2003 Interior of the Earth Gordon Conference

Gordon Research Conferences, East Greenwich RI

Investigators

Abstract

EAR-0324829 Stixrude The Gordon Research Conference on the Interior of the Earth, to be held June 8-13, 2003 at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts, will address major unresolved problems at the frontiers of our understanding of the dynamics, composition, structure, and evolution of the earth's crust, lithosphere, and upper mantle and their connections to surface observations and processes. Jerry Mitrovica (University of Toronto) and Lars Stixrude (PI) are the Chair and Vice-Chair, respectively for the 2003 meeting. The meeting will bring together researchers from a wide variety of backgrounds, perspectives, disciplines, types of institutions, career stages, and demographics. The program, including all speakers and discussion leaders has been confirmed. This is the fourth Gordon Research Conference on the Earth's Interior. The previous three have been remarkably successful as documented by evaluations required by the GRC organization. Gordon Research Conferences provide a unique setting for the exchange of scientific ideas in which the opportunities for formal and informal discussion are optimized. The conferences are administered through a central office in Rhode Island, which takes no overhead; the conference infrastructure leaves the conference organizers free to focus on the content of the meeting. Broader Impacts. The requested funds would be used to encourage and support the participation of young scientists who might not otherwise be able to attend including graduate students and post-doctoral fellows. The conference is a wonderful educational opportunity for this group, not only for the formal presentations, but for the chances to interact informally with leaders in the field, and to present their own work in the form of posters. NSF support of previous conferences on the Interior of the Earth have helped tremendously to facility a diverse group of attendees.