Conference: 2024 Polymer Physics GRC and GRS, Role of Molecular Design in Polymer Physics

This award represents partial support by NSF for the 2024 Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on Polymer Physics, which will take place at Mt. Holyoke College on July 21-26, 2024. It will be preceded and accompanied by the Gordon Research Seminar (GRS), organized by postdoctoral scholars and graduate students, on July 20-21. NSF funding will enable attendance of 12 participants through coverage of their registration fees. According to the project description, this GRC will focus on new experimental, theoretical, and computational developments across a range of emerging topics of societal importance, including polymer upcycling and energy storage materials, as well as fundamental questions such as the role of big data in polymer science and the physics of charge interactions in polyelectrolytes. The specific sessions planned are: (1) Big data in polymer science, (2) Polymer upcycling, (3) Patterning with polymers, (4) Ion- and electron conducting polymers, (5) Polymer phase behavior, (6) Structure and Mechanics, (7) Physics of zwitterions and neutral-charge complexes, and (7) Polymer physics of transport and membranes. These all represent forward-looking, contemporary topics of importance both in terms of fundamental opportunities in the polymer field and of societal relevance. The conference organizers, invited speakers, and discussion leaders cover a broad spectrum of forefront expertise as well as diversity (gender, minority status, career stage, academic/industrial/government lab). Attention to broadening participation is evidenced also in the planned "Power Hour", which will include speed coaching and mentoring to support the professional growth of women, underrepresented minority, and early career participants. The accompanying GRS will be an additional opportunity for post-doctoral scholars and graduate students to highlight their work and benefit from interactions and mentoring involving senior participants. 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.