Scientists Explore Cutting-Edge Research at KSC Conference
KEENE, N.H. 7/26/06 - Scientists from the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Europe, Scandinavia, Israel, and Japan have gathered on the Keene State College campus for a Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on plasmonics, an emerging field of optics aimed at the study of light at the nanometer scale. It is the first time a GRC has focused on this topic, and while more than 180 scientists applied, only 120 could be accepted due to space limitations.
The five-day conference (July 23-28) is one of a series of annual meetings scheduled worldwide that seek to provide an international forum for the presentation and discussion of frontier research in the biological, chemical, and physical sciences, and their related technologies. Scientists with common professional interests come together for a full week of intense discussion and examination of the most advanced aspects of their fields.
The conferences were initiated by Dr. Neil E. Gordon, of Johns Hopkins University, who recognized in the late 1920s the difficulty in establishing good, direct communication between scientists, whether working in the same subject area or in interdisciplinary research. In 1990, responding to the international growth of fundamental research and technology, the Gordon Research Conferences began meeting outside the U.S. The first meetings were in Volterra, in northern Italy. The conferences have grown steadily in Europe, and GRCs are also currently held in China and Japan.
Dr. Gordon Leversee, dean of sciences and social sciences at Keene State, says that the GRC approached the College, which has recently built a new science center, dining commons, and dorm space. “It is very exciting to have this level of science and scientists on campus,” he says. “We like being on their radar screen and we hope to host more conferences in the future.”
