Entries in "Applied Sciences" ( for this category only)

C&EN Online

The Case community now has online access to Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN) from 1998 to present. Access was arranged by OhioLINK.

[About C&EN]

Chemical & Engineering News is a weekly magazine published by the American Chemical Society. C&EN editors and reporters based in Europe, the U.S., and Asia cover science and technology, business and industry, government and policy, education, and employment aspects of the chemistry field.

C&EN Online offers Latest News, supplementary material to C&EN print articles, back issues of the magazine since 1998, and special features such as Reel Science, NanoFocus, RSS feeds, and blogs.

Update: ICIS Creates a Students Portal - Includes Chemical Prices

ICIS has fixed the format of the chemical price list that is contained within their student portal. It formally did not view correctly in the Firefox browser, but it should work for all major browsers now.

MM&M Celebrates 40 Years of Interdisciplinary Discovery

The Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and the Department of Orthopaedics are hosting a two-day symposium April 3-4 to celebrate 40 years of interdisciplinary research in orthopaedic biomechanics through the Musculoskeletal Mechanics and Materials (MMM) Laboratories. The keynote speaker is Albert Burstein, one of the founders of the laboratory and internationally recognized for his seminal contributions to the understanding of bone biomechanics and total joint replacement design. The symposium will also include lectures by current faculty as well as engineers and clinicians in the field. Register online or call 368-5403.

[VIA: CASE DAILY, March 28, 2007]

Medical Dictionary

MedicineNet.com has published an online medical dictionary that contains over 16,000 medical terms.

From About Us:

MedicineNet, Inc. is owned and operated by WebMD and part of the WebMD Network.

MedicineNet.com is an online, healthcare media publishing company. It provides easy-to-read, in-depth, authoritative medical information for consumers via its robust, user-friendly, interactive web site.

[VIA: The Scout Report -- Volume 13, Number 7]

The Mathematics Genealogy Project

As reported in the PAM Bulletin (Vol. 34, No. 3) and on PAMNET, the Mathematics Genealogy Project now integrates papers in MathSciNet to individual mathematicians with the potential to include links from MathSciNet to the Mathematics Genealogy Project. Check it out at http://genealogy.math.ndsu.nodak.edu/.

New Lie Group

What do you get when you mix 18 mathematicians, 4 years of research, and 77 hours of supercomputer computation - mapping of the Lie group E8.

It describes the symmetries of a 57-dimensional object that can in essence be rotated in 248 ways without changing its appearance.

[VIA: 025.431: The Dewey blog: Fearful symmetry]

ICIS Creates Student Portal

ICIS is working on a new student portal, or "knowledge zone". Right now it links to some resources available to students. In the future, they "hope it will turn into a space in which students and academics worldwide can communicate and discuss issues with each other, and showcase their best work to the wider world, not least potential employers."

Several librarians have contacted and discussed the lack of chemical prices for student projects with ICIS. In the past, I documented and shared my concerns directly with ICIS. Randy Reichardt has taken similar steps. He has personally been involved in the recent developments.

ICIS with the announcement of this new student portal has helped to fill this need for chemical prices. ICIS now provides "you with historical chemical prices. Note that these prices are a guide only, and must not be used to guide real-time business."

I understand chemical prices are hard to locate and maintain, even for a major chemical publisher, so this historical resource fills a major need for chemical engineering students.

Thank you ICIS and Randy Reichardt!

Continue reading "ICIS Creates Student Portal"

CSA Trust - Winter Newsletter

The Chemical Structure Association (CSA) Trust has published its winter Newsletter, which is freely available to all at http://csa-trust.org.

The Chemical Structure Association Trust (CSA Trust) is an internationally recognized, registered charity which promotes education, research and development in the field of storage, processing and retrieval of information about chemical structures, reactions and compounds. Many students and researchers world-wide, who work in this area, have benefited from the Trust Awards and Grants programmes to further their research work.

UK PubMed Central Launched

The British Library Press Release
UK PubMed Central Launched
9 January, 2007

From today scientists will be able to access a vast collection of biomedical research and to submit their own published results for inclusion in a new online resource. Based on a model currently used by the US National Institute of Health, UK PubMed Central (UKPMC) will provide free access to a permanent online archive of peer-reviewed research papers in the medical and life sciences. See: www.ukpmc.ac.uk.

See also PubMed Central (PMC), the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) free digital archive of biomedical and life sciences journal literature.

Lets go Case Students - Win the Knovel University Challenge

Knovel University Challenge kicks off its spring 2007 season on February 5th and will run through April 5th. The University Challenge provides students the opportunity to master their research and analysis skills while competing for 9 prizes. This year's winners will receive a $1500 scholarship or 1 of 8 iPod Shuffles. The University Challenge, now in its third season, is open to students of hard sciences, mathematics and technology-related courses of study at universities with access to Knovel Library or Knovel K-Essentials.

To participate in the Spring University Challenge, go to http://www.info.knovel.com/challenge/.

Ohio Note:
In Fall of 2006, a University of Cincinnati student won a 30G Video iPod.

Midwest Biomedical Engineering Conference

The Case School of Engineering is hosting the Midwest Biomedical Engineering Conference on February 23. Online registration, abstract submission, and resume submission are now open. All abstracts and resumes must be submitted by February 9. For more information, go to http://www.mbecconference.org/.

From website:

MBEC 2007: "Showcasing the future of biomedical engineering"

The Midwest Biomedical Engineering Conference (MBEC) 2007 is designed to bring together students & practitioners of Biomedical Engineering and the Life Sciences for panel discussions, technical sessions, and informal extended exchange of ideas important to the future of Biomedical Engineering in the Midwest. Some conference highlights include:

• Assisting participants in planning their academic and industrial careers
• Introducing companies to the wealth of intellectual prowess rooted in the Midwest
• Exposing participants to innovative research in biomedical engineering and allied areas

MBEC 2007 is hosted by Case Western Reserve University. All universities are welcome to attend.

[VIA: Case Daily - February 02, 2007]

Continue reading "Midwest Biomedical Engineering Conference"

In Memoriam - Paul Claspy

This is not my traditional postings, but it has great connection to the Kelvin Smith Library, physics, and electrical engineering here at Case. William Claspy works in KSL as the librarian for astronomy, chemistry, and library instruction.

From Case Daily - January 26, 2007:
Paul Claspy, alumnus and associate professor emeritus of electrical engineering and applied physics at Case Western Reserve University, died of complications from multiple myeloma on January 19 at the Renaissance Retirement Center in Olmsted Township. Prof. Claspy, who earned a Ph.D. (1970) in electrical engineering and applied physics from the School of Graduate Studies, was hired as a faculty member in 1973, retiring July 1, 1993. He received emeritus status in 1997. In addition to teaching, he was education director for Ohio Aerospace Institute. He married the former Lois Hoffman, who earned her master's in library science in 1958 from the former Western Reserve University School of Information and Library Science. She died in December, 2006. Survivors include daughters Jane Nesmith of Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Ellen Vesey of Atlanta, Ga.; and son William Claspy (CWR '88, GRS '93, English) of Middleburg Heights, Ohio. To read more about Prof. Claspy, refer to Cleveland Plain Dealer article on January 23, 2007.

Online Encyclopedia of Medical Images

Effective January 1st, the entire OhioLINK community has access to Images.MD.

Images.MD, the online encyclopedia of medical images, compiles more than 55,000 images from more than 90 collections ranging from allergy to urology, each accompanied by detailed and informative text contributed by more than 2,000 medical experts.

Members of OhioLink have free access to full-sized, high quality images in step with the latest developments in medicine. By filling out a simple registration form, you can also start your own image library, create PowerPoint® presentations of images in your library, and order customized CD-ROMs of your favorite slides.

National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science

The University of Buffalo's National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science exists to promote and distribute materials to support using case studies in science education. It is supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF).

The website contains links to:

• Science education journals provided by category, such as mathematics or engineering
• Related websites
• Case ideas
• Directory of instructors
• Assessment materials
• Case study collection
• Instructional materials
• Conference highlights

In addition, one of the co-directors is the Associate Librarian of the Science and Engineering Library of the University of Buffalo.

[VIA: The Scout Report -- Volume 12, Number 28]

General Chemistry Online

Dr. Fred Senese of the Deparment of Chemistry at Frostburg State University has created an online guide to everything about general chemistry. General Chemistry Online includes:

• Common compound library
• Notes and guides for first semester general chemistry
• Flash-based modeling kits
• Articles
• Tutorials
• Simulations
• Quizzes
• Survival guide
• FAQs

[VIA: The Scout Report -- Volume 12, Number 31]

Case BME Professor Wins World Technology Award

P. Hunter Peckham, professor of biomedical engineering, recently received the 2006 World Technology Award for Health and Medicine. His research focuses on functional restoration of paralyzed arms in individuals with spinal cord injury.

The World Technology Network (WTN) is a global meeting ground, a virtual think tank, and an elite club whose members are all focused on the business and science of bringing important emerging technologies of all types (from biotech to new materials, from IT to new energy sources) into reality. The WTN's membership is comprised of approximately 1000 members from more than 60 countries, judged by their peers to be the most innovative in the technology world.

[VIA: Case Daily, December 1, 2006]

SOURCE Funds Case Students to Present Research

Several undergraduate students recently received SOURCE (Support of Undergraduate Research and Creative Endeavors) travel funding to present their research at national conferences, including:

• Bradley Gill, senior biomedical engineering major, presented "Fluid volume conductance for determination of bladder volume" at the International Summer School and Symposium on Medical Devices and Biosensors. His faculty mentor is Margot Damaser;
• Nikki Kong, a senior chemistry major, presented a paper and poster at the 20th Annual Symposium of the Protein Society. Her faculty mentor is Mary Barkley; and
• Charles Sing, a junior polymer science and engineering major, presented a poster, "Effect of glass transition temperature on the kinetics of the phase separation of excimer-forming dyes in amorphous polymers," at the American Chemical Society's National Meeting and Exposition. Christoph Weder is his faculty mentor.

[VIA: Case Daily, November 9, 2006]

Case Math Student Wins Travel Award

Rachel Hageman, a math graduate student, has received one of 10 national Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM) travel awards to present her research at the national meeting of the American Mathematical Society in January 2007, in New Orleans. Professor Daniela Calvetti is her academic adviser.

[VIA: Case Daily, October 19, 2006]

Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) Website Downtime

The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) website (http://www.rsc.org) will be unavailable on Saturday 2 December 2006 from 09.00 to 17.00 GMT for essential maintenance.

The RSC apologises for any inconvenience that this downtime may cause.

Customer Services
Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, UK

Topology - Entire Editorial Board Resigns

Several sources, such as the ACRLog, have announced that all the members of the editorial board of the mathematics journal Topology have resigned due to the pricing policy of its publisher Elsevier.

We have heard other reports like this over the last few years, and may see more actions like this in the future as journal prices climb quicker than the money available for their purchase.

Case has access to Topology through the OhioLINK Electronic Journal Center.

Fourth Joint Sheffield Conference on Chemoinformatics: Call for Papers

The Chemical Structure Association Trust and the Molecular Graphics and Modelling Society announce their Fourth Joint Sheffield Conference on Chemoinformatics. The conference will be held in The Octagon Centre and the Stephenson and Tapton Halls of Residence, University of Sheffield, UK, from 18th-20th June 2007.

Offers of papers are welcomed in all aspects of chemoinformatics.
Possible topics include (but are not limited to):

• High-Throughput Screening, including: assay quality control; design of screening collections; systems based design
• Virtual Screening including, including: docking and pharmacophore analysis, similarity and clustering methods; machine learning
• Computational Methods for Lead Identification and Optimisation including: modelling and structure-activity methods; structure-based design; ADMET prediction
• New Algorithms and Technologies including: data mining; searching methods; distributed processing; data handling and visualisation;
• Case Histories, incorporating practical experience of any of the above

The programme will have space for ca. two dozen oral presentations, and there will also be extensive opportunities for poster presentations. Authors wishing to submit a paper should send a title and abstract (minimum 500 words) by 31st January 2007 to cheminf2007@sheffield.ac.uk, stating whether they wish to be considered for an oral or for a poster presentation.

Submissions will be selected as either oral contributions or posters by the Organising Committee, with notification of acceptance by 28th February 2007. In selecting papers for oral presentation, the Committee will seek to achieve a balance between the various areas of the subject and between new methodologies and successful applications of existing techniques.

Further details of the conference, including registration information and opportunities for sponsorship and participation in the conference exhibition will follow later in the year, and will be posted at the conference website.

[VIA: CHMINF-L listserv]

S.O.S. Mathematics - Free Math Review Material

S.O.S. MATHematics is your free resource for math review material from Algebra to Differential Equations.

The perfect study site for high school, college students and adult learners. Get help to do your homework, refresh your memory, prepare for a test...

Browse our more than 2,500 Math pages filled with short and easy-to-understand explanations. Click on one of the following subject areas: Algebra, Trigonometry, Calculus, Differential Equations, Complex Variables, Matrix Algebra, or Mathematical Tables.

[VIA: The Scout Report -- Volume 12, Number 26]

New Purchase - Encyclopedia of Biostatistics Online

The Encyclopedia of Biostatistics (2nd Ed.) offers the definitive reference to support the development and use of statistical methods for addressing the problems and critical issues that confront scientists, practitioners and policy makers engaged in the life and medical sciences. With the growing importance and application of biostatistics, reflected in the increasing number of statisticians employed in the pharmaceutical industry, healthcare sector and medical schools, this new edition will find widespread application in basic medical science; the planning, financing and distribution of health care; and the measurement of health care status and progress in the population.

The Encyclopedia now includes many contributions that focus on the rapid growth of bioinformatics and its pivotal role in studying the human genome.

• Expanded and enhanced coverage of key topics including bioinformatics, clinical trials, computation, genetics, and Bayesian methods and applications
• Containing over 1300 articles, 182 entirely new to this edition, with more than 300 revised and updated to reflect current research and developments
• All encompassed in 8 extensively cross-referenced volumes

The Case community has access to the Encyclopedia of Biostatistics through the Research Database list. Eventually it will also appear in the library catalog.

Case Mathematics Professor Speaks in Spain

Stanislaw Szarek, professor of mathematics at Case, was a recent invited lecturer at the International Congress of Mathematics in Madrid, Spain.

[VIA: CASE DAILY, October 17, 2006]

RIBMS: Research at the Interface of the Biological and Mathematical Sciences

A new initiative funded by the National Science Foundation will pave the way for undergraduates to get involved in the growing field of mathematical sciences becoming an indispensable part of breakthroughs in the biological sciences. Case's Research at the Interface of the Biological and Mathematical Sciences will provide opportunities for math, statistics and biology majors to collaborate across disciplinary boundaries, mentored by interdisciplinary teams of faculty. Further information is available at http://www.case.edu/artsci/ribms/ribms.html. Application deadline is November 8.

[VIA: CASE DAILY, October 30, 2006]

Fields Medals Awarded

Fields Medals awarded on August 22, 2006:

• Andrei Okounkov (Princeton) - "For his contributions bridging probability, representation theory and algebraic geometry."
• Grigori Perelman (recent Poincare conjecture fame) - "For his contributions to geometry and his revolutionary insights into the analytical and geometric structure of the Ricci flow."
• Terence Tao (UCLA) - "For his contributions to partial differential equations, combinatorics, harmonic analysis and additive number theory."
• Wendelin Werner (University of Paris - Sudin Orsay) - "For his contributions to the development of stochastic Loewne revolution, the geometry of two-dimensional Brownian motion, and conformal field theory."

The Fields Medals are the most important international prize in the world of mathematics. They are awarded by the International Mathematical Union (IMU) every four years at the ICM (International Congress of Mathematics).

Continue reading "Fields Medals Awarded"

Wiki of Mathcasts

Mathcasts.org was created to give students a library of math tutorials and problem solutions and to give teachers a place to share their methods for teaching & learn from others. It's also a place where students & teachers can contribute and organize sets of movies for others or themselves to use.

Mathcasts are screencasts (screen movies of writing with voice) that focus on mathematics. The collection is maintained in a wiki powered by MediaWiki.

[VIA: The Scout Report, Volume 12, Number 37]

Continue reading "Wiki of Mathcasts"

Rediscovering Archimedes Writings

Stanford University researchers are using X-ray to reveal the 10th century mathematic writings of Archimedes that were erased and hidden by a Christian monk's prayers. See the full story for details how.

[VIA: Wired News, August 5, 2006]

Continue reading "Rediscovering Archimedes Writings"

New Case Publication: Staggered Passive Micromixers with Fractal Surface Patterning

Staggered Passive Micromixers with Fractal Surface Patterning
Marco Camesasca, Miron Kaufman, and Ica Manas-Zloczower
Department of Macromolecular Science, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106
Physics Department, Cleveland State University, Cleveland, Ohio 44115

Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering
Vol: 16, Issue: 11, November 2006, pp. 2298-2311

Abstract

We present a procedure for inducing chaotic mixing based on a non-periodic patterning of the walls making use of the Weierstrass fractal function to generate the locations for the grooves. We show the numerical analysis of flow in three different geometries generated with the Weierstrass function and compare the results with a fourth geometry, quite similar to the staggered herringbone mixer (SHM) of Stroock et al (2002 Science 295 647), for which the patterning is periodic. We evaluate the Lyapunov exponents for massless and non-interacting particles advected by the flow and traced along the channels. We also compute the entropy of mixing for binary mixtures. Finally, we compute generalized (fractal) dimensions associated with the interface of the two fluids. The results show consistently substantial enhancement in mixing efficiency for two of the Weierstrass channels compared to the SHM.

Availability for Case Faculty, Staff, & Students:

• Directly from Publisher
• OhioLINK Electronic Journal Center

CALL FOR PAPERS - Advanced Mining & Use of Life Science Information

CALL FOR PAPERS - Advanced mining and use of life science information, ACS Chicago, March 2007

You are invited to submit abstracts for a session entitled "Advanced mining and use of life science information" in the division of Chemical Information (CINF), co-sponsored with the CSA Trust, at the 233rd American Chemical Society meeting in Chicago, March 25-29, 2007

We are particularly interested in papers that address the mining of large volumes and diverse sources of chemical and life science information to aid in decision making in the drug discovery process. Potential topics include (but are not limited to):

• Development or application of data mining techniques
• Knowledge discovery on large chemical databases such as PubChem
• Integrating textual and structural information
• Design of interfaces and interaction tools for complex, diverse kinds of information
• Database querying tools and interfaces

The presentation should last about 30 minutes, including time for questions. To submit an abstract, go to http://oasys.acs.org/acs/233nm/cinf/papers/index.cgi and select the "Advanced mining and use of life science information" session. Abstracts should be submitted no later than November 17th, 2006.

If you have questions, please feel free to contact David Wild at djwild @ indiana.edu. You can find out more information about the CSA Trust at http://www.csa-trust.org/.

David Wild
Session organizer

___________________________________________

Dr. David J. Wild, djwild @ indiana.edu
Assistant Professor

Indiana University School of Informatics

ph (812) 856-1848 - fax (812) 856-1995

1900 E. 10th St. Rm. 1128, Bloomington, IN 47406

web http://www.informatics.indiana.edu/djwild

Chemistry Central Journal - New Open Access, Peer-Reviewed, Online Journal

Chemistry Central Journal (ISSN 1752-153X) is an open access, peer-reviewed, online journal recently launched by Chemistry Central. Chemistry Central, developed by the same team who created BioMed Central, the leading biomedical open access publisher, is committed to ensuring peer-reviewed chemical research is immediately and permanently available online without charge or any other barriers to access.

Chemistry Central Journal encompasses all aspects of research in chemistry, broken down into discipline-specific sections.

---

Chemistry Central is a new service publishing peer-reviewed open access research in chemistry from BioMed Central, the leading biomedical open access publisher. The Chemistry Central website currently features chemistry-related articles published in BioMed Central journals and independent journals utilizing BioMed Central's open access publishing services. Chemistry Central is planning to launch further chemistry-specific journals in the near future.

ICIS Chemical Business Americas - Update

I am glad to see Randy Reichardt at the University of Alberta got a little further with a response towards why the publication (Chemical Market Reporter) was drastically changed with no feedback or warning to academia. I only received a standard response from several people at ICIS that basically already told me the obvious - "we are only covering about 100 prices and focusing more on news". I made it clear to ICIS that the strength, and what made them unique to academic libraries, was that they covered such a large amount of chemical prices. The current price coverage was much weaker than they were promoting and probably of minimal value for engineering students. Chemical industry news had many publications and organizations that focused in this realm and they were leaving a niche market (chemical prices) that academia relied heavily on CMR for.

Randy Reichardt received another response from Penny Wilson, ICIS Global Editorial Director, that reaffirmed a commitment to students. I hope this statement is not just an attempt to keep current subscribers. Their past efforts have not shown that students were considered much in their decisions, or they did not truely understand their subscibers or future subscriber needs. I am hoping it is the later, and they just did not understand how much academia needed chemical prices before they dropped the prices from the print CMR, rigged together a clunky online access with no IP recognition, and finally slashed hundreds of prices from their inventory.

Case in the Top 100 in Biotechnology Research

A study released Wednesday by the Milken Institute, a nonprofit, independent economic think tank in Santa Monica, Calif., places Case in the top 100 of U.S. universities in biotechnology research and turning that research into commercial applications. As for Ohio universities specifically, Ohio State University ranked the highest, at 50th, followed by University of Cincinnati, 60th; University of Akron, 65th; and Case, 68th.

[VIA: Case Daily, September 21, 2006]

ICIS Chemical Business Americas - More News

Seems like ICIS Chemical Business Americas (Chemical Market Reporter) may be writing its own ending in academic libraries. Randy Reichardt has discovered that up to 75-80% of the prices that were historically tracked have been removed from the online price index.

I looked today (September 12, 2006) at the price index. Only 86 prices were listed for 51 unique compounds. Last year when we spent the EXTRA money over 500 entries were included. In addition, many of the items that are included rarely come up in a chemical engineering design project at my institution. For example, I have never helped a student look up the following items nor did I need them a couple of years ago when I worked on my own chemical engineering design projects: coconut oil (2 entries), clover leaf oil, cotton oil (2 entries), canola meal, fish oil (4 entries), etc.

I will be updating my chemical engineering research guide to include other alternative resources and tricks for students to find chemical prices, as the value of this resource may no longer be a luxury academic libraries can afford.

Timeline of events:

• Chemical prices are removed from print edition
  
• Case spends the money to add online prices with an initial price of $415 for over 500 chemicals
  
• Announced name change
  
• Entry about poorly timed updated
  
• Today less than 100 entries exist

CMR Now Called ICIS Chemical Business Americas

UPDATE to my earlier posting and formal annoucement from publisher:

CMR is now ICIS Chemical Business Americas. As of the 4th September CMR has been reborn as ICIS Chemical Business Americas. As part of ICIS, we aim to leverage our strengths and reflect this in our branding. With our global and extensive resources from around the world we can present our readers with the most comprehensive publication in the sector.

ICIS Chemical Business Americas will continue to provide our readers with all the content that they have grown to rely upon at CMR, from news of the week to expert coverage of key markets. And we are sure our readers we love our new fresh design and our regular new sections.

The Case Community can continue to gain access from the Library Catalog under "Chemical Market Reporter", until the name and links have all been changed.

Chemical Market Reporter Publisher Again Shows No Respect for Academia

As you may recall previously, I worked with the publisher of Chemical Market Reporter to establish electronic access for the Case community. This came after many librarians expressed great concern to the publisher for not considering the needs of their users.

CMR was one of the few resources available for students to establish chemical prices for their many projects. The publisher switched to online-only without asking academic users what they needed the most. They tried to make things better by offering an online subscription, but many libraries were still left in the dark as they required a single password login and wanted more money. This publisher forgot that the future purchasers of CMR would be the very students they were ignoring now.

ICIS has again decided to ignore academic subscribers. They are changing CMR to another publication, but shut down operations right when many academic librarians were directing students to this resource. A "coming soon" message does not help students complete their assignments.

Nanopolymers 2007 - First International Conference

Nanopolymers 2007 - First International Conference
12th–13th June 2007, Germany

Rapra Technology is pleased to announce the first international Nanopolymers Conference, to be held in Germany, from 12th–13th June 2007. Nanotechnology is already making a major impact on new product introductions throughout the world, in many industry sectors. Many of these new products are based on the material property changes that may be achieved by incorporation of ingredients, at the nanoscale, into polymeric systems.

Although nanoparticulate carbon black has been used in car tyres for decades, it is only recently that other nanoparticulate ingredients have been dispersed in plastics to provide exciting new materials that are lighter weight and as strong as metals. The automotive industry has championed the use of nanocomposites, exploiting other properties, such as smoother surfaces, easier processing and even cheaper materials, which can be gained as well as providing lighter weight products. In addition, nanoscale ingredients are being added to polymeric thin films, thereby providing properties such as anti-scratch, anti-microbial and anti-reflective surfaces. It is also possible to obtain special visual effects through nano-coatings. The textiles industry and the sporting goods industry are also introducing nanotechnology based products, and it is estimated that there are now over 700 nano-based products on the market.

The main ‘nano’ ingredients being dispersed in polymeric systems are especially organoclays, nanoparticulate inorganics, and carbon nanotubes.

This conference provides an opportunity and a platform to present your research, product or process developments in this area to an influential and informed audience.

Presenting authors at Nanopolymers 2007 will be entitled to free registration on both days of the conference including meals, refreshments and a copy of the proceedings.

Papers are now being invited for submission on any of the following areas:

• Aspects and impact of nanopolymers on specific industry sectors (automotive, aerospace, marine, energy, healthcare, packaging, leisure, etc.)
• Production challenges to incorporation and use of nanoclays, nanoparticles, carbon nanotubes, or fullerenes in composites and thin film coatings
• Property improvements achievable with nano-scale ingredients such as lighter weight, improved barrier properties, scratch resistance, anti-microbial, anti-reflective, conducting properties
• Characterisation aspects of incorporating nano-scale ingredients into nanopolymers
• Market data on growth of nanopolymers
• New research and development in the field of nanopolymers

If you are interested in presenting a paper at this event, please send a title, short summary, speaker name(s) and company name(s) to Alix Yates email ayates@rapra.net or Fax +44(0)1939-252416 by the deadline of 22nd December 2006.

Register before 12 April 2007 to take advantage of the special Early Bird Discount registration fee.

Materials, Medicine, and Nanotechnology Summit in Cleveland

Innovators in medical devices, clinical practice, and biomedical research will gather at Cleveland Clinic Oct. 2-5 to discuss the latest materials advances and nanotechnology discoveries and how they are resulting in new medical applications.

The Materials, Medicine, and Nanotechnology Summit will be hosted by Cleveland Clinic, ASM International, and the Nano-Network as the anchor event of Nano-Week™ 2006, a five-day exploration of how nanotechnology is changing our world. The Summit is comprised of the biennial Cleveland Clinic NanoMedicine Summit and ASM's Materials & Processes for Medical Devices (MPMD) Conference and Exposition.

Advance registration closes September 24.