"Midwest Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics Conference."
The Midwest Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics Conference will be held in Columbus, OH on May 28-29, 2003. This is a small student-centered conference emphasizing presentations by graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, and young faculty working in all areas of thermodynamics and statistical mechanics. Funding will reimburse graduate students and postdocs for travel and registration costs associated with the meeting. Funds for other aspects of running this meeting have been arranged from other sources, primarily donations from the Ohio State University. NSF-CTS has provided student travel funds for this meeting several times in the past, and this action has been important in making attendance at this meeting widely accessible to graduate students.
Intellectual merit: During the two-day conference, various topics from thermodynamics and statistical mechanics will be discussed. We expect about 65 to 70 attendees, which is small compared to typical national conferences. This allows avoidance of parallel sessions, encouraging in-depth discussion and exchange of ideas among attendees.
Broader impact: The conference proceeds in a collegial atmosphere, which is an ideal way of building a community of researchers who might continue interacting with each other at various levels even long after the conference. About two thirds of the attendees are graduate students and postdocs. For them, the conference can serve as an introduction to the thermodynamics and statistical mechanics community. For faculty, the conference affords an opportunity to meet and evaluate potential faculty candidates in an informal yet intellectually stimulating environment.
