Before the Pros Arrive: Gordon-Kenan Graduate Research Seminars

The William R. Kenan, Jr., Institute for Engineering, Technology, and Science at North Carolina State University (Kenan Institute) proudly continues its collaboration with GRC at its seventy-fifth anniversary to foster scientific innovation through the productive exchange of ideas. The institute is especially gratified to be able to collaborate with GRC to foster scientific innovation. In February 2001 the Kenan Institute and GRC began a partnership to enable new opportunities for young researchers and scientists to participate in Gordon Conferences. This partnership resulted in the Gordon-Kenan Graduate Research Seminars, which have allowed advanced graduate students, postdocs, and established scientists to participate jointly in a wide range of conferences and share in the GRC experiences.

As the Gordon-Kenan collaboration continues, diverse topical areas are being explored by Graduate Research Seminars (GRS) such as Bioinorganic Chemistry, Molecular Energy Transfer, Protein Folding Dynamics, Bioanalytical Sensors, and Origins of Life. The Kenan Institute also encourages faculty from North Carolina State University and others to submit proposals to GRC for seminars in such areas as innovation management.

The Gordon-Kenan Graduate Research Seminars provide the opportunity for younger scientists to interact with one another at a “mini-GRC.” Generally, this allows youn-ger scientists and students to warm up, get to know one another, and learn more about the caliber of their peers’ research in a “safe” setting before the pros arrive. Participants in a GRS can also learn more about the cutting-edge research in a given field from the graduate students who are carrying it out, and they gain experience presenting research in the setting of a scientific conference. First-rate presentations on topics on the forefront of a given discipline not published in the scientific literature are expected at Graduate Research Seminars. The opportunity to network and have informal discussion on a personal and a professional level with top young scientists in the early part of their careers is an important element of a GRS.

The Kenan Institute’s mission is to develop partnerships in basic research, education, commercialization, and public outreach with individuals and organizations dedicated to the advancement of science, engineering, and technology, with partnerships acting as forces toward improving the economic and social well-being of the state, nation, and world. The unique partnership between the Kenan Institute and GRC leverages the great traditions of both institutions in an innovative manner, bringing to-gether diverse groups of scientists from around the world who share their knowledge and forge important collaborative relationships.

The Kenan Institute’s collaboration with GRC is supported by a generous financial contribution from the William R. Kenan, Jr., Fund for Engineering, Technology, and Science. Kenan was a bright, young scientist in his own right who worked closely with Frances Venable in the late 1890s and helped make significant contributions in basic and applied research and the commercialization of technology. In the same spirit the Gordon-Kenan collaboration seeks to enable young and experienced scientists to work together and generate new discoveries beneficial to society. In his will Kenan wrote, “I have always believed firmly that a good education is the most cherished gift an individual can receive.” The Gordon-Kenan collaboration continues to honor Kenan’s commitment to excellence in education by providing young scientists with the very best opportunities to share their knowledge and learn from one another and from more experienced scientists.