The Gordon-Kenan Research Seminar on Physical Virology is a unique forum for graduate students, post-docs, and other scientists with comparable levels of experience and education to present and exchange new data and cutting edge ideas relevant to the area of virus-inspired systems.

Virus capsids, in particular, have properties that have elicited an increased interest for various applications of potential technological importance, e.g., responsiveness to environmental changes, the ability to spontaneously and efficiently self-assemble in vitro or in vivo with sub-nanometer accuracy, and the possibility of structural engineering using established molecular biology methods.

The focus of this meeting is on:

1. providing a non-intimidating forum for the discussion of physical, biological, and materials perspectives that are rapidly shaping the field of viruses as physical functional systems, and
2. providing career mentorship by addressing the challenges and opportunities related to interdisciplinary research, including:
   1. how to create one’s niche in a diverse field
   2. what types of jobs are available to applicants with an interdisciplinary background
   3. how the continuous evolution of this field might impact future career prospects