Third Franco-British Seminar for Young Scientists
Chirality in Molecular Physics
(Paris, 7-11 March 2005)
After two highly successful seminars in 2003 on “Climate
Change through the Ages” and in 2004 on “Bio-engineering and Medical Imaging”,
the British Council will be organising a third meeting in 2005, this time on
the theme of “Chirality in Molecular Physics”.
Objectives
The objective of the seminar is to enable early career-stage scientists to meet in an informal atmosphere, present their own research, learn about the work of others and explore the scope for possible future collaborations.
Who is the seminar for?
The seminar is designed for a group of around 20 “young researchers” drawn from a wide range of different institutional and disciplinary backgrounds. Although the seminar is mainly for UK and France-based scientists, we hope that some Germans and Italians will participate as well.
We do not wish to be over-prescriptive about the definition of “young researcher”, but the event is primarily aimed at researchers who have completed their doctorate and are currently engaged on post-doctoral research or have a maximum of around three years’ experience in a permanent academic post. We would expect the average age of those attending to be around 28 – 32. However, if you do not fit within this definition but think you have the background which would make you likely to benefit from, and be able to contribute to, the seminar, please do not hesitate to apply.
Seminar Format
The programme for the event is designed to offer the participants an opportunity both to gain a broader context for their own research work and to establish personal contacts with other scientists of their generation which may develop into lasting and fruitful research collaborations.
The field of molecular chirality is currently seeing an influx of researchers drawn from various backgrounds, but particularly chemical and molecular physicists, and this workshop will provide an invaluable opportunity for them to combine and share experience and understanding. The interdisciplinarity of a small but active workshop will provide opportunities to discuss more widely the issues of symmetry breaking in physical systems. While jointly exploring new boundaries, participants will also have an opportunity to establish connections to established strands of activity in this area in order to be better able to build on well-founded existing concepts. A number of invited tutorial lectures by internationally recognised authorities will be included for this purpose and it is intended that this will also facilitate a dialogue with the community of potential users and beneficiaries in order to develop a mutual understanding of needs and capabilities.
Sessions will also be included on transversal questions such as career development and funding opportunities. In addition to the formal programme, time will be made for informal interaction between the participants, including social events and outside visits.
Invited Lecturers
The following have accepted invitations to present tutorial lectures:
Theme
While the origins of the modern scientific study of molecular chirality (or handedness) can be traced to the work of Louis Pasteur in France in the 1850's, the human impact of this phenomenon can be said to pre-date terrestrial life itself. The universal, invariant handedness (homochirality) of the molecular basis for life leads to a chiral specificity in the interaction of organisms with their environment. A new wave of activity now addresses the physical interactions and properties of chiral systems, fuelled by the introduction of recent experimental and theoretical capabilities developed in other fields.
Amongst the topics we would anticipate being covered are recent developments in chiro-optical interactions - particularly those benefiting from the flux, polarization and extended energy range of new generation synchrotron sources, new linear and non-linear laser spectroscopic techniques, time-resolved studies, the investigation of molecular interactions through chiral molecule complex formation, and chiral discrimination in mass spectrometry. New systems such as chiral surfaces and electrodes that may be used in selective catalysis will be covered, as will investigations of possible abiotic origins for homochirality in, for example, the interstellar medium, of interest to the astrobiological community.
Scientific Co-ordinators
Professor Ivan Powis (Professor of Chemical Physics, School of Chemistry, University of Nottingham) and Françoise Lahmani (Directrice de recherche, Laboratoire CNRS de Photophysique Moléculaire, Université Paris Sud)
Venue and Dates
The seminar will be held at the British Council’s prestigious premises, well situated in the heart of Paris, close to the River Seine and the Invalides. It will begin at lunch-time on Monday 7 March and conclude with a dinner for all participants on Thursday 10 March. An optional visit may be organised on Friday 11 March if there is sufficient interest among the participants.
Other Details
The seminar will be conducted in English. Translation facilities will not be available.
For participants selected to take part, the costs of the seminar (return travel to Paris, overnight accommodation and meals) will be met by the British Council and/or its French partner organisations, unless the participant’s home institution is able to cover some or all of these costs. Participants must, however, agree to take part in the whole event; unfortunately, it will not be possible to accept participants who are unable to be present for the complete programme (Monday afternoon to Thursday evening).
How to apply
If you would like to participate in this seminar, please write a short note explaining what you believe you would get out of this seminar and how your own current research interests fit within its scope. Send this together with your CV by email to Sandrine Mahieu at the British Council. Applicants should state clearly whether or not their own institution would be able to fund any of the travel or accommodation costs related to the seminar.
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
The deadline for completed applications is 31 January 2005.