2018 Midwest Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics Conference (MTSM)

这笔赠款将为2018年6月10日至12日在匹兹堡大学校园举行的2018年中西部热力学和统计力学(MTSM)会议提供部分支持。从历史上看，MTSM会议为从事热力学和统计力学理论和实验方面工作的研究人员提供了一个论坛，让他们走到一起，介绍他们的工作和交流想法。大多数与会者将来自化学工程和化学系，尽管过去也有来自物理、材料科学、机械工程和计算机科学系的学生和教职员工参加过这次会议。热力学和统计力学是一个重要的研究领域，在化学、生物和自然系统中有着广泛的应用。MTSM系列会议已有30年的历史，吸引了来自学术机构、行业和国家实验室的与会者。大多数与会者来自美国中西部地区的机构，那里聚集了大量在热力学和统计力学领域工作的研究人员。会议参与者将有机会出席该领域主要专家的最新应邀演讲，并与同行辩论有争议的观点。由这笔资金资助的会议参与者将是大约90名本科生、研究生和博士后助理，其中包括STEM领域代表性不足的少数族裔成员。与会者将有机会与其他机构的同行建立联系，就热力学和统计力学这一重要研究领域的研究和教育的现状和未来方向交流意见。MTSM会议的一个显著特点是它关注处于学术生涯早期阶段的研究人员，如本科生和研究生、博士后和初级教员。由于会议是地区性的，组织成本被保持在最低水平，教职员工通常能够与他们的整个团队一起前往参加会议。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This grant is to provide partial support for the 2018 Midwest Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics (MTSM) Conference to be held on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh on June 10-12, 2018. The MTSM Conference has historically provided a forum for researchers working on theoretical and experimental aspects of Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics to come together, present their work and exchange ideas. Most participants will be from chemical engineering and chemistry departments, although students and faculty from physics, materials science, mechanical engineering, and computer science departments have also participated in this conference in the past. Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics are an important area of research that has a wide spectrum of applications in chemical, biological and natural systems. The MTSM Conference series has a 30-year history and attracts participants from academic institutions, industry and national laboratories. Most attendees are from institutions located in the Midwest region of the US, which has a large concentration of researchers working in the field of Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics. The Conference participants will have the opportunity to attend state-of-the-art invited presentations by leading experts in the field and debate controversial points with their peers. The conference participants supported by this grant will be about 90 undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdoctoral associates and include members of underrepresented minorities in STEM fields. The participants will have the opportunity to network with peers from other institutions and exchange ideas about the current status and future directions in research and education in an important area of research: Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics. A distinctive feature of The MTSM Conference is its focus on researchers in the early stages of their academic careers, such as undergraduate and graduate students, postdocs, and junior faculty. Because the meetings are regional and organization costs are kept to a minimum, faculty members are often able to travel with their entire group to the meeting.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.