2010 Midwest Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics Conference, May 31, 2010 - June 1, 2010; University of Notre Dame, Notre, IN

0967491 Maginn智力优点：提供资金，以帮助支持中西部热力学和统计力学（MTSM）会议，将在圣母大学的校园，2010年5月31日至2010年6月1日举行。国家科学基金会的资金将用于帮助支付部分注册费用的本科生，研究生博士后和教师参与者。MTSM会议将是一个分享计算，理论和实验热力学和统计力学最新研究的场所。会议吸引了来自美国大部分地区的与会者，与会者从资深教师到本科生和新的研究生。与其他研究人员分享研究成果并在个人层面上进行深入的互动对于推进科学和工程是必要的，特别是现在电子通信已经使许多与同事的互动变得肤浅和短暂。简短、紧张和集中的会议对年轻的研究人员特别有用，他们可以利用这些会议与其他研究人员建立联系并建立合作。多年来，MTSM会议成功地帮助中西部地区的几个团体建立了研究合作，预计2010年版将继续这一传统。更广泛的影响：二十年来，中西部热力学和统计力学会议成功地促进了热力学和统计力学研究人员之间有意义的领域具体讨论和长期合作。会议的历史性成功的一部分是每年试图通过在整个中西部地区的大学举行基本会议来将成本保持在最低限度。这项提案，加上圣母大学工程学院和研究生院承诺的资金，将提供资金，以帮助支付会议费用和最大限度地参与。参加MTSM会议的机会对于早期职业科学家（本科生，研究生和新的教职员工）尤为重要，他们将能够参加重点会议，以激发创造力并与从事相关项目的同事建立持续的合作关系。与大型国家会议或高姿态的会议，如戈登研究会议，2010年MTSM会议将量身定制，使这些类型的个人和指导互动。四名年轻的教师将邀请他们的同行，45名研究生将能够参加，大约有29个贡献的会谈，一个新的功能将使15名本科生研究人员参加海报会议和预览谈话会议，他们将有5分钟的时间来突出他们的工作。最后，多达16名教师将参加，大多数作为观众参与者和导师的学生在他们的小组和其他人。这些教师将代表学院和大学的多元化，包括一些主要的本科院校，以及一系列的经验水平。这种多样性是有意的。它提供了一个重要的论坛，扩大了热力学和统计力学的研究对话，包括研究人员从他们的科学兴趣刚刚开始到他们可以反思整个职业生涯的点。NSF对MTSM的支持将使那些可能没有办法参加这样一个会议的学生能够参加。还将为本科研究人员举办一个关于申请研究生院和如何申请研究金的特别讲习班。

0967491MaginnIntellectual Merit: Funds are provided to help support the Midwest Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics (MTSM) Conference, to be held on the campus of the University of Notre Dame, May 31, 2010 -June 1, 2010. NSF Funds will be used to help partially defray registration costs for undergraduates, graduate students postdocs and faculty participants. The MTSM Conference will be a venue where the latest research in computational, theoretical and experimental thermodynamics and statistical mechanics is shared. The meeting draws participants from a huge section of the United States, and attendees range from established senior faculty members to undergraduates and new graduate students. Sharing research results and interacting on a deep personal level with other researchers is necessary to advance science and engineering, especially now that electronic communication has made many interactions with colleagues shallow and fleeting. Short, intense and focused meetings are especially useful for younger researchers, who can use these meetings to establish contacts and build collaborations with other researchers. The MTSM Conference has successfully helped build research collaborations among several groups in the Midwest region over the years, and it is anticipated that the 2010 edition will continue this tradition.Broader Impacts:For twenty years, the Midwest Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics Conference has been successful in facilitating meaningful field specific discussions and longstanding collaborations among researchers in thermodynamics and statistical mechanics. Part of the historical success of the meeting is the annual attempt to keep costs at a minimum by holding bare bones meetings at universities throughout the Midwest region. This proposal, combined with funds committed by Notre Dames College of Engineering and Graduate School, will provide funding to help defray meeting expenses and maximize participation. The opportunity to attend the MTSM meeting is especially important for early career scientists (undergraduates, graduate students, and newer faculty members) who will be able to participate in a focused meeting as a way to stimulate creativity and develop sustained collaborative relationships with colleagues working on related projects. In contrast to big national meetings or high profile meetings like Gordon Research Conferences, the 2010 MTSM meeting will be tailored to enable these kinds of personal and mentoring interactions. Four younger faculty members will give invited talks to their peers, 45 graduate students will be able to participate, with roughly 29 contributed talks, and a new feature will enable 15 undergraduate researchers to participate in a poster session and preview talk session where they will be given 5 minutes to highlight their work. Finally, up to 16 additional faculty members will attend, most serving as audience participants and mentors for the students in their group and others. These faculty members will represent a diverse set of colleges and universities, including some primarily undergraduate institutions, and a range of experience levels. This diversity is intentional. It provides an important forum for widening the research conversation in thermodynamics and statistical mechanics by including researchers from the point when their scientific interests are just beginning to the point where they can reflect back on a full career. NSF support for MTSM will enable students who might not have the means to attend such a conference to participate. A special workshop on applying to graduate school and how to apply for fellowships will also be offered to the undergraduate researchers.