Reflections on the Gordon Research Conferences
Carlyle B. Storm begins the interview describing his family background and chosen academic path. After obtaining his Ph.D., Storm became a professor of chemistry at Howard University and worked to secure funding for research. In the early 1980s, he accepted a position at Los Alamos National Laboratory, where he researched conventional high explosives as chief scientist, becoming program manager in 1989. Storm first attended Gordon conferences in the early 1970s, and in 1988, he founded and chaired the Energetic Materials Conference. Storm's experiences managing scientists at Los Alamos and working with non-profit boards uniquely qualified him to become the director of the Gordon Research Conferences in 1993. As director, Storm traveled to many conferences, improved administrative processes, and evaluated the economic, participation dynamics, and governance of the organization. Under his leadership, the conferences expanded across the country and the globe. Storm has worked hard to ensure that each conference follows the Gordan format and brand image, no matter where in the world it is. Storm feels strongly that graduate students should participate in the conferences, and has encouraged their participation through programs such as the Gordon-Kenan Summer Schools and Graduate Research Seminars. Additionally, he has considered developing a permanent facility for the Gordon Research Conferences. Storm concludes the interview by recalling scientific advances that have been realized as a result of the interaction among leading scientists at the Gordon Research Conferences.
Howard University
1968 - 1970
Assistant Professor of Chemistry
Howard University
1970 - 1973
Associate Professor of Chemistry
Howard University
1972 - 1985
Consultant, Center For Sickle Cell Disease, College of Medicine
Howard University
1973 - 1986
Professor of Chemistry
Howard University
1976 - 1986
Graduate Professor of Chemistry
Howard University
1982 - 1985
Adjunct Professor of Biochemistry
National Institute of General Medicinal Sciences
1972 - 1985
Consultant, General Research Support Program Advisory Committee
University of Oxford
1974 - 1975
Senior Visitor, Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory
National Institutes of Health
1975 - 1985
Consultant, Minority Biomedical Research Support Program
University of Trondheim, Norway
1977 - 1977
Visiting Professor, Department of Chemistry
Down Syndrome, Papers and Abstracts for Professionals
1978 - 1985
Assistant Editor
Los Alamos National Laboratory
1981 - 1982
Visiting Staff Member, Stable Isotope Research Resource
Los Alamos National Laboratory
1985 - 1989
Staff Member, Explosives Technology Group, Dynamic Testing Division
Los Alamos National Laboratory
1989 - 1992
Program Manager for Materials Research, Dynamic Testing Division
Los Alamos National Laboratory
1992 - 1993
Chief Scientist and Program Manager for Technology Development, Explosives Technology and Applications Division
TELTECH
1991 - 1993
Consultant
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
1989 - 1993
Member, Research Center for Energetic Materials, Industry Advisory Board
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
1991 - 1992
Vice Chair, Research Center for Energetic Materials, Industry Advisory Board
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
1992 - 1993
Chair, Research Center for Energetic Materials, Industry Advisory Board
Gordon Research Conferences
1993
Director
Panel on Research Opportunities in Energy Conversion
1994 - 1994
Chair, Naval Studies Board
Title and Description Page
Personal Background and Career Path 1
Family background and early interest in chemistry. Academic and career related choices. Efforts to secure funding for research at Howard University. Experiences and development of management style at Los Alamos National Laboratory.
Getting Involved with the Gordon Research Conferences (GRC) 9
Introduction to GRC. Dynamics of participation and economy of GRC. Founding Energetic Materials Conference. Proposing and chairing a conference.
Administration, Management, and Governance of GRC 17
Directing GRC. Modifying administration and management. Governance structure. Starting, evaluating, and terminating conferences. Relationship between the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and GRC. Activity of the board of trustees. GRC staff. Marketing GRC.
Expansion of GRC 27
National and international expansion. GRC as a model for other conferences. Institutional and international representation at conferences. Prepping conference chairs and evaluating conferences. GRC brand image.
GRC Innovation, Growth, and Future Endeavors 33
The Gordan-Kenan Summer Schools and Graduate Research Seminars. Participation of graduate students. Growth of GRC. Current and prospective conference facilities and locations. Scope of science at GRC. Flagship conferences and moments of innovation. Endeavoring to understand the history of innovation at GRC.
Notes 41
Index 43
Arthur Daemmrich
Arthur Daemmrich is an assistant professor in the Business, Government, and International Economy Unit at Harvard Business School and a senior research fellow at the Chemical Heritage Foundation. His research examines science, medicine, and the state, with a focus on advancing theories of risk and regulation through empirical research on the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and chemical sectors. At HBS he also plays an active role in an interdisciplinary Healthcare Initiative, advancing scholarship and developing applied lessons for the business of creating and delivering health services and health-related technologies. Daemmrich was previously the director of the Center for Contemporary History and Policy at the Chemical Heritage Foundation. He earned a Ph.D. in Science and Technology Studies from Cornell University in 2002 and has held fellowships at the Social Science Research Council/Berlin Program for Advanced German and European Studies, the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and the Chemical Heritage Foundation. He has published widely on pharmaceutical and chemical regulation, biotechnology business and policy, innovation, and history of science.
Arnold Thackray
Arnold Thackray founded the Chemical Heritage Foundation and served the organization as president for 25 years. He is currently CHF’s chancellor. Thackray received M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in history of science from Cambridge University. He has held appointments at Cambridge, Oxford University, and Harvard University, the Institute for Advanced Study, the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
In 1983 Thackray received the Dexter Award from the American Chemical Society for outstanding contributions to the history of chemistry. He served for more than a quarter century on the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania, where he was the founding chairman of the Department of History and Sociology of Science and is currently the Joseph Priestley Professor Emeritus.