In May, close to 100 students from 26 institutions across the United States came together in San Marcos, Texas for the CAMPS 2025 conference.
More than just a scientific meeting, CAMPS—short for Conference Across MRSEC and PREM Schools—has carved out a unique identify as a conference organized by students, for students. In total, 63 participants from PREM programs and 31 from MRSECs attended the conference.
“Not only is the format and content of the conference very student-centered, but it also provides the organizing committee members a great opportunity to develop their leadership and teamworking skills,” says Tania Betancourt, PREM PI for TxState-UT PREM Center for Intelligent Materials Assembly (CIMA).
Conference organizers came from PREMs and MRSECs across the U.S. and worked closely together over a span of months to brainstorm on content, speakers, format, branding, scripts, and everything else that comes with organizing a conference. “Personally, as the faculty advisor, I was very impressed and proud of what they accomplished,” says Betancourt.