hold a political office to distinguish himself as a leader. Yet, it was his depth of knowledge and years of experience and commitment in the field of modern science that made him a leading historical figure. As scientists, Professor Montaser and his research group have long-standing commitments to the exploration and development of scientific ideas through broad participation.