Conference Support: Participation of US Students and Junior Faculty to the 6th World Congress on Micro and Nano Manufacturing (WCMNM 2023); Evanston, Illinois; 18-21 September 2023

Northwestern University, Evanston IL

Investigators

Abstract

The grant provides support for 30 students and junior faculty from US institutions to participate in the 6th World Congress on Micro and Nano Manufacturing (WCMNM 2023) in Evanston, Illinois, 18-21 September 2023. WCMNM is a premier global conference on micro-nano manufacturing and draws attendance of 150-300 people each year from North America, Europe, and Asia. WCMNM serves as an important platform for exchanging research ideas and fostering collaborations for both academia and industry. Over 80 technical presentations and posters are expected to be presented at the conference. A wide range of topics, including mechanics and dynamics of process behaviors at the micro and nanoscale; miniaturization of machines and equipment; micro-factory paradigms; microscale metrology; materials handling; multi-scale modeling and simulation; design for micro-scale manufacturing; micro and nano additive manufacturing technologies, etc., will be covered. Participating students receiving travel funds from this grant will learn from the unique intellectual environment by attending technical presentations by leading international experts in micro/nano manufacturing, and by interacting with peer researchers from around the world. They will have opportunities to network with researchers and engineers from around the world as well as graduate students working in the manufacturing field. This experience will be valuable for graduate students to gain new insights about future career paths and emerging research frontiers. In addition, becoming involved with professional societies will motivate their intellectual curiosity through developing a network of professional contacts. By involving keynote and invited speakers from the three co-organizing societies, this conference will provide graduate students and junior faculty a platform to facilitate international collaboration and research exchange. Specific outreach efforts will be devoted to advertising the conference and the student travel award program to underrepresented minorities. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.