Gordon Research Conferences Research Articles

What Distinguishes the Gordon Research Conference on Oceans and Human Health? A Retrospective 2008–2012

This piece is being submitted as a short commentary for the special edition on Oceans and Human Health (OHH). It is written from the perspective of a student who has attended all three biennial Gordon Research Conferences and Seminars on OHH beginning in 2008.

Websites of note

Websites of note

Young research investigators honored at the 2008 and 2009 Gordon research conferences on photosynthesis: ambiance and a personal perspective

I provide here a personal perspective on (i) the awards that were given to young investigators at the 2008 and 2009 Gordon Research Conferences on Biochemistry/Biophysics of Photosynthesis; and (ii) the ambiance at these conferences through some photographs, particularly of the 2009 conference.

Bringing together top young investigators at the frontiers of science

![Figure][1] The newest members of scientific communities, namely graduate students and postdocs, face unique challenges in their careers as scientists. In order to address these challenges, several of the Gordon Research Conferences (GRCs) have extended their meetings to include a two-day

Gordon's Legacy

The Chemical Heritage Foundation has just published the “GRC Story”, which brings together the beginnings of the Gordon Research Conferences and where the legacy of Neil E. Gordon has taken us.

STILL BLAZING TRAILS AT 75

IT MIGHT BE THE TEST OF A TRUE scientist: Is your idea of the perfect summer trip a week relaxing on a sun-kissed beach or a week holed up in an otherwise deserted prep school campus in New England, debatingyour latest results with 100 of your colleagues and competitors? Despite their reputation for cafeteria food and dorm-style accommodations, the Gordon Research Conferences (GRC) remain the highlight of many a scientist's summer. Now in their 75th year, these much-loved conferences continue to shape both the lives of scientists and the frontiers of scientific research. The conferences have a long and storied history at the leading edge of science. Enrico Fermi described the slow-neutron process of atomic disintegration to a Gordon conference audience in 1936, a decade before the atomic bomb was unleashed on the world. The implications of recombinant DNA technology first came to the fore at the 1973 Gordon conference on nucleic acids. More recently, ...

Advancing the Frontiers

![Figure][1] There has been much discussion recently about ways to stimulate more “high-risk-high-payoff” research: projects that have the potential to make major leaps in scientific understanding. In the United States, the National Science Board, for example, has had a task force dedicated to this issue for over a year, and the National Institutes of Health's Roadmap includes efforts to transform fundamental and clinical biomedical research. One approach to advancing these frontiers has proven quite successful over the years. It is the model used by the Gordon Research Conferences (GRCs), which this year celebrate their 75th anniversary; their 2006 program appears in this issue of Science . The GRCs, which began in 1931 as a chemistry meeting conceived and organized by Neil Gordon, now encompass some 180 conferences each year at 17 different sites in the United States and abroad. Over 20,000 international scientists will participate in these intense meetings that span the whole spectrum of science, science education, and science policy. The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has had a close association with the GRCs since 1938, when it took over managing the conferences—an arrangement that lasted until 1956, when the GRCs became independent. A fascinating compendium[*][2] of personal reminiscences about the conferences and their scientific impacts, contributed by a diverse group of 80 well-respected scientists, reveals why these conferences are so popular and successful and why they have persisted on a regular basis for so long. Reduced to its core, the success of these meetings amounts to the way in which their format has promoted transformative thinking and project development. Maxine Singer, for example, writes about the importance of the 1973 Nucleic Acids meeting in stimulating thinking about the implications of recombinant DNA (cloning) experiments. Other authors cite the central role of the GRCs in the emergence of such multidisciplinary fields as bioinorganic chemistry, organic electronics, and mammary gland biology. ![Figure][1] CREDIT: GORDON RESEARCH CONFERENCES A core lesson from the GRCs is that even in this age of electronic communication technologies, there is no substitute for putting a small group of people together face to face and keeping them in close contact for a few days. The relatively isolated sites used for the GRCs and the fact that each conference is usually restricted to about 100 attendees encourages people to talk to each other with both informality and candor. And the conference agenda allows for plenty of unstructured discussion time and promotes long conversations about frontier science. Many of the important unanswered scientific questions are multidisciplinary in character. This feature of contemporary research was amply demonstrated in Science 's 2005 list of the top 25 questions for the next 25 years.[†][3] To promote the kind of thinking needed for problem-based rather than discipline-based science, one needs to bring experts together from all potentially relevant fields and create an environment in which they may speak freely and frankly with one another. That is exactly the kind of conversation that GRC attendees are engaged in. All discussions are off the record, and all conference communications are considered private. This fosters safe spaces for posing “risky” ideas and engaging in creative and occasionally speculative communal thinking. As Norman Hackerman emphasizes in the GRC compendium, “The greatest advantage of these meetings was that attendees were able to participate without worrying about being proved wrong in publication …” On the nonhierarchical nature of the meetings, Roy Vagelos reflects, “There I was [at his first Lipid Metabolism conference], a pipsqueak only a few years out of a postdoctoral fellowship, speaking alongside these giants of biochemistry.” Not surprisingly, some of the giants later became Vagelos' collaborators. The GRCs are only one way to encourage transformative thinking and research, but their track record suggests that we may need more venues like them. Scientists sometimes lament that peer review may be biased in favor of cautious and “safe” research, unsupportive of departures from mainstream thinking. By creating a relatively unthreatening, unconstrained atmosphere, the GRCs provide a refreshing opportunity to try out new ideas on one's colleagues, brainstorm about difficult and complex issues, and think about possible solutions. Not a bad strategy at all. [1]: pending:yes [2]: #fn-1 [3]: #fn-2

Ten years of green chemistry at the Gordon Research Conferences: frontiers of science

The 2006 Green Chemistry Gordon Research Conference will mark the 10th anniversary of Green Chemistry GRCs. The GRC format, with its strong emphasis on discussion and interaction, has been especially suited to green chemistry which, more than most areas of chemistry research, depends on true interdisciplinarity for success. The ingenuity and innovation displayed by the green chemistry community in developing solutions to real manufacturing problems has been breathtaking. This success has been mirrored in the ten years of the Green Chemistry GRCs, and the 2006 conference will provide a glimpse at how green chemistry will develop over the next ten years.

2004 USA Gordon Research Conferences with fungal flavour

2004 USA Gordon Research Conferences with fungal flavour

The Gordon research conference on hydrocarbons and the atmosphere: a great event of science in italy

From Sunday 2 to Friday 7 of May 2004 has been held at il Ciocco, near Barga (Lucca), the 3rd Gordon Research Conference on Biogenic Hydrocarbons and the Atmosphere. It is the first time that such prestigious event in science has been held in Italy. More than 100 participants from all over the world have attended to this Conference (see the photograph). About half of them, were young scientists who have exposed for the first time their work by oral presentations and posters to an international audience. The aim of this and the former Conferences, held in Ventura (U.S.A.) and Oxford (U.K.), was to stimulate discussions and reflections on the mechanisms of production, emission, reaction, transport and deposition of organic compounds emitted from all biogenic sources over the earth. It was organized in 1 hour oral presentations summarizing the present knowledge on selected topics and short oral and poster presentations outlining the innovative aspects of ongoing research through the world. Critical discussions were stimulated by discussion leaders having a specific experience on each one of the selected topics. A unique aspect of the Gordon Research Conferences is that any type of input can be submitted and discussed through a “brain-storm” procedure free from prejudices and formalities. Particularly welcome are interpretations and new theories on laboratory and field data that are going to be submitted for publication. Intense discussions have been made during this Conference on the biochemistry of isoprenoids in plants, the extent of atmospheric reactions leading to photochemical pollution and the ecological role played by isoprenoids in driving plant-insect interactions. Particularly numerous and qualified has been the participation of old and senior Italian scientists. We are particularly indebted to the chairs of this Conference, Dr. Francesco Loreto from Italy and Dr. Alex Guenther from the U.S.A., who have selected our country for this event and to Prof. Thomas Sharkey who first proposed and made it possible the use of Gordon Research Conferences for discussing the role of hydrocarbons in the atmosphere. We are also indebted to the Gordon Society, the US-EPA, the National Science Foundation, the BMBF and the European Commission that have provided funds for this event through the ACCENT , VOCBAS and ISONET. All participants are looking forward to reconvene in 2006 in the U.S.A., where the next Conference will be held.

Recent Advances in Electron‐Transfer Reactions

AbstractFor Abstract see ChemInform Abstract in Full Text.

A Perspective on Postharvest Horticulture (1978-2003)

The goals of postharvest research and extension are to maintain quality and safety and minimize losses of horticultural crops and their products between production and consumption. Reduction of postharvest losses increases food availability to the growing human population, decreases the area needed for production, and conserves natural resources. Strategies for loss prevention include use of genotypes that have longer postharvest life, use of an integrated crop management system that results in good keeping quality, and use of proper postharvest handling systems that maintain quality and safety of the products. Thus, most horticulturists are involved to some extent in some aspects of postharvest horticulture, at least as consumers desiring fruit and vegetables with good flavor and nutritional quality and ornamentals with attractive appearance and long postproduction life. Most accomplishments of postharvest horticulture have resulted from interdisciplinary, collaborative efforts among horticulturists and other plant biologists working with food scientists and engineers, marketing economists, consumer scientists, and other researchers and extensionists. Interactions among postharvest horticulturists and their colleagues from other disciplines are facilitated through the American Society for Horticultural Science (ASHS) Postharvest Working Group and the International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS) Commission on Quality and Postharvest Horticulture. Also, many postharvest horticulturists participate regularly in ISHS International Postharvest Conferences, the Gordon Research Conferences on Postharvest Physiology, and the International Controlled Atmosphere Research Conferences, which have been held every 4 years since 1969. The Australasian Postharvest Conferences are held every 2 years in Australia or New Zealand. Results of postharvest research have been published in ASHS journals beginning with volume 9 of the Proceedings of the American Society for Horticultural Science published in 1913, as well as in a wide range of plant science, food science and technology, agricultural engineering, and other journals. A specialized abstracting journal titled Postharvest News and Information was initiated in 1990 and has been published bimonthly by CAB International. In 1991, Elsveir Science Ltd. initiated the journal Postharvest Biology and Technology, which has grown steadily (under the leadership of G.E. Hobson, R.P. Cavalieri, and I.B. Ferguson) in its ranking among journals and in frequency of publication to a monthly schedule in 2003. Published information covers the continuum from postharvest biology to technology of a broad range of horticultural crops and their products. When ASHS celebrated its 75th anniversary in 1978, Professor Don Dewey, Michigan State University, reviewed the accomplishments of postharvest horticulture since 1903 under the title “Three Remarkable Generations of Postharvest Horticulture” (Dewey, 1979). Interest in postharvest horticulture within ASHS began early and expanded quickly as evidenced by the number of papers focused on postharvest physiology and quality that were published in the ASHS Proceedings. He reviewed the history of identifying ethylene as a gas that influences plant growth and development, fruit ripening, and senescence of harvested plant organs. He predicted correctly that “there seems little doubt but that ethylene will play a major role in our future work and publications.” He also identified postharvest disorders (physiological and pathological) as an important research area that received much attention from postharvest horticulturists between 1903 and 1978. Identifying preharvest and postharvest factors that influence incidence and severity of physiological disorders remained an active research area during the past 25 years (Ferguson et al., 1999; Hodges, 2003). Important discoveries have concerned the nature of chilling injury (Saltveit, 2000; Wang, 1990), the control of storage scald on apple, the cause of bent-neck in cut roses, and the role of calcium (Bangerth, 1979) or other elements in tomato blossom-end rot, tipburn in lettuce, and flesh breakdown in apple. However, in most cases the underlying molecular and physiological causes are yet to be discovered. Dewey (1979) concluded his presentation by challenging

A conversation with Ralph A. Bradley

Ralph A. Bradley was born in Smith Falls, Ontario, Canada on Nvember 28, 1923, but grew up in the village of Wellington on the shores of Lake Ontario. He graduated from Queen’s University in 1944 with an honors degree in mathematics and physics, was in the Canadian Army, 1944–1945 and returned to Queen's to complete an M.A. degree in 1946. In 1946 he entered the then new doctoral program in theoretical statistics at the University of Nrth Carolina and received the Ph.D. degree in June, 1949. His first academic position was at McGill University, 1949–1950, followed by nine years at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute, 1950–1958. Bradley moved to Florida State University in 1959 to found a Department of Statistics there, heading the department until 1978, with the exception of ten months in Egypt in 1966 as a consultant to the Ford Foundation and the Institute of Statistical Studies and Research of the University of Cairo. He moved to the University of Georgia as Research Professor of Statistics in 1982. Although he retired in 1992, he continues to participate in activities in statistics there. He has been named Professor Emeritus at both Florida State and Georgia Universities. Bradley has played a leadership role in the professional societies. He was Editor of Biometrics, 1957–1962, and Vice­President and President of the Eastern North American Region (1963–1965). He served as Vice­President (1975–1978) and President (1981) of the American Statistical Association (ASA). He headed (with Margaret E. Martin) the Coordinating Committee of the ASA Building and Development Fund (1982–1988) and was a member of the Future Goals Committee (1980). He has also served on various committees of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics, been active in the International Statistical Institute, the Gordon Research Conferences, the Southern Regional Committee on Statistics, and the Ntional Institute of Statistical Sciences. He has served on the editorial boards of Biometrics, the Journal of Statistical Computing and Simulation, and Communications in Statistics­Theory and Methods and acted as an editorial advisor on the Wiley Series on Probability and Statistics (1954--1998). Bradley has been active in research throughout his career. He has over 110 research papers in such areas as design of experiments, non­ parametric statistics, methodology for sensory evaluations, sequential analysis, multivariate analysis, probability theory and computing tech­ niques. Most of his papers stemmed from his statistical consulting on applied problems, or from the need to develop new theory to solve such problems. Bradley's consulting with General Foods on statistical methods in product evaluation was particularly influential in stimulating his own research and the research of others.

Gordon Research Conferences

Gordon Research Conferences

ゴードンリサーチ会議 (GRC) の定期的日本開催について

ゴードンリサーチ会議 (GRC) の定期的日本開催について

Erratum: Gordon Research Conferences

In the Gordon Research Conferences announcements for Summer 1996 (9 Feb., p. 826), the co-chair of the Lasers in Medicine and Biology session (p. 835), Alfred Vogel, was inadvertently omitted.

New director at helm of Gordon conferences

The Gordon Research Conferences entered a new phase last month when Carlyle B. Storm took over as director. Alexander M. Cruickshank, who organized the conferences for the past 47 years, retired on Dec. 1 and has been named director emeritus of the conferences. The director's office is located at the Gordon Research Center on the campus of the University of Rhode Island, Kingston. The change in leadership caps a period of rapid growth for the Gordon conferences and also may usher in some changes as the program attempts to address the continuing decline in the proportion of industrial scientists who participate. At Gordon conferences, small groups of scientists-typically 100 to 130-spend a week focusing their attention exclusively on one single topic at the frontier of science. The conferences were founded by the late chemistry professor Neil E. Gordon of Johns Hopkins University in 1931. In 1994, about 150 Gordon conferences are scheduled, compared with about ...

Gordon Conference director to retire

Alexander M. Cruickshank, 73, organizer of the Gordon Research Conferences for the past 45 years, has announced that he will retire as director within the next two years. The board of trustees will retain an executive search firm to hire his replacement. The conferences were founded by chemistry professor Neil E. Gordon of Johns Hopkins University in 1931. First called the Gibson Island Research Conferences and then the Chemical Research Conferences, they grew from one event in 1931 to 130 conferences this year. Gordon withdrew in 1944 owing to ill health. The gatherings were named the Gordon Research Conferences in 1948, one year before he died. Cruickshank, born in 1919 in Marlboro, N.H., received a B.S. degree in chemistry from Rhode Island State College in 1943 and an M.S. degree from the same college in 1945. He joined the school's faculty in 1945 and that of the University of Massachusetts in 1948. In 1954, he ...

Drug metabolism and the Gordon Research Conferences.

Drug metabolism and the Gordon Research Conferences.

Gordon Research Conferences — " Frontiers of Science "

Gordon Research Conferences — " <i>Frontiers of Science</i> "