- Email: [email protected]
Win for Delaware
PEOPLE & PLACES
Win for Delaware The University of Delaware (UD) has won a competitive $7 million award, over a five year period, from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to develop neutron scattering instrumentation through the creation of the UD Center for Neutron Science. Principal investigator, Norman Wagner says, “There is huge demand for neutron scattering facility usage, one which far outstrips our national capacity.” He notes that the federal government is investing in neutron science. “It is great that Delaware will be a key part of that.”
Chilkoti is an inspired choice Ashutosh Chilkoti has been appointed director of the Center for Biologically Inspired Materials and Material Systems (CBIMMS) at Duke University. The center focuses on bionanomanufacturing, biointerface science, and nanomechanics using designs inspired by nature. “Rob [Clark] did a great job of setting up and shaping the center, the challenge now is to build upon it in a way that takes advantage of the strengths of its members,” explains Chilkoti.
Nanomaterials center opens for business The Center for Nanoscale Materials (CNM) at Argonne has been granted approval to start operations on October 1. CNM started setting up its facilities in 2006 and official approval will allow researchers to begin work on an estimated 90 projects. The center aims to provide worldwide users with access to instrumentation such as a hard X-ray nanoprobe beamline and a supercomputer array with 12 teraflop capacity for computational and experimental nanoscience.
Scandinavia promotes nanoscience Nanoscience centers at Danish and Swedish universities have entered into a collaborative agreement to promote nanotechnology education, research, and commercialization. The centers from Denmark include Københavns Universitet and Danmarks Tekniske Universitet, and the centers from Sweden include Lunds Universitet, Chalmers University of Technology, and the Imgeo Institute in Gothenburg.
support ten postdoctoral students. BASF can develop proof-of-concept discoveries and innovations made in the course of research projects for commercial use. BASF estimates the total funding over the next five years to be up to $20 million. “We must be as innovative in funding and translating research as we are in conducting it,” says Venkatesh Narayanamurti, Dean of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Harvard University.
This year’s Nobel prizes for Physics and Chemistry
BASF’s Jens Rieger and Harvard’s David A. Weitz and George M. Whitesides will direct the initiative, which will be based at Harvard’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS). The $1.6 million 2007 Nobel Prize for Physics has been jointly awarded to Albert Fert (left) of Université Paris-Sud, France, and Peter A. Grünberg (right) of the Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany, for their discovery of giant magnetoresistance (GMR). In 1988, the two researchers independently discovered that very weak magnetic changes can give rise to major differences in electrical resistance in a GMR system. This discovery paved the way to current technology where data that is stored magnetically on hard disks can be read. “Although I received some awards before, nothing compares with the attention that the Nobel Prize gathers. My email inbox has been expanded several times in order to fit in all the congratulations,” says Grünberg. The 2007 Nobel Prize for Chemistry has been awarded to Gerhard Ertl (left) of the Technische Universität München, Germany, for groundbreaking studies in surface chemistry. His work, which started in the 1960s, has helped explain reactions such as rust formation, reactions in fuel cells and catalytic convertors, the formation of fertilizers, and even the destruction of the ozone layer. Ertl created a methodology for surface chemistry, demonstrating how different experimental procedures can provide a complete picture of the processes occurring at a surface.
Joint effort leads the way Harvard University’s Office of Technology Development (OTD) and BASF are joining forces in an initiative to improve communication and integration between academia and industry. As part of the BASF Advanced Research Initiative, BASF will provide funding for Harvard researchers and
The areas for investigation include: new concepts to deliver active ingredient molecules to a specific target; understanding the formation of biofilms and deriving strategies to inhibit or limit their growth; and exploring new chemical approaches to processes and materials.
Research gets airborne in Manchester The University of Manchester, UK, has opened the new Aerospace Research Institute (UMARI) to offer worldclass research facilities for 12 industrially focused research areas, directly relevant to the National Aerospace Strategy (NATS). The institute brings together over one hundred interdisciplinary researchers who will investigate the development of quieter, more efficient, and more durable aircraft, as well as addressing key issues such as environmental, health, and economic impacts. UMARI has been granted $4.5 million by the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council to develop a three-dimensional X-ray tomographic imaging facility. It is hoped that at least one $2 million project will be secured on an annual basis. Director of UMARI, Philip J. Withers, says, “We are now better equipped than ever to play a lead role in working with UK companies to maintain and enhance their position as major players in the full gamut of aviation-related fields. Whether it is finding betterperforming composite materials or testing new manufacturing methods, modeling the environmental impact of air travel or combating the civil aviation terrorist threat, The University of Manchester is set to make a major contribution to all areas of aerospace research and development.” The institute will also be involved in other projects, including the use of lightweight composite materials, measuring and predicting seismic activity, revealing buried fossils, and looking into the structures of organic materials.
Please send details of new appointments, honors, and awards to [email protected]
DECEMBER 2007 | VOLUME 10 | NUMBER 12
67
Win for Delaware The University of Delaware (UD) has won a competitive $7 million award, over a five year period, from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to develop neutron scattering instrumentation through the creation of the UD Center for Neutron Science. Principal investigator, Norman Wagner says, “There is huge demand for neutron scattering facility usage, one which far outstrips our national capacity.” He notes that the federal government is investing in neutron science. “It is great that Delaware will be a key part of that.”
Chilkoti is an inspired choice Ashutosh Chilkoti has been appointed director of the Center for Biologically Inspired Materials and Material Systems (CBIMMS) at Duke University. The center focuses on bionanomanufacturing, biointerface science, and nanomechanics using designs inspired by nature. “Rob [Clark] did a great job of setting up and shaping the center, the challenge now is to build upon it in a way that takes advantage of the strengths of its members,” explains Chilkoti.
Nanomaterials center opens for business The Center for Nanoscale Materials (CNM) at Argonne has been granted approval to start operations on October 1. CNM started setting up its facilities in 2006 and official approval will allow researchers to begin work on an estimated 90 projects. The center aims to provide worldwide users with access to instrumentation such as a hard X-ray nanoprobe beamline and a supercomputer array with 12 teraflop capacity for computational and experimental nanoscience.
Scandinavia promotes nanoscience Nanoscience centers at Danish and Swedish universities have entered into a collaborative agreement to promote nanotechnology education, research, and commercialization. The centers from Denmark include Københavns Universitet and Danmarks Tekniske Universitet, and the centers from Sweden include Lunds Universitet, Chalmers University of Technology, and the Imgeo Institute in Gothenburg.
support ten postdoctoral students. BASF can develop proof-of-concept discoveries and innovations made in the course of research projects for commercial use. BASF estimates the total funding over the next five years to be up to $20 million. “We must be as innovative in funding and translating research as we are in conducting it,” says Venkatesh Narayanamurti, Dean of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Harvard University.
This year’s Nobel prizes for Physics and Chemistry
BASF’s Jens Rieger and Harvard’s David A. Weitz and George M. Whitesides will direct the initiative, which will be based at Harvard’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS). The $1.6 million 2007 Nobel Prize for Physics has been jointly awarded to Albert Fert (left) of Université Paris-Sud, France, and Peter A. Grünberg (right) of the Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany, for their discovery of giant magnetoresistance (GMR). In 1988, the two researchers independently discovered that very weak magnetic changes can give rise to major differences in electrical resistance in a GMR system. This discovery paved the way to current technology where data that is stored magnetically on hard disks can be read. “Although I received some awards before, nothing compares with the attention that the Nobel Prize gathers. My email inbox has been expanded several times in order to fit in all the congratulations,” says Grünberg. The 2007 Nobel Prize for Chemistry has been awarded to Gerhard Ertl (left) of the Technische Universität München, Germany, for groundbreaking studies in surface chemistry. His work, which started in the 1960s, has helped explain reactions such as rust formation, reactions in fuel cells and catalytic convertors, the formation of fertilizers, and even the destruction of the ozone layer. Ertl created a methodology for surface chemistry, demonstrating how different experimental procedures can provide a complete picture of the processes occurring at a surface.
Joint effort leads the way Harvard University’s Office of Technology Development (OTD) and BASF are joining forces in an initiative to improve communication and integration between academia and industry. As part of the BASF Advanced Research Initiative, BASF will provide funding for Harvard researchers and
The areas for investigation include: new concepts to deliver active ingredient molecules to a specific target; understanding the formation of biofilms and deriving strategies to inhibit or limit their growth; and exploring new chemical approaches to processes and materials.
Research gets airborne in Manchester The University of Manchester, UK, has opened the new Aerospace Research Institute (UMARI) to offer worldclass research facilities for 12 industrially focused research areas, directly relevant to the National Aerospace Strategy (NATS). The institute brings together over one hundred interdisciplinary researchers who will investigate the development of quieter, more efficient, and more durable aircraft, as well as addressing key issues such as environmental, health, and economic impacts. UMARI has been granted $4.5 million by the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council to develop a three-dimensional X-ray tomographic imaging facility. It is hoped that at least one $2 million project will be secured on an annual basis. Director of UMARI, Philip J. Withers, says, “We are now better equipped than ever to play a lead role in working with UK companies to maintain and enhance their position as major players in the full gamut of aviation-related fields. Whether it is finding betterperforming composite materials or testing new manufacturing methods, modeling the environmental impact of air travel or combating the civil aviation terrorist threat, The University of Manchester is set to make a major contribution to all areas of aerospace research and development.” The institute will also be involved in other projects, including the use of lightweight composite materials, measuring and predicting seismic activity, revealing buried fossils, and looking into the structures of organic materials.
Please send details of new appointments, honors, and awards to [email protected]
DECEMBER 2007 | VOLUME 10 | NUMBER 12
67