Gordon Research Conference: Membranes: Materials and Processes 2020

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The project provides funds for travel and registration expenses for graduate student and young postdoctoral research fellow attendees of the Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on Membranes: Materials and Processes, and associated Gordon Research Seminar (GRS). The coordinated events will be held serially at Colby-Sawyer College, New London, NH on the dates of August 1-2, 2020 (GRS) and August 2-7, 2020 (GRC). The seminar and conference focus on a broad range of separations technologies critical to a wide range of industrial and environmental processes of critical importance to U.S. technology competitiveness. Additionally, the GRS and GRC provide valuable educational, career development, and networking opportunity for students and early career researchers. Over the past 20 years, there has been high level of activity and innovation in membrane science and technology with growing understanding of how molecular scale phenomena manifest themselves at the membrane and eventually the system scale. Additionally, critical societal needs in the areas of energy, water, bioprocessing, and the environment are prviding exciting new opportunities for membrane technologies. These include the development of new membrane for hydrogen/oxygen, direct methanol and alkaline fuel cells, membrane separations for the purification of ethanol produced from cellulosic biomass, and membrane systems for carbon dioxide removal from gas streams. The Gordon ResearchConference on membranes will have specific sessions on molecules, membranes and membrane systems and their application to contemporary topics dealing with energy production and storage, membrane technologies for energy efficiency, nanomanufacturing, and membranes for water purification. The discussions between the speakers and audience will provide valuable feedback on current research efforts and will enable the participants to further develop and refine new ideas for their own research and/or to initiate new membrane projects. Gordon Research Conferences provide a setting where researchers can present their most recent and, at times, most controversial results. The conferences also foster informal discussions and networking that occur outside of the formal lecture sessions. Such interactions promote the generation of new ideas and new collaborations that assist in moving forward the field of membrane science. The organizers have also made special efforts to include women and underrepresented minorities in the conference. Notably the conference will include a "Power Hour" informal gathering for all meeting participants to discuss the challenges that women and minorities face in science. This event helps to create an awareness of these important issues among the broader community such that the whole community can take actions to support the professional growth of women in science.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.