Big Buzz about Minuscule Materials

The nanofabrication facility at the University of Utah is an 18,000-square-foot laboratory providing researchers with specialized equipment and processes to design, build and package nanotechnology devices at the atomic or molecular scale. Dozens of new nanotechnology discoveries made throughout Utah will be presented at the eighth annual nanoUtah Conference and Exhibition on Oct. 11-12 at The Leonardo science, technology and art museum in Salt Lake City.

Oct. 8, 2012 – From planetary research to personalized medicine, nanotechnology – which is the engineering of material at the atomic or molecular scale – reveals how simply changing the size and shape of a material can drastically alter its properties.

Dozens of new nanotechnology discoveries made in Utah will be presented at the eighth annual nanoUtah Conference and Exhibition held Thursday, Oct. 11 from 1 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Friday, Oct. 12, 2012 from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at The Leonardo museum in Salt Lake City.

News media are invited to cover the conference, which is otherwise open only to paid registrants.

Organized by the University of Utah’s College of Engineering, conference presentations include:

Compact microphones inspired by a mosquito’s ear.
Nanoscale imaging of planet formation.
Using nanotubes to detect tuberculosis.

“No technological advance is meaningful if it cannot be translated into practice and benefit society; nanoUtah fosters collaborations and the exchange of knowledge among scientists, engineers, clinicians, industry leaders and students to help achieve these goals,” says Ling Zang, conference chair and associate professor of materials science and engineering at the University of Utah. “This conference is a jointly organized platform for academic and economic impact based on the latest advances in nanotechnology research and development, technology translation and commercialization opportunities.”

Along with keynote speakers and poster presentations, the conference will highlight nanotechnology commercialization through Innovation Idol, a “speed pitch” session during which meeting attendees vote for nanotechnology business ideas. A career workshop also is offered for attendees interested in a career in nanotechnology.

Nanofabrication facility tours, instrument demonstrations and skills tutorials will also be offered to meeting participants at the University of Utah’s Sorenson Molecular Biotechnology Building at 9 a.m. Thursday, before afternoon sessions at The Leonardo.

All presentations will be held at The Leonardo (209 East 500 South, Salt Lake City, UT 84111). A full program and registration details are available at: http://www.nanofab.utah.edu/nanoutah12.