Conference: 2024 Catalysis Gordon Research Conference and Gordon Research Seminar

The project supports travel of graduate and post-doctoral students, and also early-career assistant professors to the 2024 Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on Catalysis, which will be held on June 16-21, 2024 at Colby-Sawyer College in New London, NH. The GRC meeting is immediately preceded by the associated Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) on Catalysis (June 14-15, 2024), and is designed specifically to engage and support new entrants (primarily Ph.D students and postdoctoral researchers) to the field of catalysis, and to give them the opportunity to build their professional networks.

NSF support will aid in implementing four key objectives of the meeting: (1) delivering a strong scientific program focused on the meeting theme, "Advancing Sustainable Technologies through Catalysis"; (2) bringing together a diverse group of speakers, including junior investigators and senior thought-leaders representing industry, academia, and national labs; (3) promoting cross-disciplinary fertilization of ideas in catalysis and sustainability, by exploring common themes related to alternative energy and renewable feedstocks; and (4) creating a sense of community by promoting interactions between prominent senior investigators in the field and early-career researchers - all built around a diverse group of participants.

The meeting will focus on the dissemination of knowledge by a wide variety of scientists to explore how precise synthesis of materials, advanced characterization techniques, detailed kinetics and advances in theory combine to create new understanding in catalysis as applied to global challenges in energy and the environment. The Catalysis GRS and GRC play an important role in enhancing the development of researchers in early stages of their careers.

Beyond the technical aspects, the meeting will directly benefit society by enhancing the knowledge of scientists and educators in catalysis as directed towards advancing sustainable catalytic chemistry – thereby contributing to equitable standards of living while preserving the quality of the environment for future generations.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.