Achievement

On 12/9/ 09 we held our 4th "Bridging the Gap" symposium. The speaker, Dr Robert Finkelman (Univ Texas-Dallas) is an expert on coal impact on the environment and health. Two trainees and Mentors Schoonen and Simon also presented talks. The response to these minisymposia was very positive, and we held another on 4/20/10 with mentor Dr Bruce Demple, and Dr Lisa Miller from Brookhaven National Lab. Two trainees also presented. In an annual survey we asked the trainees if the mini-symposia are useful. All trainees responded very useful (77%) or useful (23%). A trainee remarked: "Giving a talk for researchers outside my field was a valuable learning experience". Another noted: "The speakers we get always have interesting topics relating metals to human health. It is nice to be able to interact with scientists from different disciplines. I work with the inorganic side of things and it is great to get exposure to how biological systems react to the inorganic materials I am a familiar with."