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What's All This Fuss About Nanotechnology?
Professor Yves U. Idzerda, Department of Physics, Montana State University
Abstract
We’ve all heard the promise and hype about nanotechnology, but is it really going to be a future driver for the national economy? How do I separate the scientific reality from the Hollywood myth? In this talk, I will give a description of the conceptual framework of nanotechnology research. In its weakest definition, nanotechnology is research and development of materials measured in nanometers. A more intriguing definition is research and development on materials at a length scale where completely new phenomena emerge that are wholly unexpected by the simple reduction in the size of the material. These emergent properties are already having a technological impact on materials areas or show future promising applications. As examples, I will focus mainly on nanotechnology research currently ongoing within Montana including magnetic nanoparticles for broadbased sensors, the use of nanospheres of Pt and Fe for the production of hydrogen, and for targeted drug delivery. These examples will also allow me to discuss the ethics of nanotechnology, from the “white” technology of non-hazardous nanomaterials, the “green” nanotechnology with limited environmental implications, and the “red” nanotechnology for use inside humans.
MOCVD- Metal-Organic Chemical
Vapor Deposition Chamber
MOCVD System 4
MSU Soft X-Ray Beamline
NSLS-National Synchrotron Light Source of Brookhaven National Labs
Biography
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Yves U. Idzerda is currently a Professor of Physics at Montana State University, the Associate Director of the Center for Bio-Inspired Nanomaterials, and the Spokesperson for the MSU Nanomaterials X-ray Characterization Facility located at the National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS), beamline U4B. His current research interest is in characterizing and controlling nanostructured and ultra-thin film interface properties using novel characterization techniques that are element resolved and have strong interfacial sensitivity. He helped pioneer the use of synchrotron radiation for understanding magnetic materials and magnetic phenomena, directing the use of these techniques to helping solve some of the outstanding problems in magnetism. He has over 150 publications and previous to this appointment, was the Head of the Artificially Structured Materials and Non-linear Physics Section of the Naval Research Laboratory, where he was a staff member since 1989. He received his PhD in physics in 1987 from the University of Maryland with Prof. Ellen Williams.
In service to the scientific community, he has been the General Chairman for the Conference on Magnetism and Magnetic Materials in 2004 (MMM04), the General Chair of the Conference on the Physics and Chemistry of Semiconducting Interfaces in 2005 (PCSI-05), and he serves as a member of the Physical Sciences Proposal Review Panel for the Advanced Light Source (PSP Review Panel).
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