February 6, 2006

Nanotech conference helps set stage for federal funding agenda

Mihail "Mike" C. Roco (center) tours Birck Nanotechnology Center
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"This is just the beginning of a new frontier in science and engineering. The long-term expectations from nanotechnology in the areas of health care, productivity and the environment cannot be overestimated," said Mihail "Mike" C. Roco, the National Science Foundation's senior adviser for nanotechnology who led one of three panels of experts at the Purdue conference, sponsored by the Lilly Endowment.

"And investment in nanotechnology is important, particularly at our universities, if we want to prepare the work force needed to capitalize on these new technologies."

Roco also is chairman of the U.S. National Science and Technology Council's subcommittee on Nanoscale Science, Engineering and Technology.

Tuesday's (Jan. 31) State of the Union message singled out nanotechnology as a national priority expected to receive increased federal funding.

George Adams, research development manager for the Birck Nanotechnology Center in Purdue's Discovery Park, said President Bush's remarks energized the conference.

"President Bush said he would like to increase funding for the agencies actively involved in nanotechnology research, and Purdue will certainly be a leader, thanks to our new $58 million Birck Nanotechnology Center," said Adams, a coordinator for the conference. "It's among the most elite centers in the nation."

The National Nanotechnology Initiative sparked the federal government's decision to bolster funding for the emerging fields of nanoscience and nanoengineering, with roughly 70 percent of that new funding going to university-based research.

Since that effort was launched five years ago, an estimated $3.8 billion has been made available through the NSF and other federal agencies, and about half of that has gone for nanotech research alone.

Kicking off the conference was a journalists' panel discussion, titled "Giant Ideas for Nano's Future." Panelists Candace Stuart, editor-in-chief of Small Times; Samuel Moore, senior associate editor of IEEE Spectrum; and Josh Wolfe, nanotechnology columnist for Forbes, discussed the trends they see in covering this burgeoning industry.

That panel was followed by Roco's, which included George Scalise, president of the Semiconductor Industry Association; Peter Cummings, director of the Nanomaterials Theory Institute at Oak Ridge National Laboratory; Fabian Pease, electrical engineering professor at Stanford University; Phaedon Avouris, manager of Nanometer Scale Science and Technology at IBM Corp.; Daniel Coy, director of engineering at Nanophase Technologies Inc.; and Wolfe, who also is managing partner of Lux Capital.

Those experts discussed topics ranging from how to start a nanotech business and advancements in treating cancer to the potential for venture capital funding and nanotech's applications in health-care delivery and electronics products.

Purdue President Martin C. Jischke was scheduled to welcome the third panel of experts at 5:30 p.m. to discuss health care, ethics, policy and other societal issues in nanotechnology.

Indiana Commerce Secretary Mickey Maurer, who also serves as president of the Indiana Economic Development Corp., was scheduled to follow Jischke to discuss the potential that nanotechnology research and development at Purdue holds for Indiana's economy.

Panelists for the final discussion are Vivian Well, director of the Center for the Study of Ethics in the Professions at the Illinois Institute of Technology; Gregory Downing, director of the Office of Technology and Industrial Relations in the Office of the Director at the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health; and David Guston, political science professor and associate director of the Consortium for Science, Policy and Outcomes at Arizona State University.

A podcast version of today's panel discussions will be available for download by Tuesday (Feb. 7) at the conference's Web site.

The Buildings for Advanced Technology III workshop, held in conjunction with the nanotechnology conference, will continue Tuesday (Feb. 7) and Wednesday (Feb. 8) at Purdue. Presentations will focus on facility design for nanotech research.

Nano is a prefix meaning one-billionth, so a nanometer is one-billionth of a meter. Through nanotechnology, new materials and tiny structures are built atom by atom or molecule by molecule, instead of the more conventional approach of sculpting parts from pre-existing materials.

The Birck Nanotechnology Center opened last fall. Discovery Park is Purdue's $250 million hub for interdisciplinary research and is home to a total of 10 established research centers focusing on everything from biosciences and manufacturing to oncological sciences and health-care engineering.

Writers: Phillip Fiorini, (765) 496-3133, pfiorini@purdue.edu

Cynthia Sequin, (765) 494-4192, csequin@purdue.edu

Sources: George Adams, (765) 494-2698, gba@purdue.edu

Mihail "Mike" C. Roco, (703) 292-8301, mroco@nsf.gov

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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