MASM: Information

Location

MASM 25 will take place at the in the Glass Pavilion on the Homewood Campus of Johns Hopkins University

Directions and Parking

The following directions bring you to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions at Mason Hall, which is located at 3101 Wyman Park Drive. Visitor parking is available in the South Garage, beneath the building.

From Mason Hall, visitors can walk north 0.2 miles to Levering Hall. Mason Hall sits at the end of an oval-shaped quad across from Garland Hall, and Levering Hall is just behind Garland. MASM will be held in the north wing of Levering Hall, called the Glass Pavilion. Visitors can look up walking directions interactively here or find a static map here.

From the north (via I-95 or I-83): Take I-695 (Baltimore Beltway) towards Towson, then take exit 25 (Charles Street) and follow Charles Street south for about seven miles. When Charles Street splits a block after Cold Spring Lane, stay to the left and merge onto St. Paul Street. Continue on St. Paul Street, then turn right onto 29th Street. After crossing Charles Street, bear right onto Howard Street. At the next light, turn left onto Wyman Park Drive. Continue to the third driveway on the right, and enter the South Garage, where visitor parking is available.

From the south (via I-95): Take exit 53 (I-395 Downtown) and stay in the right lane. As I-395 ends you will see Oriole Park at Camden Yards on your left. Turn right on Pratt Street, then proceed about 10 blocks to President Street (just past the National Aquarium). Turn left onto President Street and stay straight, continuing onto I-83 North. Exit onto Druid Park Drive/28th Street. Bear right onto 28th Street, then turn left onto Sisson Street at the first light. Continue to the second light and turn right onto Wyman Park Drive. Go through the next light, crossing Remington Avenue, and turn right at the stop sign to stay on Wyman Park Drive. Turn left into the first driveway and enter the South Garage, where visitor parking is available.

From the east (via Route 50 or I-97): Take Route 50 East to exit 21 (I-97 Baltimore). Continue on I-97 to exit 17A (I-695 Baltimore/Towson). Continue on I-695 to exit 11A (I-95 North, Baltimore). Follow the directions above from the south on I-95.

From the west (via I-70): Take I-70 toward Baltimore; take exit 91A (I-695 Glen Burnie). Continue on I-695 to exit 11A (I-95 North, Baltimore). Follow the directions above from the south on I-95.

Public Transportation 

For public transit, visitors can take Amtrak or MARC to Baltimore Penn Station, and then the Purple or CityLink Silver bus route north to Charles St and 31st St (Baltimore Museum of Art stop), from which it is a 0.5 mile walk through campus to the Glass Pavilion. Uber and Lyft and local Cabs also service Penn Station.

FAQ

Q. What is the Point of this workshop?

A. To get people talking to each other. Many of us probably don't realize that our fields overlap. This is a great way to spend the day informally chatting and introducing ourselves. It is also the perfect opportunity for students and post-docs to advertise their work and themselves.

Q. What is Soft Matter?

A. Soft Matter is a generic definition of materials that are squishy. We think that Soft Matter can also be a broad class of problems relating to the form and function of soft materials. Different fields approach these materials in different ways. Physicists and engineers like to create, manipulate and measure the softness of materials with a variety of methods. Biologists on the other hand use the tools of Soft Matter to understand the materials that they are given by plants and animals.

Q. What is a sound bite, and how should I prepare to give one?

A. A sound bite is a short and concise talk. You should prepare for a presentation of 3 minutes. A time limit will be strictly enforced to ensure that everyone gets an equal opportunity to talk. To prepare you should keep in mind that you have a very limited time to get a single idea across. You should make sure that everyone knows who you are, where you come from, and most importantly a single straight forward exposition of what you are working on.

The sound bite should contain enough information about your research so that people with similar problems and interests know to seek you out during coffee and lunch. You should also prominently display your email and website if you have one.

Mission Statement

Our mission is to create a highly interdisciplinary workshop that draws upon researchers from academic, industrial and National Laboratories in the Mid-Atlantic region. The auspicious combination of density and quality of research groups provides a reservoir for ideas and an excellent opportunity for community-building and networking. A soft matter workshop provides an ideal forum for researchers with interests that reside at the interfaces between conventional disciplines. The workshop will also naturally assist in the career advancement of young scientists by acquainting them with the local academic and industrial research community.