Clay Minerals Society Conference Support for U.S. Graduate Student Attendance at a Joint Meeting with European-clay Conference in 2019

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This funding is to support U.S. based STEM students to travel to, and participate in, an international conference of the Clay Minerals Society (CMS), joint with the European Clay Conference. The benefits to society include exposure of U.S. students to diverse groups of scientists, interacting via Workshops and Field Trips in additional to the formal technical program. The reason for this joint meeting is to expand the interactions of U.S. clay scientists, largely funded by the National Science Foundation, with other nations, and to be aware of advances made by clay scientists funded by European and Asian Science Foundations. This international conference convenes clay scientists worldwide to share research progress, and to question, dispute, defend, and collaborate on research questions at the forefront of clay science research that benefits the U.S. public. This international conference is well-known for promoting the science of U.S. based researchers, who learn from the research of international scientists as they present their research progress. The goal is to benefit the science and education of U.S. students, and in doing so to promote successful clay science research worldwide, which benefits the U.S. public by producing future scientists that are knowledgeable of international colleagues and research advances.The support will assist U.S. based students with travel expenses to attend the Euroclay 2019 conference held in Paris, France. This international conference will promote student interaction with worldwide leaders in the field of low-temperature geochemistry and geobiology, with specific emphasis on scientific research involving clays and clay minerals. Assistance with the student travel, accommodation and registration fees for the Conference, Workshops and Field trips will technologically advance STEM education via a variety of instructional venues including: Field Trips to: 1) study a classical field area of the Kimmeridgian and Tithonian mudrocks in the Boulonnais related to energy resources, 2) visit research facilities for next generation mineral research including the ANDREA underground Deep Geological Repository for High-Level nuclear Waste in a claystone, and to the SOLEIL, a state-of-the-art synchrotron facility employing electromagnetic radiation over wavelengths from infrared to X-rays, 3) attend historical tours of Marie Curie?s life and contributions to scientific methods upon which modern clay science was developed. Workshops include 1) Advances in bentonite research: from the mine to smectite characterization and 2) Clay minerals and catalysis. Over 25 technical sessions will be presented over 5 days focusing on modern clay science advances from energy resources to mineralogy, modeling of nanoparticles, environmental pollutants, critical zone research, clays and the origins of life, diagenesis, geomaterials engineering, photochemistry and functionalization of clays for human health. All of these topics are a focus of NSF funded research and provide students a showcase for research advances on an international stage.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.