2012 Water and Aqueous Solutions Gordon Research Seminar

Gordon Research Conferences, East Greenwich RI

Investigators

Abstract

This award from the Division of Chemistry supports a new conference, the 2012 Water and Aqueous Solutions Gordon Research Seminar (GRS), organized entirely by and for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows who are doing research related to water and aqueous solutions. This GRS will precede the associated 2012 Water and Aqueous Solutions Gordon Research Conference (GRC). The focus of these two meetings is on identifying key questions, describing recent breakthroughs, and unveiling surprising discoveries related to water and aqueous solutions. Water is an important and unique substance that plays a central role in a wide variety of problems ranging from bioengineering to weather predictions to material processing and development. Although water is a deceptively simple three-atom molecule, it possesses a unique set of distinguishing physical properties that set it apart from any other substance on Earth. Understanding the fundamental principles governing the structure and dynamics of water, and particularly how water mediates chemical interactions and processes, continues to pose formidable challenges and yield abundant surprises. The planned GRS will provide a unique forum for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows to present and exchange new data and cutting edge ideas in fields related to water and aqueous solutions. A key aim of the GRS is to enable young investigators to become active conference participants through an educational and encouraging platform that facilitates the establishment of networks with their peers.