NSF Trainee Travel Support for the 2026 International Conference on DNA Computing and Molecular Programming (DNA32)

This award supports student travel and registration expenses for the 32nd International Conference on DNA Computing and Molecular Programming (DNA32), which will take place August 3-7, 2026, in Fayetteville, AR. This support will provide students, the next generation of researchers, with the opportunity to present their work and interact with students from other institutions and senior researchers in the field. This conference emphasizes topics that bridge computation, biology, and nanotechnology and attracts top researchers in the fields of computer science, mathematics, chemistry, molecular biology, and nanotechnology. The scope of topics for invited and contributed talks include folding, design, evolution, and interactions of RNA molecules; computation using DNA-based chemical reaction networks; foundations of neural computing and artificial life, the design and construction of DNA and RNA nanostructures; demonstrations of biomolecular switches and circuits that process chemical information in vitro and in cells; molecular motors and molecular robots; studies of fault-tolerance and error correction in molecular self-assembly and molecular computation; synthetic biology and molecular evolution; DNA data storage; and software tools for analysis, simulation, and design of molecular structures and circuits. These topics have applications spanning engineering, physics, chemistry, biology, medicine, and education.

Conference organizers will use this award to support the travel of up to 20 students to travel to DNA 32. Students who plan to present their work at the conference, especially students from institutions that would otherwise be unable to afford conference attendance, and trainees in molecular computing research who might not otherwise have the opportunity, will be prioritized for awards. Requests for student applications will be circulated in regular conference announcements, and a committee of conference organizers will make selections from the received applications. The awards will support registration, travel, and accommodations for students. The availability of this support will foster broader conference attendance and help advance science and develop new technologies.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

Award Number: 2624838
Principal Investigator: Matthew Patitz
Funds Obligated: $20,000
State: AR