Conference: 2013 Environmental Nanotechnology GRC, Stove, VT, June 2 - 7, 2013

Gordon Research Conferences, East Greenwich RI

Investigators

Abstract

1322232 Westerhoff This award is to fund the 2013 Gordon Research Conference on Environmental Nanotechnology. The current conference will attempt to move the environmental nanotechnology community towards the future in which sustainable design of nanomaterials for agriculture, human health/medicine and water can be informed by/from recent breakthroughs in understanding the fate and toxicity of engineered nanomaterials within organisms and the environment. Intellectual Merit The 2013 Gordon Research Conference on Environmental Nanotechnology will bring together prominent investigators who are at the forefront of their research fields and will provide unique opportunities for early career investigators, postdoctoral and graduate students to present their work in poster formats. The conference will draw attention to the need to proactively manage the emergence of nanotechnology into society so as to avert such problems that arose with earlier research such as those involving DDT, leaded gasoline, PCBs, CRCs and numerous other substances and to discuss opportunities for using nanotechnology to benefit society while protecting the environment in the areas of air, water, soil treatment plus energy and agriculture production. Sessions include the following: Evolution of nanoscale structures in the environment; Predicting transport and transformation towards sustainable design; Natural and Engineered Nanomaterials: from manufacturing to fate in the environment; Lifecycle implications of nanomaterials; Food technology impacts on humans and the environment ; Nanotechnology uses and solutions for food, agriculture, water and energy; Advancing agricultural and farming breakthroughs with nanotechnology ; Tiny solutions to global water challenges; Implications of nanomaterials on human health and ecosystem; Ecological and Biological responses: Nano talks back; Fantastic voyages of nanopharmaceuticals within biological systems; Manufacturing the future: Economy versus ecology. This GRC will help move the dialog forward. The 2013 Gordon Conference on Environmental Nanotechnology will be held at Stoweflake Resort and Conference Center, Stove, VT from June 2 through 7, 2013. (http://www.grc.org/programs.aspx?year=2013&program=environano ) Broader Impacts The broader impact of this conference lies in the establishment of a community of engineers and scientists interested in the applications and implications of nanotechnology. It is anticipated that 200 scientists, engineers, and toxicologists will participate in the conference. This relatively small group of participants will be ideal to promote vigorous discussion and close interchange of ideas that is the hallmark of Gordon Research Conferences. The conference also will involve participants who are junior scholars (undergraduates, doctoral students and postdoctoral). In addition, scientists from groups traditionally under represented will participate. Participants of the Environmental Nanotechnology Research Conference will come from not only the US but around the globe. The steering committee is committed to having diversity (ethnicity, gender, age, employment) among the participants.