This award, administered by Prof. Michael Haley of the University of Oregon, will support a newly established Gordon Research Seminar (GRS; conference title: Physical Organic Chemistry--Methodology, Scope and Defining New Frontiers) in Summer 2013. This event brings together young scientists working in areas ranging from mechanistic organic, bio-organic and physical chemistry to theoretical, macromolecular and materials chemistry to discuss, communicate and learn about new research in these fields. Their attendance will be complemented by the involvement of established senior scientists who can discuss the latest developments in the field and provide an exchange of ideas between junior and senior investigators. The attendees will also participate in a tandem conference, the Gordon Research Conference on Physical Organic Chemistry, which encompasses areas ranging from synthetic and mechanistic organic chemistry, including reactive intermediates, computational chemistry, spectroscopy and photochemistry, to advanced functional materials and supramolecular chemistry as well as chemical processes in biological systems.
Physical organic chemistry is broadly defined and of fundamental importance for the development of interdisciplinary areas that link together chemical synthesis, biological and material sciences with theoretical and physical chemistry. Participation in two related conferences on analogous topics will help "jump start" the careers of young investigators on the threshold of their careers.
The Gordon Research Conference on PHYSICAL ORGANIC CHEMISTRY was held at Holderness School, Holderness NH, June 22 – 28, 2013. The Conference was well-attended with 147 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 147 attendees, 72 voluntarily responded to a general inquiry regarding ethnicity which appears on our registration forms. Of the 72 respondents, 12% were Minorities – 4% Hispanic, 4% Asian and 4% African American. Approximately 27% of the participants at the 2013 meeting were women. The Gordon Research Seminar PHYSICAL ORGANIC CHEMISTRY was held at Holderness School, Holderness NH, June 22 – 23, 2013. 2010. The Conference was well-attended with 43 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 43 attendees, 12 voluntarily responded to a general inquiry regarding ethnicity which appears on our registration forms. Of the 12 respondents, 16% were Minorities – 8% Hispanic, 0% Asian and 8% African American. Approximately 30% 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.
