LAGRS

The official site: https://lagrs.chemistry.msstate.edu/

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 Department of Chemistry and his accomplishments as a Chemist. Dr. Andrews has been a physical chemistry professor at 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. Simply put, Andrews’ work has fundamentally changed the understanding of chemical bonding in many elements. He has authored or co-authored more than 800 scientific papers since 1966 and his work has been cited over 18,500 times.

LAGRS is organized by the Chemistry Graduate Student Association (CGSA) at Mississippi State University. The event includes oral presentations by chemistry graduate students and 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 keynote lecture is given by an internationally recognized scientist selected by graduate student nominations and a vote held by the CGSA body.

Previous symposium lecturers have included:

2025 – Stephen A. Miller (University of Florida)
2022 – Thomas A. Holme (Iowa State University)
2021 – Craig Hawker (University of California Santa Barbara)
2020 – Adriaan Bax (NIH Laboratory of Chemical Physics)*
2019 – Marcetta Y. Darensbourg (Texas A&M University)
2018 – John F. Hartwig (University of California - Berkeley)
2017 – Harry Gray (California Institute of Technology)
2016 – Elton Cairns (University of California - Berkeley )
2015 – Naomi Halas (Rice University)
2014 – Guy Bertrand (University of California - San Diego)
2013 – Chen Peng (Cornell University)
2012 – Eric Jacobsen (Harvard University)
2011 – Brian M. Stoltz (California Institute of Technology)

*the in person portion of LAGRS 2020 was canceled due to COVID-19, the keynote lecture was delivered on-line.
 

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