Student Selected to Meet With Nobel Laureates

Penn State student Jason Stairs, a Ph.D. candidate in chemistry, has been chosen by the Department of Energy as one of 26 graduate students nationwide to participate in the 52nd Meeting of Nobel Laureates to be held in July in Lindau, Germany.

The meeting provides an opportunity for outstanding students to interact with former Nobel Prize winners and other students from around the world in an informal setting. This year's meeting highlights research in chemistry and will involve the participation of more than 20 Nobel laureates and approximately 400 students worldwide.

Stairs is a 1999 graduate of Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia with a bachelor's degree in chemistry. Since then he has worked as a graduate assistant under A. Welford Castleman Jr., Evan Pugh Professor of Chemistry and Physics and Eberly Family Distinguished Chair in Science at Penn State.

"It's clearly going to be a stimulating and unique experience that few individuals get during their lifetime," Castleman said. "It's a wonderful opportunity for an up-and-coming scientist, especially during his graduate studies."

Stairs was awarded the American Chemical Society Young Chemist Award in 1995 and a research-equipment grant from Sigma Xi fraternity. He is a member of the American Physical Society and American Chemical Society, a student affiliate of the American Chemical Society, and a member of Sigma Xi.