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Q & A with Nandini Ananth
What is special about Telluride Science workshops?
The very first time I came to a workshop was when I had just accepted a faculty position at Cornell, but I hadn’t started yet so I was still transitioning into my faculty position. I was just delighted to meet so many people in my scientific community in this inspiring and intimate setting. It was a small group, about 20-25 people, many I did not know well but was familiar with their papers and lectures. It was a great introduction to this group of people.
Telluride Science workshops are much more relaxed than any conference I've ever been to. Conferences are typically tight in terms of how much time you are allotted to present. Very few people are listening and thinking about what you are saying. In Telluride, there is ample time to talk about things, to think about everyone else's work, and how it impacts your own work.
What is the Telluride School of Theoretical Chemistry?
A senior colleague Jack Simon started the school in 2008 to bring together advanced graduate students and expose them to key concepts in theoretical chemistry at a stage where they've had their basic course work. They have some familiarity with the fundamental ideas in quantum dynamics, chemical dynamics, electronic structure, statistical mechanics, and biophysics. The students are being exposed to material and ideas not typically taught in a graduate classroom. One exciting aspect is building a cohort of scientists that are at similar stages in their careers. They have the opportunity to meet faculty and lecturers, interact with each other in a collaborative and academic setting. We hope this collaborative environment seeds future academics, providing them with the skills they need to contribute meaningfully to solving some of our world’s greatest challenges.
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