Nobel Laureates to Speak at VCU-sponsored International Science Symposium

By Anne Buckley

Two Nobel chemistry laureates will participate in the 5^th International Symposium on Theory of Atomic and Molecular Clusters, which Virginia Commonwealth University is sponsoring.

Walter Kohn, Ph.D., and Rudolph A. Marcus, Ph.D., who were awarded Nobel Prizes in chemistry in 1998 and 1992, respectively, will take part in the symposium May 13 through May 17 at the Omni Hotel in downtown Richmond.

"We are planning 15 sessions of invited speakers focusing on stability, atomic and electronic structure, and properties of clusters, nanostructures and biological systems," said Shiv N. Khanna, Ph.D., conference chair and professor of physics in VCU's Department of Physics. "Each session will probe the developments and application of theoretical approaches that enable an understanding of the various properties.

"A central focus of the symposium will be to explore ways in which our understanding of the clusters and the nano-world in the physical sciences can aid us in tackling outstanding problems in the biological sciences and vice versa," Khanna said.

VCU has been a major center for research in atomic and molecular clusters. Researchers from VCU's departments of physics, chemistry, the School of Engineering and the School of Medicine are currently collaborating on research using nanoparticles to detect and treat brain tumors.

Previous symposia have been held in France, Germany and the United States.

Kohn, currently at the University of California in Santa Barbara, won the Nobel Prize for the development of an important theoretical scheme that has played a key role in understanding clusters, the density functional theory. Marcus, a professor at Caltech, received the prize for his contributions to the theory of electron transfer reactions in chemical systems. VCU's Nobel laureate, John Fenn, Ph.D., of the Department of Chemistry, is unable to attend the symposium as he will be attending an international peace conference sponsored by Foundation Elie Wiesel. Fenn received the Nobel Prize for his work on electrospray mass spectrometry, which has revolutionized the development of new pharmaceuticals and promises to advance disease diagnosis.

Khanna and A.W. Castleman, Ph.D., of Penn State University, will also speak at the symposium. The two lead a major effort in cluster assembled materials. VCU President Eugene P. Trani, Ph.D., will deliver the opening remarks.

In addition to VCU, the symposium is sponsored by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, the National Science Foundation, Philip Morris USA, the Naval Research Lab and the Army Research Office.

Further information can be found at www.vcu.edu/TAMCV.