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September 13, 2012

Birck Nanotechnology Center event to showcase breadth of research

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue University's Birck Nanotechnology Center will showcase the breadth of its research portfolio during a daylong review and open house on Oct. 10.

Ali Shakouri

Ali Shakouri
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Supratik Guha, director of physical sciences at IBM Corp. for the Thomas J. Watson Center, will kick off the event with a keynote speech at 8:30 a.m. in Discovery Park's Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship, Room 121.

Industry officials, legislators, government agency officials, and representatives of peer institutions and national research laboratories are encouraged to interact with the Purdue researchers, students and staff about collaboration opportunities.

The event is free and open to the public, but space is limited. Registration is encouraged by going online to https://purdue.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_0BxCfx2Bh0AisBL

"Birck Nanotechnology Center is propelling Purdue to be a key player in this exciting research field. This event will allow our researchers to showcase the world-class research they are conducting here," said Ali Shakouri, the Mary Jo and Robert L. Kirk Director of the Birck Nanotechnology Center in Purdue's Discovery Park.

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The Birck Nanotechnology Center has been a major resource for recruiting some of the best and brightest faculty members and researchers to advance how nanotechnology can improve our lives. We hope to make this an annual event."


Key Purdue researchers speaking and the times of their talks are as follows:

* 9:30-10 a.m. - Joerg Appenzeller, scientific director of nanoelectronics at Birck and professor of electrical and computer engineering, "Nanoelectronics."

* 10-10:30 a.m. - Vladimir Shalaev, scientific director of nanophotonics at Birck and the Robert and Anne Burnett Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, "Nanophotonics."

* 10:45-11:15 a.m. - Joseph Irudayaraj, professor of agricultural and biological engineering and deputy director of the Bindley Bioscience Center, "Bionanotechnology."

* 11:15-11:45 a.m. - Dimitrios Peroulis, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering and mechanical engineering, "MEMS/NEMS."

* 12:30-1 p.m. - Yuan Yao, professor of food sciences, "Use of Nanotechnology to Improve Food Safety."

* 1-1:30 p.m. - Tim Fisher, professor of mechanical engineering, "Energy Conversion and Heat Transfer."

* 1:30-2 p.m. - Arvind Raman, professor of mechanical engineering, "Nanometrology and Surface Science."

* 2-2:30 p.m. - Mike Manfra, the William F. And Patty J. Miller Associate Professor of Physics, associate professor of materials engineering and associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, "MBE Growth of Ultrapure Semiconductor Heterostructures: Applications to Quantum Computing."

A 2:30-3:30 p.m. panel discussion - also in Burton D. Morgan Center, Room 121 - will feature several Purdue department heads who will discuss key research areas and potential interdisciplinary collaborative opportunities in energy and health.

That will be followed by a 4-6 p.m. poster session of nanotechnology research by Purdue graduate students in the Birck atrium.

"Nearly 160 faculty members from 25 Purdue departments utilize Birck to advance nanoscale science to create innovative nanotechnologies addressing societal challenges and opportunities in computing, communications, the environment, security, energy and health," said Monica Allain, managing director at Birck. "More than 420 'users' from 117 different research groups utilized the Birck Nanotechnology Center last year."

Guha's research interests are in the areas of new materials for energy conversion and logic devices. As a member of the IBM Academy of Technology, Guha is responsible for setting strategy and directing IBM's research in the physical sciences.

Nanotechnology is the ability to measure, manipulate and manufacture objects between 1 and 100 nanometers in size. A nanometer is one billionth of a meter; a human hair is roughly 100,000 nanometers in diameter.

The $58 million Birck Nanotechnology Center has helped Purdue recruit 16 faculty members in various areas of nanotechnology since 2002. This Discovery Park facility, which became fully operational to campus researchers in October 2006, has 187,000 square feet of laboratory and office space. Included is 25,000 square feet of cleanroom space in Birck's $10 million Scifres Nanofabrication Laboratory.

The center is named for Michael and Katherine (Kay) Birck of Hinsdale, Ill. The Bircks contributed $30 million for the building. Michael is a Purdue alumnus and member of the Purdue's Board of Trustees. He plans to retire next spring as chairman of Naperville, Ill.-based Tellabs Inc.

The Scifres Nanofabrication Laboratory Center consists of 25,000 square feet of Class 1, 10, and 100 cleanrooms and the first integrated biopharmaceutical cleanroom within the nanofabrication cleanroom. The lab is named for Purdue alumni Donald and Carol Scifres, who donated $10 million for the building. Alumni William B. and Mary Jane Elmore provided $2 million toward the center's William and Mary Jane Elmore Advanced Concept Validation Laboratory.

Named Facility of the Year by Controlled Environments in 2007, Birck is a cornerstone for Discovery Park, Purdue's $750 million hub for interdisciplinary research and home to established centers focusing on endeavors ranging from nanotechnology, biosciences and sustainability to oncological sciences and health-care engineering.

Writer: Phillip Fiorini, 765-496-3133, pfiorini@purdue.edu

Sources: Ali Shakouri, 765-496-6105, ashakour@purdue.edu

Monica Allain, 765-494-5138, mallain@purdue.edu

Related website:
Birck Research Review