2024 Membranes: Materials and Processes Gordon Research Conference and Seminar

This award provides funds to offset the travel and registration expenses for graduate students and postdoctoral researchers attending the Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on “Membranes: Materials and Processes” and the associated Gordon Research Seminar (GRS). The coordinated events will be held serially at Colby-Sawyer College, New London, NH, on July 27 to July 28, 2024 (GRS) and July 28 to August 2, 2024 (GRC). The seminar and conference focus on a broad range of membrane separation technologies critical to many industrial and environmental processes. Advancements in these technologies will contribute to improved chemical process efficiencies, environmental sustainability, energy independence, and enhanced competitiveness in the global market. The GRS and GRC also provide valuable educational, career development, and networking opportunities for students and early-career researchers. The 2024 Gordon Research Conference on Membranes: Materials and Processes is centered around the theme of "Multidisciplinary Pathways for Membrane Separation Applications." The conference will allow graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, academics, and industrial and national laboratory researchers to congregate and discuss cutting-edge technology and current research trends and to share mutual experiences while building informal networks with peers that may lead to future collaborations and scientific achievement. By promoting multidisciplinary approaches and focusing on critical societal needs, this conference will drive advancements in membrane science and technology for various energy, water, bioprocessing, and environmental applications. The conference will have sessions on resource recovery and manufacturing of critical materials, membranes for electrochemical processes, machine learning and artificial intelligence for the discovery and design of materials, removal and recovery of forever chemical contaminants, synthesis and characterization of membrane building blocks, enabling the energy transition through next-generation membranes, and grand challenges to inspire interdisciplinary membrane research and development. The formal and informal discussions between the speakers and attendees will provide valuable feedback on current research efforts and enable the participants to further develop and refine new ideas. The organizers have also made special efforts to promote diversity and inclusivity among the speakers and attendees. Notably, the conference will include an informal “Power Hour,” where all meeting participants can gather to discuss the challenges faced by members of underrepresented groups face in STEM. This event helps to create an awareness of these critical issues among the broader community and to encourage action from the community as a whole. 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.