ECU students selected to meet laureates in Germany

Craig Conticchio, a graduate student at East Carolina University, was selected by the U.S. Department of Energy as one of 18 outstanding research participants to attend the 53rd international convention of Nobel Laureates.

The convention is taking place in Lindau, Germany, June 30-July 4, and Conticchio will be participating in activities with Nobel Laureates relating to biology and medicine. Since 1951, Nobel Laureates in chemistry, physics and physiology/medicine have annually convened in Lindau to have open and informal meetings with students and young researchers from around the world.

Conticchio is the son of Helen and Frank Conticchio of Winterville, N.C. He is studying biomedical physics at East Carolina University.

DOE participants are joining 10 other students to represent the United States and more than 400 other international students at the convention. The other students representing the United States are sponsored by Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU), the U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine and the University of Arizona.

In Germany, Laureates will lecture on topics related to biology or medicine, including biochemistry, biotechnology and biophysics in the mornings. In the afternoons, Laureates will preside over informal roundtable sessions.

A Web site has been set up to post daily information while students are attending the meeting. Each day, photos and a summary of events will be posted. The URL for this year’s meeting is www.orau.gov/orise/edu/lindau2003.