Conference: 2024 Noble Metal Nanoparticles GRC/GRS, Research and Development of Novel Materials for Catalysis, Energy Conversion and Sensing

Non-Technical Description Metal nanoparticles have diverse applications, including electronics, chemical and biological sensors, catalysis and photocatalysis. The 2024 Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on Noble Metal Nanoparticles will feature presentations from leaders and emerging researchers in the nanoscience community on research with noble metal nanoparticles. The conference will be complemented by an associated Gordon Research Seminar (GRS), which provides a unique forum for early career researchers to share scientific findings in an open and collaborative environment. Both meetings emphasize outreach to minority serving and undergraduate institutions. This conference is supported by the Electronic and Photonic Materials and Metals and Metallic Nanostructures programs in the NSF Division of Materials Research. The aim of this support is to broaden participation in the meetings by individuals from underrepresented groups in STEM and early career investigators, including graduate students and post-docs. Technical Description The topics covered in the 2024 Noble Metal Nanoparticles GRC and GRS include new and alternative plasmonic materials, applications of noble metal particles to biological systems and biomedicine, theory and modeling of the electronic and optical properties of metal nanoparticles, advanced electron microscopy studies, catalysis and photocatalysis, hybrid materials, and ultrafast and single particle measurements. In addition to scientific talks both conferences have vibrant poster sessions where all attendees present their work and discuss science. Each lecture is followed by question and answer sessions that enable interactions between the speakers, discussion leaders, and participants. The GRS also includes a career panel where attendees engage with mentors from academics, industry and scientific publishing and receive feedback about career opportunities and challenges. Researchers from the fields of chemistry, physics, biology, electrical and chemical engineering, and materials science will participate in this diverse and stimulating conference. 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.