International Conference on Nanoscience & Nanotechnology 2008

Melbourne Convention Centre Feb 25-29, 2008

This conference and associated networking activities attracted over 800 registered participants, an enormous increase over 2006, which had 460 registrants.

The purpose of this conference sponsored both by DIIRD and the ARC Nanotechnology Network was fourfold:

1. Promote the interactions of Australian scientists with high profile international researchers.
   
2. Promote the high quality of Victorian infrastructure and the strong economic and strategic support of the State Government for technology initiatives.
   
3. Promote the awareness of nanotechnology with the community.
   
4. Promote better interactions between industry, researchers and the business sectors in Victoria.

The confwerence was successful on all counts. Several world-class scientists, policymakers and business people attended the conference and are listed below:

• Dr Clayton Teague from the US Nanotechnology Coordination Office.
  Clayton is a key advisor to the US President on nanotechnology and a major player in setting up the US Roadmap for Nanotechnology Uptake. Clayton gave the Opening Plenary Lecture. He also attended a NSW Parliamentary enquiry on Nanotechnology in Sydney, and he provided several media interviews.
  
• Prof.Michael Gratzel
  Michael is one of the top 10 most cited chemists in the world, primarily because of his use of nanotechnology in solar energy conversion. Michael not only provided an overview f the current work on solar energy, he also provided a 4 hour workshop to 150 students and researchers on the basic concepts of solar energy. Michael collaborates wit Australian researchers for over 15 years and his technology is now owned by Australian company Dyesol.
  
• Vicki Colvin from Rice University
  Her work on nanomaterials for cancer research proved extremely topical, as there is now growing concern about the impact of these materials in vivo.

For more information please visit the official ICONN08 site.

Review of Industry Symposium and Engaging the Business sector in Science Development

The Industry Symposium was run for the first time at the ICONN conference this year thanks to the encouragement and funding of the Victorian State government. DIIRD’s assistance in helping to obtain Eric Isaacs from Argonne National Laboratory added significantly to the industry program. The industry symposium was extremely well attended by the conference delegates including several talks that were full to capacity with attendees waiting to get in. Eric Isaacs also helped facilitate a review of the Melbourne Centre for Nanofabrication (MCN), which has enabled the group to get the project back on track.

The industry symposium also allowed the small technologies cluster to run a lecture series involving Eric Isaacs and two other preeminent speakers to give talks to industry representatives on the Friday that could not attend the conference. The industry symposium also highlighted the leadership role that Victoria is taking not just into research into this vital area but in encouraging new industry that is being developed from the research.

This leadership position was noted by both other state government representatives from NSW and Qld but also from interstate based companies that attended. Coming out of this conference was a small group of industry representatives who met to discuss putting in a Federal proposal for an advanced technology initiative encompassing micro and nano technologies. The chair of the Industry symposium would like to thank Faye Burton, Jane Niall and Catherine Williams for their support, encouragement and assistance in putting together an extremely positive and well attended symposium at ICONN2008.

It was the first meeting on nanotechnology to try to bridge the gap from theory to practice, from the lab to the consumer. Most people recognize that nanotechnology will take consistent broad support over a decade to become a reality. There is also a clear perception that Victoria in particular is the Australian nanotech and advanced materials centre and that it is the likely heart of any future nanotechnology hub.

The clear conclusion from participants was that Victoria is kicking above its weight. The concern was that we should focus on niche areas where we are already competitive. A number of delegates thought that with the synchrotron coming on-line and with the Melbourne Centre for Nanofabrication (MCN) under construction, we would be well placed to compete in nanotechnology based bioelectronics, biomedical instrumentations and diagnostics. There was a clear strength in advanced materials and characterisation that was opening up applications from fuel cells to solar cells; we also had strong credentials in quantum phenomena such as quantum computing, and single photon sources. Engineered materials for membranes and water desalination were also high profile areas commented on at the meeting.