Gordon Research conferences "Dielectric Phenomena" 1965-1994

In 1965, John Hoffman, then Director of the Institute for Material Research at the National Bureau of Standards1, initiated the first Gordon Research Conferences in Dielectric Phenomena. This first conference was held on 21-25 June 1965 at Proctor Academy, Andover, New Hampshire. John Hoffman was the first Chairperson of the GRC in Dielectric Phenomena and Robert H. Cole, Professor at Brown University, was the Vice-Chairperson. This first conference covered topics of interest in polar liquids, dielectric relaxation in organic glasses and polymers, dielectric absorption in gases and dipolar rotation in molecular crystals.

Considering the amount of time required to generate new results so that new and timely research could be presented at these conferences, it was decided by the attendees to hold the next meeting in 1966 and every other year thereafter.

There was a concerted effort by the chairpersons of the conferences to present an appropriate balance between theory and experimental presentations. In the early eighties, the research area of dielectric breakdown became a component of the GRC on Dielectric Phenomena. Research interests in the late eighties re-focused on the application of dielectrics to systems of polymers, polymer solutions, polymer blends and glasses. In 1994, a proposal to expand the scope of the conference was submitted to the GRC and the conference 1994 was the last conference on Dielectric Phenomena.

The links below follow lead to programs of the Gordon Research Conferences on Dielectric Phenomena from 1965 to 1994. These are presented in the spirit of a historical archive to the development of the field dielectrics. One can note the progress in dielectric research from 1965 by the change in specific research topics presented at each successive conference.