BRIGHT IDEAS FROM THE BOX CANYON

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

IN THE NEWS

We are very excited to have our scientists back in town. Our summer workshops kicked off yesterday with a total of 150 scientists attending 8 different workshops this week. Our complete schedule of 42 meetings throughout the summer will find our scientists working on challenges in a variety of areas including energy storage, treating disease, understanding environmental changes, and evolving methodologies in quantum mechanics. We're excited to see what new developments emerge!

Our annual Town Talk series starts tonight and features Jonathan Snow from Louisiana State University with a presentation titled, Ice and Fire: Volcanoes of the Arctic Ocean. The Town Talk on June 14th is Harnessing the Power of the Immune System by Jayajit Das from Nationwide Children’s Hospital. The following week, on June 21, brings a panel discussion on Biology, Physics, and Nanoscience by Cees Decker from Delft University of Technology, Mike Rout from Rockefeller University, and Anton Zillman from the University of Toronto.

Town Talks

THE DEPOT

The Telluride Medical Center vacates the Depot at the end of June. We are on track with our fundraising goals to start renovations this fall. Our target is to raise $2 million by the end of the summer.

If you are interested in renting the Depot in July or August for a private event or have friends or colleagues who might be interested in supporting the Telluride Science & Innovation Center, please email Annie Carlson.

PRESIDENT OF TOP CANCER CENTER MD ANDERSON JOINS DEPOT BOARD

Telluride Science is thrilled to announce that Dr. Peter Pisters, President of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, has joined the Depot Advisory Board, helping to transform the Depot into the Telluride Science & Innovation Center. As a part-time Telluride resident since 2019 with decades of experience in the field of medicine, Dr. Pisters is an ideal candidate for the Depot Board. His guidance and breadth of experience as a cancer surgeon, researcher, professor, hospital administrator, and member of more than two dozen national organizations will prove invaluable as the Center takes shape. We are honored that Dr. Pisters believes in our mission and is lending his expertise to Telluride Science. Learn more about Dr. Pisters.

SPOTLIGHT ON SCIENCE

Ignacio Franco

Associate Professor of Chemistry and Physics

University of Rochester

Ignacio Franco is a fan of speed and control. He is not a Formula One race car driver but a Theoretical Chemist with a focus on quantum dynamics. Franco utilizes lasers to control how matter moves on a very fast time scale—a femtosecond which is a millionth of a billionth of a second.

In 2013, Franco fell in love with Telluride during his first Telluride Science workshop. The small, intimate size of the Telluride Science workshops that foster deep and meaningful discussions and the opportunity to build a network of passionate scientists in his field of study has been immensely valuable.

Ignacio’s research was just published in the scientific journal Nature. Lasers allow us to generate bursts of electricity on femtosecond timescales but the ability to process information on these ultrafast time scales has not been possible. However, the recent discovery of a logic-gate (a building block of computation and information processing that also operates at femtosecond time scales) could change this. The logic-gate could be key to the development of a new ultrafast computer that is almost a million times faster than our current computers. “Fundamental science opens paths for the development of new technologies,” said Franco.

Learn More

At the Telluride School of Theoretical Chemistry. Franco had the pleasure of instructing and training the next generation of theoretical chemists in quantum dynamics

Q & A with Ignacio

How has Telluride Science impacted your career?

Telluride has allowed me to develop a community of like-minded people that are interested in Quantum Frontiers in Matter and get a sense of what will be the next important things in this field.

How is Telluride Science different from other scientific conferences?

There are many concurrent meetings, and it is a small town. A big segment of your field will be in town and you will bump into them. You have the personal interactions during the meeting and also the opportunity to network with people in your field or related fields that are in town for another workshop. The surroundings are very beautiful. You have to watch out for the bears so that is unique. It is a wonderful place to think about science and reconnect with others.

Complete Q & A

HOST A SCIENTIST

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. We are especially in need of lodging July 11-17.

A SPECIAL THANKS

Finding affordable lodging for our scientists is a big challenge. We are so grateful to the following people for offering to host a scientist:

Andi Alexander
Vadim Backman & Luisa Marcelino
Meg & Jay Bodnar
Miles & Nicole Cook
Sally Puff Courtney & Jim Harley
John & Sueanne Kim
Dave & Kelly Jemison
Jim & Joanne Steinback

WHAT'S HAPPENING

TOWN TALKS

Our annual series of public Town Talks kicks off TONIGHT at 6:30 pm at the Telluride Conference Center. This talk features Jonathan Snow of LSU who will present "Ice and Fire: Volcanoes of the Arctic Ocean."

Town Talks are held Tuesday evenings from June 7 to July 26 (except July 5). Review a schedule here.

We are thrilled that award-winning journalists Judy Muller and George Lewis will return this summer to host our talks.

And, congrats to our beloved Judy on the recent publication of her new book, The Red-Headed Cook of the Desert: Meth, Murder and Motherhood. Though it reads like a Netflix series-worthy work of fiction, this page-turner is true. It's no wonder that the extraordinary life story of Norwood waitress, Cheri Matthews, pulled Judy out of retirement to tell this tale. Pick up a copy locally at Between the Covers Bookstore today!