Tag Archives: US National Nanotechnology Coordination Office (NNCO)

Vote for* winner for Generation Nano: Small Science, Superheroes

The US National Science Foundation’s (NSF) contest “Generation Nano: Small Science, Superheroes” for high school students has whittled down the entries to three finalists and bringing them to Washington, DC where the winner will announced at the 2016 USA Science & Engineering Festival (April 16 – 17, 2016) according to a March 30, 2016 NSF news release,

The National Science Foundation (NSF) today announced the names of three finalists in its Generation Nano: Small Science, Superheroes competition, sponsored by NSF and its National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) and supported by many, including superhero legend Stan Lee.

High school students Madeleine Chang from Bergen County Academies in New Jersey, Vuong Mai from Martha Ellen Stilwell School of the Arts in Georgia and Eric Liu from Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Virginia will come to Washington, D.C., to display their comics and compete for prizes at the 2016 USA Science & Engineering Festival in mid-April.

The competition drew submissions from all over the country. All responded to the call to think big — or in this case small — and use nanotechnology to empower their own original superheroes. Chang’s hero “Radio Blitz” disposes of local waste. Mai’s protector “Nine” dons a Nanosuit for strength to save a kidnapping victim. And Liu’s “Nanoman” fights the malignant crab-monster, “Cancer.”

“These three finalists tell a great story — all while they exemplify the combination of a sound technical basis for use of nanotechnology and artistic presentation,” said Lisa Friedersdorf, deputy director of the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office. “I think these comics will inspire other students to learn more about what is possible with nanotechnology.”

When it comes to applications for nanotechnology, “The possibilities abound,” said Mihail C. Roco, NSF senior advisor for science and engineering and key architect of NNI.

“Since these high school students were born, more discoveries have come from nanotechnology than any other field of science, with its discoveries penetrating all aspects of society — new industries, medicine, agriculture and the management of natural resources,” Roco said. “It is so exciting that these kids are getting in on the ground floor of progress. The competition inspires young people to dream high and create solutions in a way that may change their lives and those around them. We need this new talent; the future of emerging technologies, including nanotechnology depends on it.”

Those of us who cannot attend the festival, can vote online,

And remember to vote for your favorite from April 7 to 15.

*ETA March 31, 2016 at 1115 hours PDT: The vote link from the news release does not seem to be operational presumably since we the voting period doesn’t start until April 7, 2016.

Congratulations to the three finalists!

*’or’ switched to ‘for’  in the headline at 1110 hours PDT on March 31, 2016.

May 20, 2015 free webinar for small- to medium-size nantoechnology businesses

The May 20, 2015 webinar is the second in a series being offered through the auspices of the US National Nanotechnology Coordination Office (NNCO). Here’s more from the NNCO May ?, 2015 announcement (h/t May 7, 2015 Nanowerk news item),

The National Nanotechnology Coordination Office (NNCO) will hold the second in a series of free webinars focusing on the experiences, successes, and challenges for small- and medium-sized nanotechnology businesses and on issues of interest to the nanotechnology business community on Wednesday May 20, 2015 from 2-3pm EDT.

Who/Speakers:
Speakers at the event will include:

  • Dr. Ajay P. Malshe, Founder, Executive Vice President, and CTO of NanoMech.  NanoMech has developed patented platform nanotechnology innovations in machining and manufacturing, lubrication and energy, adaptive chemistries for advanced textile coatings, metal surface coatings, biomedical implant coatings, and strategic military applications.
  • Dr. Matthew Putnam, CEO of Nanotronics Imaging. Nanotronics Imaging uses a convergence in computational processing, automation, and artificial intelligence algorithms to image and analyze materials at the nanoscale for development of new semiconconductors, medical devices, regenerative organs, and photovoltaics.

Who/Viewers:   Members of the small- and medium-sized nanotechnology business community, as well as interested members of the general public, media, academia, industry, NGOs, and Federal, state, and local governments are encouraged to participate.

Why:  To engage in a dialogue about topics of interest to the small- and medium-sized nanotechnology business community through a free, online format. These webinars will inform topics for subsequent webinars for the SME community over the course of the year.

How:  Invited speakers will begin the event by providing an overview of their experiences, successes, and challenges in the nanotechnology SME space. This will be followed by a Q&A segment with members of the public. Questions for the panel can be submitted to webinar@nnco.nano.gov from now through the end of the webinar at 3pm on May 20, 2015.

Registration:  This webinar is free and open to the public with registration on a first-come, first-served basis. Click here to register now. Registration will be capped at 200 people. For those unable to watch the event live, the webcast, including closed captioning, will be posted on Nano.gov following the event.

Contact Us:
Direct Link: Nano.gov/SMEwebinars2015
Twitter: #SMEwebinars2015
Email: webinar​@nnco.nano.gov

For the curious, there are a few more details in my Jan. 7, 2015 posting announcing the first in the series.

Commercialization webinar series for nanotechnology businesses

Starting Jan. 15, 2015, there will be a series of nanotechnology commercialization webinars for small and medium enterprises offered by agencies associated with the US National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI). From a Jan. 7, 2015 news item on Nanowerk (there is an alphabet soup’s worth of agencies hosting this series),

The National Nanotechnology Coordination Office (NNCO), on behalf of the Nanoscale Science, Engineering, and Technology (NSET) Subcommittee of the Committee on Technology, National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), will hold a series of webinars focusing on the experiences, successes, and challenges for small- and medium-sized businesses working in nanotechnology and on issues of interest to the business community.

The first webinar is “Roadblocks to Success in Nanotechnology Commercialization – What Keeps the Small and Medium Enterprise Community Up at Night?”

More details can be found on the NNCO Small- and Medium-sized Enterprise Webinar Series page for the first in the series,

When: The first webinar will be held Thursday, January 15, 2015, from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. EST.

This webinar will be a round-table discussion with small and medium-sized businesses involved in nanotechnology commercialization focused on understanding common problems that they face and identifying those problems that the NNCO and NSET can assist in overcoming.

Who:

  • Craig Bandes, Pixelligent LLC
  • Doyle Edwards, Brewer Science Inc.
  • Scott Rickert, PEN Inc.

How: Questions of interest to the small- and medium-sized business community may be submitted to webinar@nnco.nano.gov beginning one week prior to the event through the close of the webinar. During the question-and-answer segment of the webinars, submitted questions will be considered in the order received and may be posted on the NNI Web site (www.nano.gov). A moderator will identify relevant questions and pose them to the panelists. Due to time constraints, not all questions may be addressed during the webinar. The moderator reserves the right to group similar questions and to skip questions, as appropriate.

Registration: Click here to register for this free, online event. Registration for the webinar is required and is on a first-come, first-served basis and will be capped at 200 participants.

Good luck with registration! (I was not able to click through to the page this morning, Jan. 7, 2015 at approximately 10:25 am PDT. They may have a problem with their server or they’re being overrun with requests.)

ETA Jan. 7, 2015 1040 hours PDT: Marlowe Newman, the media contact for this series, very kindly sent me a link to the registration page (I tried and it works),

https://events-na12.adobeconnect.com/content/connect/c1/1305935587/en/events/event/shared/default_template/event_registration.html?sco-id=1309829163&_charset_=utf-8

I also tried the previous link to the registration and it seems be working now.