This award provides partial support for the ?Workshop on Fe-Pnictide and Related Superconductors.? The recent discovery in Japan of high-temperature superconductivity in the iron pnictide materials (compounds of iron plus arsenic, nitrogen, phosphorus, antimony, or bismuth) has led to a dramatic surge of worldwide research on these novel superconducting materials; the first new class of transition metal based high-Tc superconductors since the discovery of the copper oxide (cuprate) superconductors in 1987. The fact that they contain iron as the active electronic element is a great surprise to most superconductivity experts, since the magnetism of iron has traditionally been thought to be the complete antithesis of superconductivity. The work on these new materials is proceeding at an almost unprecedented pace. This workshop will allow U.S. researchers to rapidly and efficiently get up to speed on these new and technologically significant materials. Graduate and undergraduate students will be strongly encouraged to attend. A tutorial session will be held just before the conference begins, geared towards educating young scientists in this new field. The NSF funds will be used predominantly to support a diverse group of U.S. students, postdocs and junior faculty who would not otherwise be able to attend the workshop.
