NSF Nanoscale Science and Engineering Grantees Conference, December 12-13, 2017

Purdue University, West Lafayette IN

Investigators

Abstract

The National Science Foundation's Nanoscale Science and Engineering Grantees Conference: Progress in Nanotechnology will be held December 12-13, 2017 in Arlington, Virginia. Now in its seventeenth year, the conference is held annually to highlight the research and education activities of currently-funded projects. The conference brings together researchers, educators, and practitioners from academic, industry, and government sectors to share progress, discuss challenges, and explore new opportunities for collaboration. This year's conference focuses on foundational nanotechnology and infrastructure, grand challenges, and convergence of disciplines in nanomanufacturing. In addition to keynote presentations on these topics, the conference features panel discussions expanding on the main topics, poster sessions presenting current research, and multiple networking opportunities. The conference supports dissemination of grant-funded research results and fosters ideation of new avenues of exploration, promoting advances in many disciplines including public health and medicine, environmental science, cybersecurity, materials, and manufacturing. Nanotechnology as a component of improving the public perception of science and nanotechnology education is also a component of the workshop. The conference also affords NSF program directors opportunities for discussions with principal investigators. Day 1 of the conference includes keynotes and panel discussions on Progress in Foundational Nanotechnology and Infrastructure. The agenda includes nanoscale modeling/simulation and use of big data, nanotechnology-based devices and systems by design, and two-dimensional materials and quantum phenomena in nanoscales systems, along with updates from nano-centers. The Day 2 agenda focuses on Progress in Grand Challenges and Convergence, with invited speakers and panelists presenting on manufacturing networks and nanotechnology, advanced nano-biomanufacturing convergence across disciplines, and brain-like cognitive systems. Panelists with expertise in brain-inspired computing hardware architecture and brain-machine interfaces, and nano device re-creation of neural and synaptic functions will discuss how nanotechnology contributes to brain-like computing and share visionary ideas for the next twenty years. A working lunch on best practices when portraying nanotechnology research and development in video and on the web is a highlight. The conference closes with educational and societal aspects of nanotechnology, with panel discussions on nanotechnology immersion in the public perception of science, societal aspects of nanotechnology and converging technologies, and convergence in education.