Conference: Diffusion Fundamentals IV - A Multidisciplinary Conference on the Fundamentals of Diffusion and its Applications; Troy, NY, August 21 - 24, 2011

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy NY

Investigators

Abstract

Abstract PI: Coppens Proposal ID: 1138436 This Project is concerned with The Diffusion Fundamentals IV conference which will assemble internationally renowned authorities and beginning researchers across a broad range of disciplines, to discuss recent progress on diffusion. While chemical engineering related scientific research, including nanoporous materials for molecular separations and catalysis, is a major area of interest, the conference will be uniquely multidisciplinary, with presentations varying from the physics of diffusion and biomedical applications to the geosciences. The presentations will cover astounding progress in nano- and Multiscale theory, combined with sophisticated experimental characterization and new capabilities to control diffusion thanks to new synthesis techniques. New fundamental insights and applications of nano-confinement and surface barrier effects on thermodynamics and molecular transport drive the recent excitement in diffusion fundamentals. Interdisciplinary discussions on diffusion are expected to translate to transformational research in individual and crosscutting disciplines, in chemical engineering, geosciences, medicine, and beyond. An international conference that unites experts and students is timely. It will be the first time that the conference is held outside Europe, at Rensselaer in Troy, NY, after successful meetings in Leipzig, L'Aquila and Athens, starting with the 2005 celebration of Einstein's famous article on Brownian motion. The intellectual merit of the proposed research is related to properly accounting for, or even controlling diffusion from micro- to macroscopic length scales, is essential to a range of applications, from chemical engineering to groundwater monitoring, climate studies, controlled delivery of pharmaceutics and the propagation of diseases. A century after Perrin, Einstein, Knudsen and Langevin, there is a revival of fundamental interest in diffusion. This is partly due to the ability to synthesize materials with well-controlled and novel nanostructures (leading to interesting confinement effects, anomalous diffusion, etc?), partly to advanced characterization methods that provide qualitatively new insights and unprecedented quantitative precision (PFG NMR, various spectroscopic and scattering methods), and partly to multiscale theoretical and computational methods that allow us to bridge length and time scales for proper experimental interpretation and practical applications, from zeolite membranes to physiology and geology. The Diffusion Fundamentals IV conference will cover this progress in a unique manner, bringing together people for whom thematic professional forums would not suffice. The intellectual merit, with uncompromising focus on science, will foster collaborations, multidisciplinary research, as well as progress in individual thematic areas. The broader impacts of the proposed research include the phenomenon of diffusion is one of the most important fundamental physical phenomena, with boundless applications, not only in chemical engineering and the aforementioned broad scientific areas, but also in sociology, business and finance. It is also an area of great educational interest, and allows demonstrating physical concepts linked to materials science, chemical engineering and biology. Participants will benefit from presentations and discussions during the conference, within their own disciplines and across traditional borders. The conference will stimulate junior researcher participation, interactions, and new domestic and international collaborations by keeping the student registration fee low ($200) and allowing ample time for poster presentations, associated to invited talks by US and world experts.