BRIGHT IDEAS FROM THE BOX CANYON

A monthly newsletter that includes a collection of important news and updates from Telluride Science.

IN THE NEWS

With the Telluride Ski Resort closing on Sunday, April 3^rd, we are now enjoying the quieter pace of off-season while finalizing the planning of our summer events. Our annual series of Town Talks will be held on Tuesday evenings from June 7 – July 26, with a break over the 4^th of July holiday week. A full schedule with topics and speakers will be available in May. We are also working on a new line-up of public programming and summer events for our supporters.

Telluride Science Welcomes New Board Members!

We are excited to introduce our four new board members. Their breadth of experience and diverse backgrounds enhance and well-compliment the existing Board of Directors.

Adam Chambers

A strong proponent of science, Adam Chambers has a special focus on applied sciences and delivering real-time climate solutions for the world. Adam is a long-time Telluride resident who is currently employed as a climate scientist at the USDA. He holds a BS from Murray State University, an MS from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, and a Dr. rer. nat. (Doctor of Science) of Natural Resources from the Technical University of Vienna. When he is not working, Adam enjoys spending time with his wife and daughter or getting outdoors in our beautiful region.

Steve Corcelli

As a professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Notre Dame, Steve Corcelli is a theoretical chemist whose research focuses on the structure, dynamics, and spectroscopy of molecular and biomolecular solutes in solution. Steve has enjoyed coming to Telluride Science workshops (almost) every summer since 2005. He looks forward to serving the scientific community by supporting Telluride Science as a destination for world-class scientific research and education.

Laura O’Connor

Originally from Louisiana, Laura Lewis O’Connor left for Stanford University and eagerly adopted the West as home. A graduate of the UCLA School of Law, Laura has worked as a corporate securities attorney for Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and Jenkens & Gilchrist in addition to serving as counsel for an NYC-based quantitative hedge fund and general counsel for a small start-up life insurance company. Her extensive philanthropic work includes serving on boards and committees at Episcopal High School, the Hoover Institution, and the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. Laura and her husband, Kevin O’Connor, are avid supporters of Telluride Science and split their time between two of the most beautiful places on earth, Telluride and Santa Barbara.

Yogi Surendranath

Yogesh “Yogi” Surendranath is an Associate Professor of Chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who studies the fundamental chemistry of renewable energy. His research group aims to use renewable electricity to rearrange chemical bonds. He holds dual bachelor’s degrees in chemistry and physics from the University of Virginia and a PhD in inorganic chemistry from MIT. An exciting young leader in his field, Yogi has authored over 70 publications and is the recipient of numerous awards including the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the E. Bright Wilson Prize, and young investigator awards from the NSF, DOE, Air Force, Toyota, and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. For more on Yogi, please see our Spotlight on Science below.

THE DEPOT

We are very happy to announce that we have officially surpassed the $1M mark in Phase II of our capital campaign, but we need to keep the momentum going.

We need to raise $3M by the end of summer in order to start renovations in the fall. Missing our start date could result in a two to three-year delay due to contractor and trade availability.

We are laser-focused on hitting our fundraising targets. If you have friends or colleagues that might be interested in supporting the project, please email Annie Carlson .

SPOTLIGHT ON SCIENCE

Yogesh "Yogi" Surendranath

Associate Professor

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Yogesh "Yogi" Surendranath researches the chemistry of solid-liquid interfaces, and he is one of four new members of the Telluride Science Board. His lab at MIT addresses global challenges in the areas of chemical catalysis, energy storage and utilization, and environmental stewardship.

Thanks to Yogi, his team, and other major players in this field, we are getting closer to finding significant ways to reduce the carbon footprint of major systems in the energy, food, and material sectors.

“All of our systems on the globe need to be decarbonized over the next 20 to 30 years,” explained Yogi. “That is a truly monumental challenge. There is a wide cadre of researchers, technologists, startups, and major national conglomerates working on this problem. Our role in this is to try to build the fundamental science to help develop brand new technologies for the future that will be the bedrock of a decarbonized energy system.”

As the Principal Investigator of the Surendranath Group, Yogi is working toward a low-carbon energy future. A better understanding of the elementary charge transfer reactions that occur at the molecular and atomic levels will open up new ways to manipulate the reactions and create next-generation devices for renewable energy storage and utilization. Yogi's team conducts fundamental research and aims to use electricity to rearrange chemical bonds by controlling interfacial reactivity at the molecular level. This work has implications for nearly all of the contemporary challenges in renewable energy storage and utilization – from batteries to fuel cells, to electrolyzers.

Yogi also collaborates with other scientists through the MIT Energy Initiative and is working on a special project through the TATA Center to create a portable technology that uses solar or wind electricity to generate hydrogen peroxide from water and air. This project has the potential to significantly improve access to safe drinking water and sanitation in resource-constrained locations around the globe.

We're looking forward to welcoming Yogi back to Telluride this summer and learning more about his most recent work.

Q & A with Yogi

How long have you been involved with Telluride Science?

The first time I came to Telluride Science was in 2014, and I had never seen anything like it. All the conferences that I had previously attended were mega-sized. The small workshop format has a unique place in the scientific community and in the development of academic collaborations, ideas, and new fields.

What is your favorite Telluride Science memory?

The Telluride Science team was kind enough to fulfill my request for a Scandinavian lawn game called KUBB. My colleagues and I enjoyed an epic KUBB game during an afternoon picnic. I would never have imagined that I would be outside in an amazing setting, playing my favorite game with my colleagues and having really in-depth scientific conversations. This experience truly epitomizes how unique Telluride Science is and all that it has to offer.

How is Telluride Science different from other scientific conferences?

There are two things that I really love about Telluride Science. You have communities that are in potentially different workshops that are side by side. Because you eat lunch together or have other interactions, it allows for cross-fertilization that happens organically outside the classroom. There could be a workshop on water structure next to a workshop on advanced materials. Those two communities typically would not talk to each other, but Telluride Science allows for cross-collaboration between multiple disciplines.

I also really enjoy the ability to have excursions. I have had as many great conversations on hikes as I have had during official presentations in the classroom.

Complete Q & A

HOST A SCIENTIST

A special thanks to Miles & Nicole Cook, Sally Puff Courtney & Jim Harley, Jim & Joanne Steinback, John & Sueanne Kim, and Vadim Backman & Luisa Marcelino for offering lodging to a visiting scientist. Their support helps Telluride Science address the challenge of finding affordable lodging for our scientists.

If you are interested in hosting a scientist for five or six nights at an affordable rate in your guest house, condo, or home this summer or next fall/winter, please email Annie Carlson.

WHAT'S PLAYING

Telluride Science partnered with experts from MD Anderson, consistently ranked as the top cancer center in the nation, to lead a webinar on cutting-edge cancer treatments.

WATCH WEBINAR

WHAT'S HAPPENING

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

The gondola is closed for off-season and reopens May 26^th.

Mountainfilm, May 26–30, kicks off the start of the summer festival season. View a complete lineup of summer festivals here

Many restaurants are closed for off season. View dining options here

We are working on our summer public event schedule. Stay tuned for more details in May.

THANKS TO OUR LODGING PARTNERS

AvantStay

Telluride Alpine Lodging

AvantStay recently purchased the condo division of Telluride Alpine Lodging (TAL), our largest lodging provider. Although AvantStay is a property management company with properties all over the country, the company values the community of Telluride and will strive to offer affordable lodging rates for our visiting scientists. We are fortunate to be working with a new partner that is community-oriented.

We are extremely grateful for our long-standing relationship with TAL, which will continue to offer our scientists lodging options at their hotel properties – Mountainside Inn in Telluride and Bear Creek Lodge in Mountain Village.

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