Bilateral U.S. - U.K. NSF/EPSRC Workshop "The Synthesis of Complex Chemical Systems"

Massachusetts Institute Of Technology, Cambridge MA

Investigators

Abstract

This award by the Inorganic, Bioinorganic and Organometallic and Synthetic Organic Chemistry programs supports travel to an international workshop on "The Synthesis of Complex Chemical Systems," which is organized by Prof. Timothy Swager of MIT and Prof. Jeffrey Moore of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) of the UK will supply all local accommodations. This workshop will emphasize tailoring molecules to achieve specified organizations and desired functions. The workshop will focus on challenging and contemporary research in the design, preparation and characterization of well-defined molecular systems that can be considered complex because of their size, three-dimensional arrangement of atoms, high degree of functionality, or the collection of constituents that self-organize into multi-molecular assemblies. Dr. Jason Green (EPSRC) and Dr. Alejandra Palermo (Royal Society of Chemistry) will both serve as the U.K. governmental organizers and Professor Lesley Yellowlees from the University of Edinburgh has been designated as the UK academic chair for the meetings. The conference is scheduled to extend from Sunday evening, March 19, 2006 through Tuesday, March 21, 2006 at Eynsham Hall in Oxfordshire (UK). The workshop aims to expose younger chemists to the broader community of international scholarship and to build long-term bridges for productive international collaboration, cultural understanding, and knowledge exchange. The workshop is expected to provide a forum for the exchange of research ideas, accomplishments and common problems among the group of chemists. The format of the workshop, chalk talks with open discussions, has been proven to be both stimulating and conductive to free-flowing exchange of ideas for all the participants. The setting and the proposed tentative schedule are designed to encourage formal and informal discussion that will allow participants to become well acquainted with one another. All the U.S. participants, with one exception, are within eight years of their independent careers and have made significant contributions to this field. The participants are evenly drawn from organic and inorganic backgrounds geographically from across the United States.