In Iowa, the Ames Laboratory has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Korean Institute of Industrial Technology (KITECH), based in Cheonan, South Korea. The agreement will promote an international collaboration on rare-earth research. It establishes a framework between the organizations, enabling them to jointly make advances in rare-earth processing techniques, to transfer rare-earth discoveries to industrial applications, and to educate the next generation of rare-earth scientists and engineers. The Ames Laboratory is a US Department of Energy Office of Science laboratory operated by Iowa State University to create innovative materials, technologies and energy solutions.