Oral history interview with Carlyle B. Storm

2023-01-10T15:35:02-05:00

Carlyle B. Storm begins the interview describing his family background and chosen academic path. After obtaining his PhD, Storm became a professor of chemistry at Howard University and worked to secure funding for research. In the early 1980s, he accepted a position at Los Alamos National Laboratory, where he researched conventional high explosives as chief scientist, becoming program manager in 1989. Storm first attended Gordon conferences in the early 1970s, and in 1988, he founded and chaired the Energetic Materials Conference. Storm's experiences managing scientists at Los Alamos and working with non-profit boards uniquely qualified him to become the director of the Gordon Research Conferences in 1993. As director, Storm traveled to many conferences, improved administrative processes, and evaluated the economic, participation dynamics, and governance of the organization. Under his leadership, the conferences expanded across the country and the globe. Storm has worked hard to ensure that each conference follows the Gordon format and brand image, no matter where in the world it is. Storm feels strongly that graduate students should participate in the conferences, and has encouraged their participation through programs such as the Gordon-Kenan Summer Schools and Graduate Research Seminars. Additionally, he has considered developing a permanent facility for the Gordon Research Conferences. Storm concludes the interview by recalling scientific advances that have been realized as a result of the interaction among leading scientists at the Gordon Research Conferences.