UF student selected to attend meeting of Nobel Prize Laureates

June 19, 2006

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A University of Florida student will attend the 56th Lindau Meeting of Nobel Prize Laureates as part of a student delegation of 60 students from the United States.

Julia Keller was chosen for the award sponsored by the Oak Ridge Associated Universities after being nominated by UF chemist Kirk Schanze.

“Many students are very deserving, and it is a blessing to have such a wonderful opportunity to be able to travel along with other enthusiastic graduate students from around the country, and with them have the honor to converse with some of the greatest, most creative minds in the field of chemistry,” Keller said.

Keller researches the excited state properties, like absorption and luminescence, of p-conjugated platinum acetylide oligomers. She is a teaching assistant in the UF chemistry department.

Keller holds a master’s degree from Western Kentucky University. She is the daughter of Stephen and Rebecca Raymer of Owensboro, Ky.

Since 1951, Nobel Laureates in chemistry, physics and physiology/medicine convene annually in Lindau, Germany, to have open and informal meetings with students and young researchers. This year’s event will focus on chemistry.

The Laureates will lecture on topics of their choice related to chemistry in the mornings and participate in less formal small group discussions with the students in the afternoons and some evenings. The meeting begins June 25 and runs through June 30.

A Web site has been set up to post daily information while students are attending the meeting. Each day, photos and a summary of events will be posted. The URL for this year’s meeting is http://www.orau.gov/lindau2006.