May 13, 2018
Click here to view a detailed program.
Updates:
May 13th at 5:30 pm is the Welcome Reception at La Quinta. 6 pm the Poster session will begin in the Meeting Room at La Quinta.
May 14th and 15th, all student oral presentations will be in Hand Chemical Lab Rm 1144.
May 14th Dr. Hartwig's presentation is at 1:30 PM.
Lester Andrews Graduate Research Symposium (LAGRS)
The Lester Andrews Graduate Research Symposium (LAGRS) is an annual research symposium held at Mississippi State University. In 2011 the Lester Andrews Graduate Research Symposium was established in honor of Dr. W. Lester S. Andrews, PhD (BS 1963 graduate of MSU) for his support of the Chemistry Department and his accomplishments as a Chemist. Dr. Andrews has been a physical chemistry professor in the University of Virginia's College of Arts & Sciences for over 40 years. Andrews is well known for matrix-isolation spectroscopy research, an experimental method of studying the individual molecules of chemical compounds at very low temperatures. He has authored or co-authored more than 800 scientific papers since 1966 and his work has been cited over 18,500 times. Simply put, his work has fundamentally changed the understanding of chemical bonding in many elements.
The symposium is scheduled during a three-day period after the end of the spring semester around the third or fourth week of May and is organized by the Chemistry Graduate Student Association (CGSA). The event includes invited oral presentations by chemistry graduate students and invited poster presentations by both graduate and undergraduate students and is attended by undergraduate and graduate students, academic faculty, and industry researchers from all scientific disciplines, backgrounds, and nationalities.
Each year, a prestigious researcher is invited to attend the symposium and give a keynote lecture. The speaker is selected via graduate student nominations and a vote held by the CGSA body. The 2018 keynote lecture will be given by Dr. John F. Hartwig, University of California, Berkeley. Previous symposium lecturers have included:
- 2017 – Harry Gray (Caltech)
- 2016 – Elton Cairns (Berkeley)
- 2015 – Naomi Halas (Rice)
- 2014 – Guy Bertrand (UC San Diego)
- 2013 – Chen Peng (Cornell)
- 2012 – Eric Jacobsen (Harvard)
- 2011 – Brian M. Stoltz (Caltech)
In 2014 an endowment by Dr. Andrews was established in support of this symposium and through the generosity of Dr. Andrews the endowment allows for the award of more than $2,000 in travel grants to graduate students to attend and present at the symposium. Additionally, cash prizes are awarded for the top three oral presenters and the top three poster presentations totaling well over $1,000. The awards are decided by guest judges consisting of professors from multiple universities whom are invited to judge the presentations. Oral presentations are scored on organization, content, and presentation. Poster presentations are scored on content, presentation, figures, and mechanics.
The CGSA and the Department of Chemistry at Mississippi State University are extremely grateful to Prof. Andrews for his promotion and support of higher learning, the sciences, graduate students, and the Department of Chemistry at MSU.
CLICK HERE to register for the Lester Andrews Symposium.
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