2010 CENTC SUMMER SCHOOL

Scope

The Center for Enabling New Technologies Through Catalysis (CENTC), a National Science Foundation Center for Chemical Innovation, is sponsoring a summer school to be held July 19-22, 2010 at the University of Washington in Seattle. The four-day in-residence summer school program will emphasize purposes, techniques, challenges and career opportunities in catalysis as the 21st century progresses. Energy, a primary impetus for research funding and employment in catalysis will be a focus of pedagogical presentations by prominent researchers from industry, research universities and national laboratories. In addition to instruction in catalysis, small group workshops on career options, funding and outreach will be featured.

The summer school aims to foster productive relationships between private and public sectors of chemical research and provide opportunities for initiating professional partnerships between not only research universities but also those that focus on undergraduate education. The summer school format will facilitate and promote informal interactions among speakers and participants.

Organizers

David L. Thorn, Los Alamos National Laboratory
Elon Ison, North Carolina State University
R. Thomas Baker, University of Ottawa

Who should apply?

Advanced Ph.D. students, post-doctoral fellows, early-career researchers and faculty members from primarily undergraduate institutions who are interested in deepening their understanding of organometallic catalysis are encouraged to apply. Applications from members of under-represented groups are particularly encouraged.

Deadlines

Application Deadline: April 5, 2010.
Admission decisions will be announced by April 30, 2010.

Fees and Financial Support

There is no fee to attend this Summer School. Funding is available to support the travel and living expenses of the approximately 80 participants.

Guaranteed support is available for travel up to $500 and most local expenses (dorm room and provided meals) for participants. Depending upon availability of funds it may be possible to support additional participant expenses. Additional support will be distributed according to need with graduate students, postdocs, and newer faculty given priority if full support for everyone is not possible.

Download the Program

Click here to download the Program for the 2010 Summer School.

Monday, July 19: McMahon Hall Patio

4:00 – 5:30 pm.     Name badge and Program pick-up, McMahon Hall

5:30 – 7:00 pm.     Opening Mixer and Reception, McMahon Hall Patio

7:15 – 7:30 pm.     Welcome: CENTC Staff and Summer School Organizers, McCarty Hall Room ABC

7:30 – 8:30 pm.     Odile Eisenstein, Université of Montpeiller 2. “Determining Mechanisms of Reactions with DFT Calculations”

8:30 – 9:30 pm.     David Thorn, Los Alamos National Laboratory. “Cycles Within Cycles”

Tuesday, July 20: McCarty Hall Room ABC

8:30 – 9:00 am.     Breakfast

9:00 – 10:00 am.     Alan Goldman, Rutgers University. “Rationalization of Irrational Catalyst Design”

10:00 – 11:00 am.     Maurice Brookhart, University of North Carolina. “Challenges in Metal-Catalyzed Olefin Polymerizations: Copolymerization of Ethylene and Polar Monomers”

11:00 am – 12:00 pm.     Marcel Schlaf, University of Guelph. “Homogeneous and Heterogeneous Transition Metal Catalysis for the Selective Deoxygenation of Sugar Alcohols to Petrochemicals”

12:00 – 1:30 pm Lunch & Discussion: Mock Proposal Launch

1:30 – 2:30 pm.     Mark Harmer, DuPont Central R&D. “Homogeneous and Heterogeneous Acid Catalysis: New Acids, New Reactions and Biofuels”

2:30 – 3:00 pm.     Group Photo

3:00 – 5:30 pm.     Break

5:30 – 7:00 pm.     Dinner & Discussion: Advances and New Tools in Catalysis

7:00 – 8:00 pm.     David Tyler, University of Oregon. “Greener Approaches to Homogeneous Catalysis; Organometallic Reactivity in Aqueous Solution”

8:00 – 9:00 pm.     Jeff Miller, Argonne National Laboratory. “X-Ray Spectroscopy in Heterogeneous Catalysis Research”

9:00 – 10:00 pm.     James Spivey, Louisiana State University. “Bridging the Gaps Between Catalyst Synthesis, Characterization, and Computational Catalysis”

Wednesday, July 21: McCarty Hall Room ABC

8:30 – 9:00 am.     Breakfast 9:00 – 10:00 am.     Jeff Yoder, FreeSlate Corp. “Novel Applications of High Throughput Techniques in Inorganic and Organometallic Chemistry”

10:00 – 11:00 am.     Zdenek Dohnalek, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. “Imaging Chemical Reactions at Surfaces: Alcohols on TiO2(110) and (WO3)3/TiO2(110) Model Catalysts”

11:00 am – 12:00 pm.     Elon Ison, North Carolina State University. “Homogeneous Transition Metal-Catalyzed Aerobic Alcohol Oxidations”

12:00 – 1:30 pm.     Lunch & Discussion: Communicating Science to the Public (Lauren Russell & Dana Vukajlovich, Pacific Science Center)

1:30 – 2:30 pm.     Edward Grabowski, Merck & Co. “Recent Applications of Catalytic Processes in the Pharmaceutical Industry: The Importance of Asymmetric Hydrogenation”

2:30 – 5:30 pm.     Break

5:30 – 7:00 pm.     Dinner & Discussion: “Big Needs” in Catalysis

7:00 – 8:00 pm.     Jin-Quan Yu, The Scripps Research Institute. “Accelerated C-H Activation Reactions: Enantioselectivity and Positional Selectivity”

8:00 – 9:00 pm.     Mahdi Abu-Omar, Purdue University. “Taming the Beast with Chemistry: Harnessing High Value Organics (HVOs) from biomass”

9:00 – 10:00 pm.     Morris Bullock, Pacific Northwest National Laborabory. “Molecular Electrocatalysts for Oxidation of H2 and Production of H2”

Thursday, July 22: McCarty Hall Room ABC

8:30 – 9:00 am.     Breakfast

9:00 – 10:00 am.     Marcel Schlaf, Guelph University. “Red Mud as a Catalyst for the Upgrading of Pyrolysis Bio-Oil”

10:00 – 11:00 am.     Josephine Yuen, National Science Foundation SBIR/STTR Program. “Perspectives on Innovation”

11:00 am – 12:00 pm.     Guido Pez, Lehigh University. “The Selectfluor™ and Deoxo-Fluor™ Fluorinating Reagents: From Discovery to Commercialization”

12:00 – 1:45 pm.     Lunch & Discussion: Mock Proposal Review Panels

1:45 – 2:00 pm.     Closing: CENTC Staff and Summer School Organizers

Confirmed Instructors

Mahdi Abu-Omar - Purdue University
Maurice Brookhart - University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Morris Bullock - Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Zdenek Dohnalek - Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Odile Eisenstein - Université de Montpellier 2
Alan Goldman - Rutgers University
Ed Grabowski - Merck & Company
Elon Ison - North Carolina State University
Mark Harmer - DuPont Jeff Miller - Argonne National Laboratory
Guido Pez - Lehigh University
Marcel Schlaf - Guelph University
James Spivey - Louisiana State University
David Thorn - Los Alamos National Laboratory
David Tyler - University of Oregon
Jeff Yoder - FreeSlate Corporation
Jin-Quan Yu - The Scripps Research Insititue
Josephine Yuen - National Science Foundation SBIR/STTR Program

Location

The Summer School will be held on the campus of The University of Washington in Seattle. University of Washington Conference Housing will provide housing arrangements. Seattle-Tacoma International Airport is the closest major airport to the University and is 20-30 minutes away by car. Several bus lines make travel between campus and downtown Seattle fast and easy. Seattle and the Pacific Northwest generally have a wet climate, but June, July and August are our dryest and warmest months. Average high temperature in July/August is 75°F, average low temperature is 56°F, though we also have been known to suffer through weeklong heat spells in the high 80s or low 90s.

Quotes from previous participants

This is the second biennial summer school in catalysis that CENTC has sponsored. Here is what participants had to say about the first CENTC summer school:

• "The speakers were wonderfully approachable and willing to problem-solve with us and to act as future references in our careers. This was a great benefit of the program!"
• "The talks were far more pedagogical than I expected. They were much like being at a summer school, and I greatly appreciated it."
• "This was a very well organized summer school program. I am very thankful to the organizers to have let me be a participant in this grand event. I did make a lot of friends and met all professors and speakers possible and will be in connection with all of them."

Travel and Logistics

Please visit the Travel and Logistics page for travel and logistcal information about attending the summer school.

Contact Information

Please contact Eve Perara, the CENTC Director of Diversity, Education and Outreach at centcdeo@chem.washington.edu if you have questions.