This symposium honors Professor K. N. Houk on the occasion of his 65th birthday. Over the last four decades, Houk's group has explored organic reactions, biological catalysis, and organic materials with computational methods, including quantum mechanics and molecular dynamics. The symposium features lectures by world leaders in computational chemistry and organic synthesis, areas of Houk's interests and collaborations over the years, and by distinguished "graduates" of the Houk group.

You can view photos of this event here.

Organizers

Frank Brown, Michael McAllister, David Spellmeyer, Thomas Strassner, Olaf Wiest, Yun-Dong Wu

Local Organizers

Houk Group, Paul Cheong, Amy Hayden, Laura Strom

Sponsors

Amgen Inc.; Intel Corp.; Merck & Co., Inc.; Microsoft Corp.; Pfizer Inc.

List of Attendees

Takeshi Akasaka, Christopher Anderson, Kaori Ando, Viktorya Aviyente, Sami Bahmanyar, Mike Bartberger, Brett Beno, Klaus Bescherer, David Birney, Kersey Black, Guillaume Bollot, Wes Borden, Frank Brown (+1), Luis Campos, Carina Cannizzaro, Saron Catak, Ito Chao, Eric Chen, Minserk Cheong, Paul Cheong, Kevin Condroski (+1), Jason DeChancie, Qiaolin Deng, Paula Diaconescu, Travis Dudding, Nicola Edwards, John Eksterowicz, Daniel Ess, Neil Garg, Robin Garrell, Javier Gonzalez, Ruth Gordillo, Hakan Gunaydin, Vildan Guner, Osvaldo Gutierrez, Amy Hayden, Roger Helgeson, Donald Hilvert, Yunfeng Hu, Robert Iafe, Scott Johnson, William Jorgensen, Mike Jung and Alice Jung, Herb Kaesz, Yashar Kalani, Ric Kaner and Sara Kaner, Seonah Kim, Gert Kiss, Elizabeth Krenske, Ohyun Kwon, Andrew Leach, Jeehiun Lee, Patrick Lee, Claude Legault, Yi Li, Ying Li, Jian Liu, Peng Liu, Melissa Lucero, Jiri Mareda, Heather Maynard and Arnold Baas, Mike McAllister, Patrick McCarren, Craig Merlic, Jim Na, Shigeru Nagase, Kenske Nakamura, Satomi Niwayama, Brian Northrop, Geoff Nosrati, Beatriz de Pascual-Teresa, Jennifer Radkiewicz Poutsma, Oliver Reiser, Yves Rubin, Luis Simon Rubio, Paul von Rague Schleyer (via video), Eric Scerri, Franziska Schoenebeck, Laura Serbulea, Joyner Sims, Adam Smith, Judi Smith, David Spellmeyer, Thomas Strassner (+1), Yu Takano, Dean Tantillo, Donald Truhlar, Gregori Ujaque, Joann Um, Gregory Vayner, Matt Walker and Jennifer Albaneze-Walker, Ilyas Washington, Paul Wender, Olaf Wiest, Sarah Wilsey, T.-C. Wu, Yun-Dong Wu, Fred Wudl, Lai Xu, Kizashi Yamaguchi, Fung Yeung, Zhi-xiang Yu, Xiyun Zhang

The deadline for RSVPs for the banquet is 6:00 p.m. PST, Friday, June 20, 2008.

Formal dress is not required.

The symposium fee is $50.00 for non-students and will be accepted at the registration desk in the CNSI Building on Friday, June 27, 2008.

Schedule of Events

Friday, June 27 - CNSI Auditorium

1:00 p.m. Opening Remarks

Discussion Leader: Sarah Wilsey

1:20 p.m. William L. Jorgensen

1:55 p.m. Thomas Strassner

2:15 p.m. Donald Truhlar

2:50 p.m. Coffee Break

Discussion Leader: Kizashi Yamaguchi

3:15 p.m. Kaori Ando

3:35 p.m. Weston T. Borden

4:10 p.m. Jennifer L. Poutsma

4:30 p.m. Yun-Dong Wu

5:05 p.m. Conclusion

Friday, June 27 - UCLA Faculty Center

6:00 p.m. Reception

7:00 p.m. Banquet

After Dinner Remarks - Former Group Members

Saturday, June 28 - CNSI Auditorium

Discussion Leader: Beatriz de Pascual Teresa

9:00 a.m. Paul von Rague Schleyer (via live video remote)

9:35 a.m. Jiri Mareda

9:55 a.m. Yu Takano

10:15 a.m. Coffee Break

Discussion Leader: Mike Bartberger

10:45 a.m. Donald Hilvert

11:20 a.m. Jeehiun Lee

11:40 a.m. Xiyun Zhang

12:00 p.m. Luncheon

Discussion Leader: Elizabeth Krenske

1:30 p.m. Paul Wender

2:05 p.m. Paul Cheong

2:25 p.m. Satomi Niwayama

2:45 p.m. Travis Dudding

3:00 p.m. Poster Presentations and Reception

Posters: Viktorya Aviyente, Brett Beno, David Birney, Nicola Edwards, Daniel Ess, Javier Gonzalez, Ruth Gordillo, Andrew Leach, Claude Legault, Melissa Lucero, Satomi Niwayama, Luis Simon, Olaf Wiest, T.-C. Wu, Jennifer Albaneze-Walker, current Houk Group research subgroups

PLEASE NOTE: The CNSI Building faces Young Hall/Molecular Sciences Building/Boyer Hall from across the Bomb Shelter and is just south of Boelter Hall. You can find it in Section E5 on our UCLA Campus Maps.

NOTES FOR SPEAKERS:

PC and Mac laptops will be available for your use if you are not able to bring your own laptop. All will have Powerpoint and Adobe Acrobat; Mac laptops will also have Keynote and Preview, and we will have Mac adapters for the projector.

If you need any equipment besides the CNSI LCD projector, or if your presentation has sound, please notify Laura Strom (strom@chem.ucla.edu).

NOTES FOR POSTER PRESENTERS:

The poster boards are 4 feet by 4 feet. If necessary, you can use more than one.

The final deadline for abstract submission for both posters and talks is 6:00 p.m. PST, Thursday, June 19, 2008.

Finished abstracts should be sent to Laura Strom (strom@chem.ucla.edu).

Accommodation Information

We have made arrangements for the following accommodation options:

UCLA Guest House

Dates reserved: June 27 and 28

Number of rooms reserved: 10

Room rate: $113/night for a queen bed or $118/night for a queen bed and kitchenette or a queen bed and twin bed. Guests are to pay their own charges.

Reservations: To avoid duplicate reservations, all Guest House reservations should be made by one contact person. Anyone wishing to reserve a room at the UCLA Guest House should contact Laura Strom (310/206-0515; strom@chem.ucla.edu) as soon as possible, and she will make the reservation.

Please note: We will be turning in our housing list and releasing any unused rooms on May 23, 2008.

Check-in/check-out: Check-in is after 3:00 p.m. on the day of arrival. Check-out is before 12:00 p.m. on the day of departure.

FYI: The UCLA Guest House is a non-smoking facility. Parking is free but on a first-come, first-served basis. If the Guest House parking lot is full, guests can park in the nearest parking structure for $8/day.

Address: 330 Charles E. Young Dr. East, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1466

Phone: 310/825-2923

Website: UCLA Guest House

UCLA Tiverton House

Dates reserved: June 26, 27, and 28

Number of rooms reserved: 20

Room rate: $139/night. Charges for invited speakers and special guests will be paid for by our UCLA symposium account. Other guests are to pay their own charges.

Reservations: To avoid duplicate reservations, all Tiverton House reservations should be made by one contact person. Anyone wishing to reserve a room at the UCLA Tiverton House should contact Laura Strom (310/206-0515; strom@chem.ucla.edu) as soon as possible, and she will make the reservation.

Please note: We will be turning in our housing list and releasing any unused rooms on May 23, 2008.

Check-in/check-out: Check-in is after 3:00 p.m. on the day of arrival. Check-out is before 12:00 p.m. on the day of departure.

FYI: The UCLA Tiverton House is a non-smoking facility. Parking is free for one car per room.

Address: 900 Tiverton Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90024-3013

Phone: 310/794-0151

Website: UCLA Tiverton House

Hilgard House

Dates reserved: June 26, 27, and 28

Number of rooms reserved: 15 for June 26; 20 for June 27 and 28

Room rate: $144/night for 1 person or $149/night for 2 people. Guests are to pay their own charges.

Reservations: Guests may contact Hilgard House directly to make their own reservations (please mention our group name: "Houk Symposium"), or they can contact Laura Strom (310/206-0515; strom@chem.ucla.edu) as soon as possible, and she will make the reservation.

The deadline for making a reservation at Hilgard House is May 26, 2008. After May 26, any unused rooms in our reservation block will be released. It may still be possible to get a room after May 26 at our negotiated rate, but availability will be on a first-come, first-served basis.

Check-in/check-out: Check-in is after 3:00 p.m. on the day of arrival. Check-out is before 12:00 p.m. on the day of departure.

FYI: Hilgard House is a non-smoking facility. Parking is free and available in the hotel for one regular-sized car per room. Oversized cars, trucks, SUVs, etc. can park nearby for a small fee.

Address: 927 Hilgard Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90024

Phone: 310/208-3945

Website: Hilgard House

Other Hotels Near UCLA

We do not have any arrangements with other local hotels, but this contact information may be helpful:

Claremont Hotel

Address: 1044 Tiverton Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90024

Phone: 310/208-5957; reservations 800/266-5957

Website: Claremont Hotel

FYI: Inexpensive.

W Hotel Westwood

Address: 930 Hilgard Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90024

Phone: 310/208-8765; reservations 877/822-0000

Website: W Hotel Westwood

FYI: Hip and expensive.

Hotel Angeleno

Address: 170 N. Church Lane, Los Angeles, CA 90049

Phone: 310/476-6411; reservations 866/ANGELENO

Website: Hotel Angeleno

FYI: Former Holiday Inn on the 405, considerably upgraded.