PEOPLE & PLACES UPDATE

July/August 2005 67

IOM3 names award winners

The UK Institute of Materials,

Minerals, and Mining (IOM3) has

announced its award winners for

2005. In the premier award

category, Michael Braden of the

Queen Mary School of Medicine and

Dentistry receives the Chapman

Medal for distinguished research

and innovation in the field of

biomedical materials. The Griffith

Medal and Prize has been awarded

to David J. Bacon of the University

of Liverpool for his notable

contributions to materials science.

Glenn R. McDowell of the

University of Nottingham wins the

Silver Medal, presented to younger

members in recognition of an

outstanding contribution to

materials science, engineering, and

technology, including their

promotion on a national and

international scale. John Kilner of

Imperial College London is awarded

the Verulam Medal and Prize for

ceramics research.

New NAS members elected

The US National Academy of

Sciences (NAS) has elected 72 new

members and 18 foreign associates

in recognition of their distinguished

and continuing achievements in

original research. The award is one

of the most highly regarded honors

that can be bestowed upon a US

scientist or engineer. Among the 90

scientists elected in 2005 are:

Carolyn R. Bertozzi of the University

of California, Berkeley; Malcolm H.

Chisholm of Ohio State University;

James P. Eisenstein of California

Institute of Technology; Anthony G.

Evans of the University California,

Santa Barbara; Lev Petrovich

Gor'kov of Florida State University;

Steven G. Louie of the University of

California, Berkeley; George C.

Schatz of Northwestern University;

Ellen D. Williams of the University

of Maryland; and J. Michael D.

Coey of Trinity College, Dublin

(Ireland).

Medal for thin film growth

Ian Boyd of University College

London has been awarded the John

Yarwood Memorial Medal and

Senior Prize by the British Vacuum

Council for his “outstanding

pioneering contributions to thin

film growth technology applied to

microelectronics”.

Swager to head MIT chemistryTimothy Swager has

been appointed head

of chemistry at the

Massachusetts

Institute of Technology

(MIT). Swager, who

joined MIT as a

professor of chemistry

in 1996, is also

associate director of

the Institute for Soldier

Nanotechnologies

(ISN) and leads its

mechanically active

materials and devices team. His research has revealed

the amplifying ability of molecular wires and he has

used this phenomenon to create ultrasensitive

sensors. This technology is currently being used by

US marines to detect explosives.

NIH programs to combat diseaseThe US National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

(NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is

to locate one of its four Programs of Excellence in

Nanotechnology (PENs) at Washington University in

St. Louis. “The PENs are a vitally important research

effort that will spur the development of novel

technologies to diagnose and treat heart, lung, and

blood diseases,” says Elizabeth G. Nabel, director of

NHLBI. “The program brings together bioengineers,

materials scientists, biologists, and physicians who

will work in interdisciplinary teams”.

Karen Wooley will be the program’s principal

investigator and will collaborate with 15 other

faculty members from Washington University, along

with one member from each of the University of

California campuses at Berkeley and Santa Barbara.

The project will receive $12.5 million over five years

from the NHLBI and focus on developing nanoscale

agents whose ultimate role will be the diagnosis and

treatment of various diseases.

While three further PENs are to be established, with

Washington serving as the administrative center, the

PEN at Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory

University is the only other program to have been

announced. Gang Bao will head the $11.5 million

research program focused on identifying the genetic

causes of plaque using molecular beacons, magnetic

nanoparticles, and semiconductor quantum dots.

Both programs will form an integral part of the NIH’s

overall strategy to accelerate progress in medical

research through innovative technology and

interdisciplinary research.

Risky projects gain supportThe US National Academies Keck Futures Initiative

has awarded $1 million in grants to support 14

research projects in the field of nanotechnology and

nanoscience. The initiative was established in 2005 to

stimulate new modes of scientific inquiry and break

down the barriers that inhibit interdisciplinary

research. In supporting what might be considered as

risky or unusual projects by some funding bodies, the

Futures Initiative seed grants aim to give projects

financial aid to develop their inquiries, recruit

students and postdoctoral fellows, and purchase

equipment to allow them to compete for larger

funding awards in the future.

The recipients of the grants and their research

projects include: Peter Burke of the University of

California, Irvine for initial steps toward developing

an enzyme that synthesizes carbon nanotubes;

Andrew Ellington of the University of Texas and

David Lavan of Yale University, who will investigate

nanobiocomposites for conversion of sunlight to

electricity; Shana Kelley of Boston College and

Edward Sargent of the University of Toronto to

pursue designer biomolecular templates for inorganic

nanoparticle growth; and Holger Schmidt of the

University of California, Santa Cruz to develop

biophotonic Raman sensors using composite

nanoparticles.

Students benefit from DFG

training programThe German Research Foundation (DFG) is to fund 14

new projects as part of its Research Training Group

program. The initiative enables highly qualified

doctoral students from all scientific disciplines to

work and study under the supervision of eminent

professors.

One of the research training groups to receive

funding is located at the University of Erlangen-

Nürnberg. The team of experimental physicists and

process and materials engineers is researching

disperse systems for electronic applications. They

plan to develop an inorganic-based paste for printing

electronic circuits on flexible substrates, a procedure

that could lead to the cost-effective production of

electronic components, including integrated circuits

and radio frequency tags.ijfjirfj12114nhfhsbf

Please send details of new appointments, honors, and awards to materialstoday@elsevier.com