Three UC Santa Barbara Graduate Student Researchers Selected to Participate in Annual Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting
Stephen Donaldson in the Department of Chemical Engineering, Neil Eschmann in the Department of Chemistry, and Leah Kuritzky in the Department of Materials Engineering will be joining nearly 550 young researchers from 78 countries to attend the week-long meeting, which this year is focused on chemistry.
For six days, Donaldson, whose research interests include the intermolecular interactions between surfaces; Eschmann, whose research has explored membrane materials; and Kuritzky, whose work has been in the field of optoelectronics, will be immersed in lectures, discussions, meetings, and get-togethers with 35 Nobel Laureates, including UCSB’s own Walter Kohn, who received the 1998 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his development of the density-functional theory. Kohn will be discussing chemical energy and storage, one of the three main themes of the meeting. The other two are green chemistry and biochemical processes and structures. The issue of sustainability will be taken into consideration for each of the themes.
In addition to plenary lectures the smaller question-and-answer sessions, the students will be able to interact with the Nobel Laureates and each other in informal discussions. This year, with the addition of science master classes, a select group of student researchers will present their research to a Nobel Laureate and a small group of their peers.
The Lindau meetings have taken place annually since 1951, when two local physicians had the idea to create a medical congress that included invitations to winners of the highest international science awards. The success of the first congress led to what is now an annual event that brings the world’s most honored scientists and the most promising young researchers together for the exchange of ideas and innovations while building international networks. UCSB graduate student researchers have participated in the meeting in previous years –– 2009 and 2007 –– after passing through competitive application and selection processes managed by the Council for the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings.