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

提供资金支持将于2010年5月31日至6月1日在圣母大学校园举行的中西部热力学和统计力学(MTSM)会议。NSF的资金将用于帮助支付本科生、研究生、博士后和教师参与者的部分注册费用。MTSM会议将是分享计算、理论和实验热力学和统计力学最新研究成果的场所。这次会议吸引了来自美国广大地区的与会者，与会者从资深教职员工到本科生和应届研究生。分享研究成果并与其他研究人员进行深入的个人层面的互动对于推动科学和工程是必要的，特别是在电子通信使许多与同事的互动变得肤浅和短暂的情况下。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和建立合作。多年来，MTSM会议成功地帮助中西部地区的几个小组建立了研究合作，预计2010年版将继续这一传统。广泛的影响：20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具体领域讨论和长期合作。该会议历史上的成功之一是，每年都试图通过在中西部地区的大学举行最基本的会议来将成本降至最低。这项提议与圣母大学工程学院和研究生院承诺的资金相结合，将提供资金，帮助支付开支并最大限度地提高参与度。参加MTSM会议的机会对于早期职业科学家(本科生、研究生和新教师)来说尤其重要，他们将能够参加一个有重点的会议，作为一种激发创造力并与从事相关项目的同事发展持续合作关系的方式。与大型全国性会议或戈登研究会议等备受瞩目的会议不同，2010年MTSM会议将量身定做，以实现此类个人和指导互动。四名年轻的教职员工将向他们的同行发表受邀的演讲，45名研究生将能够参与，大约有29场演讲，一项新的功能将允许15名本科生研究人员参加海报会议和预览演讲会议，他们将有5分钟的时间来突出他们的工作。最后，多达16名额外的教职员工将出席，他们中的大多数人将作为观众参与者和他们小组中的学生和其他人的导师。这些教职员工将代表不同的学院和大学，包括一些主要是本科生的机构，以及一系列经验水平。这种多样性是故意的。它为扩大热力学和统计力学的研究对话提供了一个重要的论坛，将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包括在内。NSF对MTSM的支持将使那些可能没有能力参加这样的会议的学生能够参加。还将为本科生研究人员提供一个关于申请研究生院和如何申请奖学金的特别研讨会。

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.