TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – University of Alabama chemistry graduate student Keith Gutowski will join an elite group of students to meet with Nobel Laureates in Lindau, Germany, June 27-July 2.

Gutowski, of Wilmington, Del., was nominated by his two UA faculty advisers and chosen by a national panel to represent the United States in a meeting with Nobel Laureate scientists. “To first be nominated was such a surprise and honor, but I was beyond ecstatic when I found out I was chosen,” said Gutowski. “This is an amazing opportunity.”

The United States Department of Energy Office of Science is sponsoring 25 graduate students from across the country to attend the meeting. Since 1951 Nobel Prize winners in chemistry, physics, physiology or medicine and students in these areas and biology have met annually in Germany. Each year an international group of more than 400 students is invited to attend the weeklong meeting. The sessions provide world-renowned scientists with an opportunity to motivate and inspire students.

While there are formal lectures in the mornings, the afternoons and evenings are set aside for the students to meet informally with the Nobel Laureate scientists. These meetings will allow Gutowski to interact with Nobel Laureates and give him the opportunity to ask questions about their research as well as their scientific philosophies.

“I feel that research can be quite challenging and sometimes overwhelming,” Gutowski said. “I want to ask the Nobel Laureates how they persevered through their struggles and were able to present their research on a global scale.”

Eligible students must have completed two years, but not more than three years, toward a doctoral degree in the sciences, be a U.S. citizen and currently be enrolled at a university as a full-time graduate student. They also must be participating in a research project funded by DOE’s Office of Science.

Gutowski, who received his undergraduate degree from the University of Delaware, performs his graduate research with Drs. Robin Rogers and David Dixon, professors of chemistry in UA’s College of Arts and Sciences.

The UA student’s research focus is in inorganic chemistry and computational chemistry, with special emphasis on metal ion coordination in ionic liquids and modeling actinide ions to determine their electronic properties.

“I think the most important thing I hope to gain from this trip is being able to step outside of my own research and really learn about other scientists’ problems and research,” said Gutowski. “I want to know what is happening in science on a world-wide scale in 2005.”