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Thomas Klinckman, a graduate student in chemistry at The University of Memphis, has been chosen as one of 36 American students and 600 from around the world, to spend a week in Europe studying with Nobel Laureates.
The group will join the elite scientific group June 26-30 in Lindau, Germany, for the 50th anniversary of the Nobel Laureates' meeting. The students will attend the scientists' lectures and participate with them in daily small group discussions.
Klinckman, who earned a bachelor of science degree in chemistry from Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tenn., is working toward his doctorate in computational chemistry at The U of M under the direction of Dr. Thomas Cundari. he anticipates receiving the dgree in December 2000, then pursuing a research career.
"This is one of the top honors a graduate student can get," Cundari said. "Thomas earned it based on his track record; he has worked with me for two-and-a-half years, and last summer he did research at the Department of Energy's lab in Los Alamos. He is one of 13 chemists invited to attend the Laureates' meeting."
Cundari also explained that Klinckman's field of specialty involves the use of computers to create models for studying chemical reactions. "He works with catalytic reactions," Cundari said. "That's important to the environment, in that it can help lead to cleaner air."
All the U.S. students are in their second or third year of graduate work and are doing research funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, which is sponsoringthe trip. Some of the other institutions represented on the trip are MIT, Princeton, Rutgers, UCLA, UC Berkeley, USC, Tulane, UT Knoxville, and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
Each year since 1951, Nobel Prize winners in the fields of chemistry, physics, or physiology and medicine have met in Lindau to discuss with students issues of importance in their respective areas of expertise. Usually, scientists in each specialty area met every three years; this year the 50th anniversary of the gathering, all three disciplines will combine their meeting. Members of the Swedish royal family are also expected to attend this year's event.
Klinckman is the son of Thomas and Linda Klinckman of Franklin, Tenn.