Conference on Noise as a Tool for Studying Materials, Santa Fe, NM, June 1-4, 2003

University Of Illinois At Urbana-Champaign, Urbana IL

Investigators

Abstract

This award will provide partial support for one of six co-conferences to be held under the auspices of the Internation Society of Optical Engineering (SPIE) at the La Fonda Hotel, Santa Fe, NM, June 1-4, 2003, and gathered together as a "Symposium on Fluctuations and Noise". The specific conference is entitled "Noise as a Tool to Study Materials (NTSM)". The Chair of the NTSM is Michael Weissman, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champagn. The objective of the NSTM conference, essentially the first of its kind, is to bring together workers from across the field of materials science, as well as condensed matter and materials physics, who share interest in understanding noise as a fundamental phenomenon, as a materials parameter, and as a limiting factor in micro and nanoscale device performance. Materials of interest include glassy systems and disordered materials, such as the colossal magneto resistance materials. For these, noise measurements can distinguish among different domain sizes, in contrast to common electrical measurements that must average over many dissimilar regions. Another emerging theme is the use of noise techniques to characterize conductance mechanisms in unconventional regimes, such as extremes of low temperature and high magnetic fields. This award will partially support the attendance of approximately 12 attendees, with emphasis on graduate students, post-docs, and younger scientists. The conference planners hope that this will be the first in an ongoing series, which will bring together researchers focused on fundamental origins of noise as well as scientists and engineers interested in applications and materials characterization.