conference

I attended an oral presentation session, and sat through two presentations. Both threw around words I have never heard and did not understand a whole lot. The first presentation was given by Kristen Johnson over alkene hydroacylation. This was a presentation on new methods to do this reaction, which creates new synthetic materials. She went over her new method using a metal catalyst, and all of the positives of this reaction versus previous reactions involving other materials that weren't as atom-economical, and catalytic. It was all rather confusing, but her presentation was well put together.

 The second presentation was about wear and tear on concrete and precast in buildings, and how rocking affects it. So, Mr. Demitrious studied structures and their displacement due to a rocking phenomenon. He went through the energy displacement, and talked about the stress and strain on concrete and precast due to this rocking energy. He continued to conclude which models and designs gave the most stabilization, and least amount of wear.