Today's nanotech conference gets boost from State of Union

Leading nanotechnology experts will be at Stewart Center's Loeb Playhouse beginning today (Monday, Feb. 6), as part of Purdue's inaugural Discovery Lecture Series program "Transforming Society through Emerging Technologies: The National Nanotechnology Initiative at Five Years."

Researchers say Bush's initiative, which would double research funding in the physical sciences and math over the next decade, is right on target.

"This funding will support the work of America's most creative minds as they explore promising areas such as nanotechnology, supercomputing, and alternative energy sources," Bush said in his address.

Conference coordinator George Adams, who is research development manager for the Birck Nanotechnology Center in Purdue's Discovery Park, said Bush's plans will add excitement to this week's 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," Adams said. "It's among the most elite centers in the nation."

The conference's three panel discussions — 1:30 p.m., 3 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. — are free and open to the public. The Discovery Lecture Series is sponsored by a grant from the Lilly Endowment.

For live video and audio Internet streaming of the conference, go online. A podcast version of the conference will be available Tuesday (Feb. 7) for download at the same Web site.

Kicking off the conference is a journalists' panel discussion, titled "Giant Ideas for Nano's Future," which begins at 1:30 p.m. in Loeb Playhouse. Panelists are Candace Stuart, editor-in-chief of Small Times; Samuel Moore, senior associate editor of IEEE Spectrum; and Josh Wolfe, nanotechnology columnist for Forbes.

Mihail "Mike" C. Roco, chairman of the U.S. National Science and Technology Council's subcommittee on Nanoscale Science, Engineering and Technology, will moderate the 3 p.m. discussion. Roco also is senior adviser for nanotechnology for the National Science Foundation.

Indiana Commerce Secretary Mickey Maurer, who also serves as president of the Indiana Economic Development Corp., will speak at the beginning of the 5:30 p.m. panel discussion.

Joining Roco during the afternoon panel will be 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.

Experts will discuss 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 will welcome the third panel of experts who will discuss issues in nanotechnology — from health care to ethics and policy. Maurer's talk is expected to follow Jischke's remarks.

Panelists for the final discussion will be 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.

The Buildings for Advanced Technology III workshop also will take place through Wednesday (Feb. 8) as part of the nanotechnology conference. Presentations will focus on facility design for nanotech research. The registration fee for Buildings for Advanced Technology III is $375.

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, 494-2698, gba@purdue.edu

Mark Lundstrom, (765) 494-3515, lundstro@purdue.edu

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

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

NNI at Five Years

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