LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ -- Dr. Mary Jo Hall, associate professor of geological and marine sciences at Rider University, was selected as one of approximately 30 women scientists to participate in an exclusive international exchange delegation to the People's Republic of China this summer.

The program, called the Women in Science Delegation, is part of People to People International (PTPI), an organization founded in 1956 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The goal of PTPI is to advance international understanding and cooperation and to promote professional contacts between Americans and their foreign counterparts through one-on-one contact.

Dr. Hall, a resident of Lawrenceville, will travel with the delegation of selected professors, teachers, scientists, and researchers to five east Asian cities -- Beijing, Xi'an, Nanjing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong -- where individual delegates will make academic presentations at respected institutions and groups such as the Chinese Women's Association for Science and Technology, the China Academy of Science and Research Institute, Women of China, Nanjing University, the Chinese Science Academy, and various secondary schools. They will also share their work with colleagues and students at the prestigious Beijing University, which according to Dr. Hall is regarded as China's "equivalent of Harvard -- their elite university."

"Through such direct involvement with our Chinese colleagues, the 1999 delegation will be in a position to make a significant contribution to the overall efforts to increase and encourage the participation of women in science by advocacy, education, research, and program development," said delegation leader Winifred Caponigri of Holy Cross College.

Dr. Hall submitted three abstracts from which her Chinese audiences will select which they wish to hear. Aside from her own presentations, Dr. Hall is most interested in learning about and comparing marine science issues and problems faced by coastal China with those faced by east coastal regions of North America -- her own domain of expertise -- as well as what her colleagues both in the United States and around the world are doing.

"As a scientist, I'm curious what kind of geology they are doing over there," said Dr. Hall. "In particular, Shanghai is a coastal city, so I'm hoping to find out about the problems they have with the coast. Because it sits behind Japan and Korea the problems may not be quite as drastic as we face on our coast, but I'm interested to compare the two.

"In general, it should be interesting to see what other people are doing -- both the American women and the Chinese women," she added. "It will also be interesting to find out if the women in China are doing state-of-the-art science, work, and what status women scientists have over there."

A first-time visitor to China, Dr. Hall also plans to take full advantage of excursions to the Great Wall, Tian'anmen Square, the Forbidden City, and the tombs of the Terra Cotta Warriors, as well as several museums, fine arts presentations, and other tourist sites.

The delegation will depart Los Angeles on Friday, June 4 and will return on Friday, June 18.

Dr. Hall, who was recently named a Geological Society of America Fellow, holds a B.S. in chemistry education from Penn State University and a M.Ed. in physical science from West Chester University. She received her Ph.D. from Lehigh University, where her doctoral dissertation focused on the dispersal of trace metals and sediment transport from Delaware Bay on to the New Jersey inner continental shelf.

Dr. Hall spent a sabbatical research leave at Duke University and was able to study firsthand the devastating effects of Hurricane Hugo immediately after it struck coastal South Carolina in October, 1989. She was also a consultant to the New Jersey State Department of Environmental Protection in their evaluation of the use of artificial seaweed as an effective technique for the control of beach erosion along the southern New Jersey coast. Her present research interests focus on near-shore coastal processes, particularly beach erosion, geomorphology, sedimentology, and the effects of human development.

Rider University is an independent, coeducational, nonsectarian institution with a 353-acre main campus in Lawrenceville, New Jersey and a 23-acre campus in Princeton, New Jersey. The University offers 58 undergraduate programs and 17 graduate programs in the Colleges of Business Administration; Liberal Arts, Education, and Sciences; Continuing Studies; and Westminster Choir College.