Vision of the COMET conference

Knowledge on interactions between atoms and molecules is vital to our understanding of the  nanoworld, which includes everything from combustion to molecular biology. Such interactions are best deciphered by studying energy transfer in dynamical processes. This field has developed by studies of energy transfer of small molecules in the gas-phase.  The goal is to obtain an atomic scale understanding of dynamical events controlling complex physico-chemical phenomena.

The field of molecular energy transfer has grown out of the study of simple systems especially studies of small molecules in the gas-phase. Today, this field is striving toward a fundamental understanding of more complex problems like molecular interactions at surfaces, in the condensed phase, biological molecules and even technology applications. This field is characterized by advanced experimental tools and a highly sophisticated level of theoretical analysis. By comparing experiment and theory at the most fundamental possible level, we seek an atomic scale understanding of complex phenomena as informative and detailed as has been proven to be possible for gas-phase binary collisions. This dynamical approach to studying complex phenomena remains a grand scientific challenge.

History

Previous COMET Meetings with the organizer; in addition to these COMET meetings Gordon Research Conference Meetings were held in between the COMET Meetings.