The 2nd Penn State Bioinorganic Workshop will be held on the University Park campus of The Pennsylvania State University from May 31-June 9, 2012. The proposed workshop aims to provide a complete immersion training experience to students and postdocs. The field of bioinorganic chemistry is diverse, and includes a wide variety of scientific disciplines, including genetics, molecular biology, biochemistry, bioinformatics, analytical chemistry, and physical chemistry. The workshop will include lecture topics, such as, (1) principles of molecular biology; (2) principles of coordination chemistry; (3) principles of quantum chemistry; (4) transient state kinetic methods; (5) EPR spectroscopy; (6) ENDOR/ESEEM spectroscopy; (7) computation of spectroscopic parameters; (8) resonance Raman spectroscopy; (9) X-ray absorption spectroscopy; (10) Mössbauer spectroscopy; (11) magnetic circular dichroism spectroscopy); (12) mass spectrometry; (13) isotope effects as mechanistic probes; (14) protein electrochemistry; (15) X-ray crystallography; and (16) biological electron transfer. In addition, a "hands-on" laboratory training aspect is also included. The following hands-on sessions will be offered: (1) SF-absorption spectroscopy; (2) the FQ method; (3) EPR spectroscopy; (4) Mössbauer spectroscopy; (5) ENDOR/ESEEM spectroscopy; (6) resonance Raman spectroscopy; (7) mass spectrometry ; (8) purification of air-sensitive enzymes; (9) site-directed mutagenesis; (10) protein electrochemistry; and (11) cryoreduction experiments at the Breazeale Nuclear Reactor on the Penn State campus.
Broader Impacts Many areas of this meeting will directly relate to central challenges facing society today. Fundamental collaborative research in bioinorganic chemistry may provide important insight for rational design of chemical/industrial processes. An example includes the improvement of the Haber Bosch process, a crucial process for modern agriculture, by a better understanding of the enzyme nitrogenase. This workshop will make important contributions to training of students and postdocs in bioinorgranics. Approximately 80 young researchers will immerse themselves in a wide variety of methods and concepts central to this research area, thus receiving training that will undoubtedly be broader than they could possibly receive in any one research group.
was organized by Carsten Krebs and colleagues. It was offered from 5/31/2013 to 6/8/2013 to a total of 123 participants, of which 61 were involved in training the participants by either delivering one of 16 lectures or by providing hands-on training in one of 16 methods in small groups (6 or less "learners" taught by 1-3 "teachers"). The majority (106) of participants were students and postdocs. Participants could be trained in up to 12 different experimental methods. In addition, 68 participants presented at the poster session and 12 participants (selected from abstracts) gave lectures on their research. Impact & Benefits: Some of the most difficult chemical reactions are catalyzed by enzymes that require one or more metal ions for their function. Examples include (i) the reduction of atmospheric nitrogen to ammonia (a process relevant for fertilizer production), (ii) the oxidation of water to produce atmospheric oxygen (a prerequisite for all aerobic life forms), (iii) the selective functionalization of inert carbon-hydrogen bonds (important in diverse fields ranging from drug design to conversion of natural gas to synthetically useful commodity chemicals), and (iv) production of biofuels from carbon dioxide and solar energy. The field of bioinorganic chemistry aims at (i) obtaining a detailed understanding of the reaction mechanisms of metalloenzymes and (ii) rationally manipulating metalloenzymes or models thereof to design new catalysts or drugs. Detailed insight into the reaction mechanisms is in most cases feasible only through collaborative studies involving researchers from different disciplines. Therefore, it is important that the next generation of scientists be trained broadly, so they can continue to carry out this research at the highest level. Many of today's collaborators met for the first time at similar training workshops offered in the 1990s at the University of Georgia. While the immediate advantage of the workshop is to provide training to participants, we hope that the long-term benefit will be future collaborations among researchers who met for the first time at the Penn State Bioinorganic Workshop. Background & Explanation: The field of biological inorganic chemistry encompasses many areas of science, including molecular biology, biochemistry, inorganic chemistry, spectroscopy, and computational chemistry. Collaborative studies between researchers with vastly different educational backgrounds have been the norm in the field since the 1960s. It is important to provide training to young researchers working in this area in many different methods and approaches, because this teaches them the "language" of the field and allows them to plan and discuss experiments. The Penn State workshops have been inspired by the very successful bioinorganic workshops offered in the 1990s by Michael Johnson and colleagues at the University of Georgia. The program of our workshop consisted of (i) 16 lectures given by 13 faculty experts, (ii) training in small groups of up to 6 "learners" by 1-3 "teachers" in 16 different experimental methods, (iii) a poster session and (iv) 12 talks by the participants. Importantly, the majority of participants continued to meet and mingle in the evening. The center piece of the workshop was the experimental section, which was repeated up to 12 times in 2-h blocks. Thus, participants had the opportunity to learn as many as 12 new methods. 55 participants (13 faculty, 13 postdocs, 27 graduate students, and 2 undergraduate students) were teachers. For most experimental sections, teachers teamed up and took turns, so that they were typically teaching half of the time. This sharing of labor afforded them the opportunity to become learners of as many as 6 additional methods in their remaining time. The boundaries between the teachers and learners were, by design, blurred, to the extent that even undergraduate students trained faculty! The workshop was financed from registration fees ($700 per person) and by grants and donations from agencies, societies, and companies (NSF, NIH, DOE, Society of Biological Inorganic Chemistry, and some industrial sponsors). These funds allowed us to reimburse the vast majority of travel and lodging costs for the teachers (~$32,000 were reimbursed). In addition, it allowed us to waive the registration fees and contribute to travel and/or lodging expenses (if needed) for 13 participants (10 domestic and 3 from Mexico) whose sponsors could not otherwise have afforded them.
