2012 Bioinspired Materials GRC

Gordon Research Conferences, East Greenwich RI

Investigators

Abstract

ID: MPS/DMR/BMAT(7623) 1205839 PI: Chilkoti, Ashutosh ORG: Gordon Research Conferences Title: 2012 Bioinspired Materials GRC INTELLECTUAL MERIT: Funds are requested to support the inaugural Gordon Research Conference on Bioinspired Materials to be held June 24-29, 2012 at Davidson College, North Carolina, USA. The emerging, interdisciplinary field of Bioinspired Materials focuses on developing a fundamental understanding of the synthesis, directed self-assembly, and hierarchical organization of natural occurring materials, and uses this understanding to engineer new "bioinspired" artificial materials for diverse applications. This conference, co-chaired by Ashutosh Chilkoti (Duke University) and Jeffrey Hubbell (EPFL, Switzerland) was born from the twin realizations that: (1) there is an explosion of research in Bioinspired Materials; and yet (2) there is no single and unique venue that solely focuses on the dissemination of research in this field. The objective of the inaugural GRC on Bioinspired Materials is to capture the excitement of this burgeoning field by a cutting-edge scientific program that focuses on fundamental research in Bioinspired Materials Science and the myriad applications that stem from this fundamental research. BROADER IMPACTS: The impact of this GRC is that it will promote cross-disciplinary fertilization of new ideas in the emerging field of Bioinspired Materials and will promote interactions among young scientists, underrepresented minority scientists, junior faculty, and prominent senior investigators. It will do so by bringing together a diverse group of researchers at one venue who have common interests that span the field of Bioinspired Materials. The hope is to stimulate the growth of this area of research by providing a single venue for the dissemination and exchange of results and ideas. The ultimate, long-term goal is to create a cohesive and interactive community of scholars though a bi-yearly GRC that will be the first choice for researchers in this field.