COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING & SCIENCE

The Next Gen Conversations: Albany @ Tech

Louisiana Tech University Next Gen Conversations Albany@Ruston

The 2nd Next Gen. Conversation will be held Tuesday June 9- Saturday June 13, 2026 at Louisiana Tech University.

The Conversations are supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation Award Number 2412981.

Registration and Abstracts

Registration for Upcoming Conversation taking place June 2026. Please reach out to the organizers if you are interested in joining the organizational committee. See you at the next conversation!”
Any abstract without a registration will be not be published

Contact the Conference Organizers

If you would like to speak or help organize please contact the organizers.

Dr. Tom Bishop

Dr. Kelly M. Thayer

Conference Publications

Bishop TC, Thayer KM, and Young R.
The Albany Conversations are now the Next Generation Conversations: Albany @ Ruston
Biophysical Reviews (2024), in press. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12551-024-01215-4

Bishop TC, Thayer KM, and Young R.
Book of Abstracts. The 1st Next Generation Conversations: Albany at Ruston 2024 (The 21st Albany Conversation)
Journal of Biomolecular Structure and Dynamics. 42(S1) 2024 https://doi.org/10.1080/07391102.2024.2384693

About the Next Gen Conversations: Albany @ Ruston

Past Albany Conversations

In 1979, Professor Ramaswamy H. Sarma invited a few of his scientific colleagues for a Conversation at the State University of New York in Albany. Since then the Albany Conversations on Biomolecular Structure and Dynamics have continued every other year at SUNY. The Conversations now include about 250-300 scientists from over 20 countries. Each five-day Albany Conversation began on a Tuesday in early June (of an odd year) with a welcome dinner and celebration, a Russian-Israeli party on Thursday night, evening addresses by one or two Nobel Laureates, and a Big Feast on Friday. Scientific sessions for each Conversation covered a wide range of computational, theoretical, and experimental aspects of biomolecular structure and dynamics. Speakers ranged from budding students to world-renowned experts. Posters were displayed for the duration of the meetings and served as conversation starters. International collaborations were forged and several Nobel Laureates can trace their career development to the Albany Conversations.

After 20 Conversations spanning a 40-year period, Professor Sarma is retiring and seeking to hand over the Conversation to the next generation. A critical element of the success of the Albany Conversations has always been an environment, isolated from distractions, that supports extended conversations and fosters lasting relationships. After careful consideration, Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, Louisiana, was identified as providing an ideal setting for continuing the Conversations.

Past Albany Conversations