Sustainable Nanotechnology Conference November 2-4, 2014 in Boston, Massachusetts

Northeastern University, Boston MA

Investigators

Abstract

1442524 Isaacs Title: Sustainable Nanotechnology Conference The main objective of this proposal is to support a conference on Sustainable Nanotechnology. This is the third conference on this topic, and it is expected to further expand the discipline. The conference will bring together scientific experts from academia, industry, and government from around the world to present and discuss current research findings in sustainable nanotechnology. This conference will address the critical aspects of sustainable nanotechnology such as life cycle assessment, green synthesis, green energy, industrial partnership, economic cost-benefit analysis, environmental and biological fate, environmental health and safety, transport, persistence, transformation, exposure assessment, recyclability, and the overall sustainability of engineered nanomaterials. Plenary lectures and keynotes will address issues such as the development of nanomaterials that, through their life cycle, properties, and material efficiency, provide a framework for achieving more sustainable technologies, while optimizing performance. In principle, this conference involves the fundamental/applied research on the chemistry of producing new green nanomaterials; eco-manufacturing processing of nanomaterials and products. Other aspects include, life-cycle performance, modeling and theoretical analyses of materials and their structures in nanomedicine, energy and industrial applications, and life-cycle cost and economic impacts in real life practice. The use of nanomaterials to alleviate adverse consequences from greenhouse effect, exhaustion, or abundance of natural resources, and environmental health and safety impacts due to the use of nondecomposable materials/composites are also considered appropriate. Special focus will be given to toxicity, transformation, and the interactions with the biological system. The conference will also emphasize opportunities for nanotechnology in sustainability, as well as the economic and societal aspects of nanotechnology.