Records of the Gordon Research Conferences

The Gordon Research Conferences (GRC) is a non-profit educational organization that arranges scientific conferences. Dedicated to building communities that advance the frontiers of science, the GRC brings together global networks of scientists to discuss the latest pre-publication research in their fields. In order to foster free and frank exchanges of ideas, note taking is discouraged and no formal records of the conferences are published.

The origins of the GRC date back to the late 1920s, when Johns Hopkins University’s Department of Chemistry began an intermittent series of summer meetings to present new findings in chemistry and related fields. Neil E. Gordon, the Chair of Chemical Education at Johns Hopkins, soon took charge of organizing these meetings. Prominent academics from across the United States appealed to Gordon for permission to attend these meetings.

The organization that became the Gordon Research Conferences was founded in 1931, when Neil E. Gordon began organizing formal summer meetings held on an annual basis. The initial meetings were held under the auspices of Johns Hopkins University. Seeking a more remote location, Gordon moved the meetings to Gibson Island, Maryland in 1934, where they became known as the Gibson Island Conferences. In 1938, he persuaded the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) to take a formal role in organizing the conferences, with himself serving as Director. Under the AAAS’ auspices, the number of conferences grew. From 1938 to 1941, these conferences were known as the Special Research Conferences on Chemistry. In 1942, they were renamed the AAAS-Gibson Island Research Conferences.

In 1945, Gordon relinquished control of the conferences to his assistant, polymer chemist Sumner B. Twiss. In 1947, the conferences were moved to Colby Junior College (now known as Colby-Sawyer College) in New London, New Hampshire and renamed the Chemical Research Conferences. That same year, W. George Parks, a Professor of Chemistry at the Rhode Island State College (now known as the University of Rhode Island), was appointed Director. In 1948, in honor of founder Neil E. Gordon, the organization was renamed the Gordon Research Conferences.

Under W. George Parks’ leadership (1947-1968), the GRC experienced significant growth. Parks moved Its headquarters to Rhode Island State College’s campus in Kingston, Rhode Island. By 1956, the organization was holding thirty-six conferences with nearly four thousand participants from forty-six countries. That same year, the GRC was formally incorporated as a non-profit organization. Also under Parks’ directorship, new conference sites were added in New England and the West Coast.

In 1968, Alexander M. Cruickshank, a Professor of Chemistry at the University of Rhode Island and W. George Parks’ longtime assistant, was appointed Director of the GRC. Under Cruickshank’s directorship (1968-1993), the GRC continued to grow rapidly. Additional conference sites in New England were added and the organization held its first overseas conferences in Italy (1990) and Germany (1991). The number of conferences and attendees also grew.

Carlyle B. Storm, previously Chief Scientist for the Energetic Materials and Testing Division at Los Alamos National Laboratory, was appointed Director of the GRC in 1993. Under Storm’s directorship (1993-2003), the GRC continued to experience rapid expansion. New international conference sites were added in Europe and Asia, including those in Switzerland, England, Hong Kong, and Japan. The GRC’s headquarters were moved to a new building in West Kingston, Rhode Island in 2002. Storm retired as Director in 2003 and was succeeded by current President and CEO Nancy Ryan Gray (2003-Present).

The GRC currently organizes over 395 Gordon Research Conferences and Gordon Research Seminars per year in a wide range of scientific fields. It continues to maintain its policies of encouraging the informal free exchange of ideas and not publishing formal records of its conferences.

Sources

Gordon Research Conferences 75th Anniversary Website – https://www.frontiersofscience.org

Gordon Research Conferences Website – https://www.grc.org

Records of the Gordon Research Conferences, Science History Institute Archives, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.