This grant provides partial support for Gordon Research Conference and Gordon Research Seminar on plasmonics at Colby College in Waterville, Maine on June 9-15, 2012. The field of plasmonics encompasses the science and engineering of optical interaction with nanometer-to-micrometer structures. The Gordon Research Conference on plasmonics brings together some of the most active world renowned senior and junior scientists in the field of plasmonics to deliver exciting, cutting-edge, and thought-provoking invited lectures and to actively promote and engage in extensive scientific discussions and interaction with researchers, students, and postdoctoral fellow participants. The two-day Gordon Research Seminar, run by graduate students before the conference, is designed to stimulate students' awareness of the fast growing frontiers of plasmonics across multiple disciplines, provide an environment for initiating and building professional relationships and fostering interdisciplinary dialog and collaboration, and prepare graduate students and postdocs for the extensive interactive scientific dialog during the subsequent Gordon Research Conference on plasmonics. The NSF funds are used mainly to provide financial support for graduate students, postdocs, and junior faculty members, especially from under-represented groups.
The Gordon Research Conference on PLASMONICS was held at Colby College, Waterville, Maine June 10 – 15, 2012. The Conference was well-attended with 186 participants (attendees list attached). The attendees represented the spectrum of endeavor in this field coming from academia, industry, and government laboratories, both U.S. and foreign scientists, senior researchers, young investigators, and students. Of the 186 attendees, 63 voluntarily responded to a general inquiry regarding ethnicity which appears on our registration forms. Of the 63 respondents, 21% were Minorities – 2% Hispanic, 19% Asian and 0% African American. Approximately 16% of the participants at the 2012 meeting were women. The Gordon Research SEMINAR on PLASMONICS was held at Colby College, Waterville, Maine June 9 – 10, 2012. The Conference was well-attended with 58 participants (attendees list attached). The attendees represented the spectrum of endeavor in this field coming from academia, industry, and government laboratories, both U.S. and foreign scientists, senior researchers, young investigators, and students. Of the 58 attendees, 21 voluntarily responded to a general inquiry regarding ethnicity which appears on our registration forms. Of the 21 respondents, 14% were Minorities – 0% Hispanic, 0% Asian and 14% African American. Approximately 12% of the participants at the 2012 meeting were women. In designing the formal speakers program, emphasis was placed on current unpublished research and discussion of the future target areas in this field. There was a conscious effort to stimulate lively discussion about the key issues in the field today. Time for formal presentations was limited in the interest of group discussions. In order that more scientists could communicate their most recent results, poster presentation time was scheduled. Attached is a copy of the formal schedule and speaker program and the poster program. In addition to these formal interactions, "free time" was scheduled to allow informal discussions. Such discussions are fostering new collaborations and joint efforts in the field. Thank you for your support of this Conference. As you know, in the interest of promoting the presentation of unpublished and frontier-breaking research, Gordon Research Conferences does not permit publication of meeting proceedings.
