We are pleased to announce the above ACS PRF Summer School to be held in Telluride Colorado, July 10-21, 2006. This school, sponsored by the Telluride Science Research Center, is designed for graduate students, who have completed their first two years of graduate study, and postdoctoral research scientists in theoretical and experimental chemistry.

Lecturers at this School include: Dana Dlott (University of Illinois), Sharon Hammes-Schiffer (Pennsylvania State University), Edwin L. Sibert (University of Wisconsin), James L. Skinner (University of Wisconsin), John E. Straub (Boston University), Gregory A. Voth (University of Utah), and Martin T. Zanni (University of Wisconsin).

Ultra-fast, non-linear spectroscopy is emerging as a potent tool for unraveling and elucidating the dynamics of molecules in the condensed phase. Experimental and theoretical research in this area hold the promise of providing an understanding of how the solvent environment affects, both passively and actively, the motions of molecules. The Summer School will bring together experts in these areas of research, representing advanced aspects of experimental, theoretical, and computational research, with the goal of defining outstanding research challenges that can be addressed by theory and experiment.

The objectives of this Summer School are (1) to bring together scientists at the Graduate or Postdoctoral level in order to expose them to the range of computational tools and experimental techniques available and (2) to work with these scientists in order to formulate critically those areas of research that will benefit most from a synergy between theory and experiment.

The format of the Summer School is designed to maximize discussion, facilitate the exchange of information, and encourage the development of new research directions. Participants will be provided with research papers in advance. Formal lectures will place these papers in context and highlight the central themes of the papers. Each lecture will be accompanied by breakout sessions of small groups during which more detailed questions are formulated. Breakout sessions will also serve as a means to share knowledge about specific experimental and theoretical techniques. In this regard, we assume that the participants will have significant knowledge about their own research areas and that they will contribute by sharing this knowledge with others as appropriate. The last few days of the Summer School will be dedicated to formulating new research directions based on what has been learned at the School.

Participants will receive travel and housing allowances thanks to funding from the Petroleum Research Fund of the American Chemical Society (ACS PRF). Each participant will receive $400 for travel, $300/week for lodging, and $30/day for food. The travel cost is an estimate and will be adjusted depending on actual travel costs. All participants are expected to attend the full schedule of the Summer School.