Nanomanufacturing Meeting to Chart Research Needs

Experts in manufacturing processes, measurement science and tools, and computational methods will meet Oct. 17-19, 2006, in Gaithersburg, Md., to set research goals and chart other next steps necessary to convert progress in nanotechnology into safe, practical products.

Organized by the federal Interagency Working Group on Manufacturing Research and Development (R&D), the Workshop on Instrumentation, Metrology, and Standards for Nanomanufacturing will feature presentations by R&D managers in a variety of industries, including electronics, aerospace, chemical and paper. Facilitated break-out sessions will be devoted to identifying key technical challenges that stand in the way of achieving safe, reliable and cost-effective manufacturing methods needed to make products envisioned for markets and applications ranging from biotechnology and health care to advanced materials and consumer electronics.

Workshop discussions will yield recommendations for future research to enable the manufacture of real-world nanotechnology products. These will help to guide the interagency working group, which was established by the National Science and Technology Council, to coordinate federal R&D efforts that respond to economic or other national needs and to help U.S. manufacturers leverage these efforts into a competitive technological advantage.

The workshop will conclude with an industry-led Nanotechnology/Nanomanufacturing Stakeholder Meeting, which will focus specifically on predictive modeling capabilities and elements of a nanotechnology design infrastructure.

Attendance is limited. The registration deadline is Oct. 1.

The workshop is sponsored by NIST, the National Science Foundation, and the Office of Naval Research.