This grant will partially support the 2013 Interior of the Earth Gordon Research Conference (GRC, June 2-7, 2013) and the second Gordon Research Seminar (GRS, June 1-2) which will be held at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts. The GRC is the 9th in a series of Gordon Research Conferences that focus on the structure, dynamics and evolution of the Earth's interior. For the second time, the Gordon Conference will be preceded by a Gordon Research Seminar (www.grc.org/programs.aspx?year=2013&program=grs_inter), a unique forum for graduate students, post-docs, and other scientists with comparable levels of experience and education to present and exchange new data and cutting edge ideas. NSF funds will be used to attract young scientists to the GRC and GRS, from a diverse range of institutions, backgrounds and scientific disciplines.
The forthcoming conference will focus on the deep Earth and will cover, among others, the structure, composition and dynamics of the core-mantle boundary region and the core, magnetic field, planets, as well as structure and geochemical evolution of the whole Earth, from a multidisciplinary perspective. Invited speakers from the fields of geochemistry, geodynamics, mineral physics, geomagnetism and seismology will define the forefront of knowledge and set the stage for a freewheeling discussion and debate of the most pressing scientific questions. Specific session topics include inner core structure and dynamics, the structure and nature of LLSVP's (large low shear velocity provinces), the mantle transition zone and interactions between the upper and the lower mantle, early earth and geochemical reservoirs, rheology and mineralogy of the deep mantle, the core-mantle boundary and core/mantle interactions, planetary interiors. The conference will also provide the opportunity for junior scientists and graduate students to present their work in poster format and exchange ideas with leading researchers. The latter will be greatly facilitated by the preceding GRS, which will focus on 'Structure of the Earth's Deep Interior and its Role in Mantle Convection", providing particular synergy with the GRC to follow. The collegial atmosphere of both GRC and GRS, with programmed discussion sessions and opportunities for informal gatherings, is intended to generate lively exchange and promote cross-disciplinary collaborations.
The Gordon Research Conference on INTERIOR OF THE EARTH was held at Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, Massachusetts, June 2-7, 2013. The Conference was well-attended with 166 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 166 attendees, 66 voluntarily responded to a general inquiry regarding ethnicity which appears on our registration forms. Of the 66 respondents, 17% were Minorities – 3% Hispanic, 14% Asian and 0% African American. Approximately 32% of the participants at the 2013 meeting were women. The Gordon Research Seminar on INTERIOR OF THE EARTH was held at Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, Massachusetts, June 1-2, 2013. The Conference was well-attended with 74 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 74 attendees, 25 voluntarily responded to a general inquiry regarding ethnicity which appears on our registration forms. Of the 25 respondents, 20% were Minorities – 4% Hispanic, 16% Asian and 0% African American. Approximately 38% of the participants at the 2013 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.
