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NEW Master’s Degree In Nanotechnology

Application deadline is June 1, 2009 for fall semester

The Master's degree in Nanotechnology prepares students for this profession with a solid foundation in the three technical core areas: Nanofabrication, Devices and Properties, and Biotechnology; as well as Commercialization, and Societal Impacts of Technology.  Courses are offered by the School of Engineering and Applied Science, the School of Arts and Sciences, and the Wharton Business School.

PREREQUISITES
Nanotechnology is a highly interdisciplinary field.  A bachelor's degree in any of the following fields is appropriate: physics, chemistry, bioengineering, materials science, electrical engineering, systems engineering, mechanical engineering, engineering and applied science.  The curriculum structure allows students to match their background and interests while preparing for exciting new challenges.

For more information visit:
http://www.masters.nano.upenn.edu/

NBIC Announces Three New members to the External Advisory Board

NBIC announces the addition of 3 new members to the External Advisory Board. Viola Vogel from ETH Zurich; Miguel Salmeron from LBL Berkeley Lab, and Joe Lyding from U of Illinois. These additions bring expertise in motor proteins, surface functionalization and scanning probes. We look forward to their interactions with our center.

... read the bios

Igor Kulic @ Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique

Former NBIC postdoctoral researcher Igor Kulic has been awarded a permanent position in the French CNRS, at Institut Charles Sadron, Strasbourg, France.

Professor Shree Singh joins NBIC Science Advisory Board

Shree SinghShree R. Singh, Ph.D. is Director, of the NanoBiotechnology Center & HBCU-UP and Acting Chair, Department of Biological Sciences at Alabama State University in Montgomery. The major goal of the center is to engage in collaborative research in four major research areas: 1) Structural studies of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), 2) Carbon nanotube attached with ssDNA as nanosensor, 3) The development of nanobiomaterials for drug delivery, and 4) delivery of nanoparticle encapsuled anti-Chlamydial peptides in an animal model. These projects are carried out in collaboration with several institutions. Other aspects of the center include: graduate student training, international scientist exchange program, faculty summer exchange program, and an annual science symposium.

2009 Innovation Award Program

Dear Colleagues,

The Nano/Bio Interface Center announces the 2009 Innovation Award Program. This is a solicitation for proposals for exciting research in multidisciplinary research at the interface of physical and biological systems. Successful proposals will link to current research themes in the NBIC or present new directions related to the NBIC mission. Collaborations between investigators is viewed as a significant strength.

The support level is on the order of $50k for one year. Application materials are found here.

The deadline is April 3, 2009

Please submit the proposals and questions to nbicasst@seas.upenn.edu

Sincerely,
Dawn Bonnell

Wanted: Science Teachers for Professional Development in Nanoscale Science

We are currently seeking applicants to a 3-week professional development program through a collaboration with Penn's Graduate School of Education.

Find details at the following link: https://www.gse.upenn.edu/announcements

Professor Nelson recognized for excellence in teaching biophysics

Phil NelsonBiological Physics, Phil Nelson

Physics professor Philip Nelson often gets high praise for his teaching from the students in his biological physics (PHYS 280) classes.  Now, the Biophysical Society (http://www.biophysics.org/) has recognized him for his contributions to the field.  At its annual meeting in Boston later this month, the Biophysical Society will honor Nelson with the Emily M. Gray Award for his “far reaching and significant contributions to the teaching of biophysics, developing innovative educational materials, and fostering an environment exceptionally conducive to education in Biological Physics.” The Emily M. Gray Lecture will be the keynote presentation at the Student Symposium at the event.  

Back on campus, student comments about Nelson’s course range from, “I consider it [PHYS 280] the class in which I fell in love with physics” to comments by Meera Rao, a biochemistry student in the College who says, “in my traditional science classes (biology, chemistry, math, and physics) I have always been interested in those times when we peeked over the fence into the other disciplines.   Thank you for helping me tear-down those fences.”  Professor Nelson’s book, Biological Physics, is used in courses across the country and has been translated into Spanish, Portuguese, and Chinese.

Biological Physics (PHYS 280) is offered each fall semester and is one of the courses that count towards the minor in nanotechnology.

Professor Rob Carpick named Penn Fellow

Rob Carpick

Rob Carpick, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics was named a Penn Fellow last month. Professor Carpick has been an active member of the NBIC community since his arrival at Penn in early 2007. He has been a research mentor for the NBIC summer undergraduate research in nano/biotechnology as well as hosted a local high school science teacher in the Research Experience for Teachers (RET) program. In the fall of 2007, Carpick was the recipient of an NBIC Innovation Grant for his work on tribology, the study of friction at the micro and nanoscale. Recently, Dr. Carpick successfully launched the Nanoprobes Network (http://nanoprobenetwork.org/), an international community dedicated to the advancement of nano and nanobio instrumentation discovery and innovation. To read more about Rob’s Penn Fellow honor, go to http://www.seas.upenn.edu/whatsnew/2009/carpick.html

Dawn Bonnell speaks at the Chemical Heritage FoundationMolecules that Matter

This coming Tuesday, 9 December, will be the last in the series of "Molecules that Matter" lectures offered at the Chemical Heritage Foundation in coordination with the "Molecules that Matter" exhibit in the new CHF museum. Dawn Bonnell, director of Penn's Nano Bio Interface Center, will be offering a talk on "Linking Proteins, Wires, Dots, and Molecules into Useful Devices." The lecture begins at 6pm and ends with a small reception.

link: http://www.chemheritage.org/events/mtm_lectures/index.html


Sujit Datta NBIC alum wins APS highest undergraduate award

Sujit Datta continues to make a name for himself by be named the 2008 LeRoy Apker Award recipient from the American Physical Society. Last year, he graduated from Penn with a B.A (with honors) in Physics and an M.S. in mathematics. Currently, Datta is a graduate student at Harvard University. During his time at Penn he was active in NBIC activities where is conducted research in Charlie Johnson’s group. Sujit also participated in NanoDay@Penn activities where he helped explain nanoscale science to visiting high school groups and was a contributor to the multimedia image contest. The APS awarded Datta based on his research where he discovered ways by which graphene can be carved into nanoscale structures.

 

 

Naomi HalasNBIC Announces the 2008 Research Excellence Award in Nanotechnology

The 2008 Research Excellence Award in Nanotechnology will be awarded to Professor Naomi Halas during the annual NanoDay@Penn. Halas is Stanley C. Moore Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Professor of Chemistry, and Professor of Bioengineering at Rice University. She is best known for inventing nanoshells, a new type of nanoparticle with tunable optical properties. Other awards include an NSF Young Investigator Award, three Hershel Rich Invention Awards, the 2003 Cancer Innovator Award, and the 2000 CRS-Cygnus award for Outstanding Work in Drug Delivery. She was also awarded “Best Discovery of 2003” by Nanotechnology Now and was named finalist for Small Times magazine’s 2004 Nanotechnology Researcher of the Year. Naomi Halas will be honored on October 29th at 4:00 PM in the Wu and Chen Auditorium in Levine Hall. Her talk entitled, When Plasmons Interact, Worlds Collide: Optics At The Nano-Bio Interface, will focus on how metallic nanostructures are being designed and engineered as optical components.


Undergraduate Open House

Open HouseAll Penn undergraduates are invited to join an informal discussion with staff from the Nano/Bio Interface Center (NBIC) and students currently pursuing the Nanotechnology Minor. Come and learn about how a minor in nanotechnology can impact your future.

Refreshments will be served.

Graduate Research Award - Nomination Deadline Approaches

The NBIC Graduate Research Award is open to all graduate students across Penn's campus who are working in the area of nanoscale science and engineering. Guidelines can be downloaded here and the application deadline is September 26, 2008.

Innovation Grants Program (NBIC), 2008

Dawn Bonnell, Director of the Nano/Bio Interface Center announces the fourth round of Innovation Grants awarded by the NBIC. The Innovation Grants constitute a competitive program to support new topics of inquiry in the field of nanoscience and engineering. Four new awards were made in the second round. Read about each by clicking the links below.

Cherie R. Kagan, Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering
So-Jung Park, Department of Chemistry
Marija Drndic, Department of Physics and Astronomy
Jorge J. Santiago-Avilés, Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering
Yoko Yamakoshi, Department of Radiology
Prashant K. Purohit, Department of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics

Marija Drndić Recieves the Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Award

Marija Drndić

Dr. Marija Drndić, assistant professor of physics and astronomy, is this year’s recipient of the Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Award for her distinguished teaching of introductory quantum mechanics and electromagnetism for engineering students as well as the advanced quantum mechanics.  “She is a brilliant communicator”, and “her class is always full of energy” are remarks from one of her students. 

http://www.upenn.edu/almanac/volumes/v54/n30/pdf_n30/042208.pdf

http://www.college.upenn.edu/honors/teaching/descriptions.php

 

Gigantic fuss over a teensy topicPhillyNews.com

Nanotechnology is the focus of attention at a Penn science fair.

By Dan Hardy Inquirer Staff Writer

Until 25 years ago, when a new kind of microscope allowed scientists to see molecule-size objects more clearly, nanotechnology - which deals with particles a billionth of a meter or smaller - was more the stuff of science fiction than of science.

« read the entire article »

Recent Grant Funding to NBIC Associate Director, Yale Goldman

1.  NIST Award of $2 Million to Develop a Tool to Study Proteins At Work in Living Cells

Yale Goldman and his associate, Barry Cooperman of Penn’s Muscle Institute and Chemistry Department, were awarded a grant from the Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).  The grant is for $1.9 million and is funded under the agency’s Advanced Technology Program (ATP).  The goals of this grant are to develop technologies for identifying proteins from live cells in real-time, to be used in basic science research, drug development, and the search for novel medical treatments.  The corporate partner for this project is Anima Cell Metrology, Inc. of Basking Ridge, NJ.

« http://www.upenn.edu/pennnews/article.php?id=1245 »

2.  NSF Award of $700,000 from the Major Research Instrumentation Program

Development of Simultaneous Single Molecule Fluorescence and Atomic Force Microscopy.  This award supports the development of a new instrument capable of single-molecule fluorescence measurements of angular (polarization), translational, and conformational motions collected during Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) imaging and manipulation of individual biomolecules and their complexes.  AFM is the only technique that can image wet, native samples with nanometer resolution, and it has also emerged as a key technology for manipulation-type studies of single molecules and complexes, including protein and RNA folding-unfolding under tension, and studies of enzyme activity under compressive confinement.  The goal of this award is to design and develop a new instrument that will report the internal structural changes of single macromolecules and surface layers by single molecule fluorescence microscopy, simultaneous with application and detection of relevant mechanical forces and distances by AFM.  The long-term objective for this new microscope is to increase fundamental understanding of assembly, folding and function of macromolecules and surface layers.

Jonathan Spanier awarded with PECASE

Jonathan E. Spanier, NBIC researcher and Assistant Professor of materials science and engineering in the College of Engineering at Drexel University, was recently honored at a White House ceremony with a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE).  The PECASE is the nation’s highest honor for professionals at the outset of their independent research careers.  Spanier is the first assistant professor at Drexel to be selected for this recognition since the program was created.  The Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers, established in 1996, honors the most promising researchers in the Nation within their fields.

His research group website can be accessed at « http://www.mse.drexel.edu/mml/ »

NBIC Associate Director Yale Goldman Named 2007 AAAS Fellow

Yale E. Goldman, MD, PhD, Director, Pennsylvania Muscle Institute and Professor of Physiology is among the newest Fellows to be named to the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).  Goldman was cited for his distinguished contributions in molecular motor research, development of new technologies for biophysics, and service in scientific societies, journal editing, and organization of scientific meetings.  The new Fellows will be officially inducted February 16 during the 2008 AAAS annual meeting in Boston.

NBIC Bioengineering Professor Awarded the School's Highest Teaching Honor

John Schotland Dr. John C. Schotland, associate professor of bioengineering and electrical and systems engineering, was awarded the School’s highest teaching honor, the S. Reid Warren, Jr. Award. The award is presented annually by the undergraduate student body and the Engineering Alumni Society in recognition of outstanding service in stimulating and guiding the intellectual and professional development of undergraduate students in SEAS. Dr. Schotland received both his M.D. and Ph.D. from Penn and joined the faculty of Penn Engineering in 2002. He is a member of the Nano/Bio Interface Center and the Institute for Medicine and Engineering. A student writes, "Dr. Schotland challenges students to re-open math and physics textbooks to review everything from Bessel functions to multi-dimensional Fourier transforms." Another student notes that "outside of class, Professor Schotland devotes countless hours advising students on graduate school. With both an M.D. and a Ph.D., Professor Schotland is equipped to openly discuss each program, thereby helping students to decide which track best fits their personalities and career goals."

from the Almanac, vol 53, No.3, May 8, 2007

For more information about Dr. Shotland's research visit:

http://www.seas.upenn.edu/be/dir/details/John_Schotland_details.html

 

Industry Partnership
Podcast and video streaming available

On February 23, 2007, a distinguished panel of university and industry leaders assembled at the University of Pennsylvania’s Nano/Bio Interface Center to discuss exciting opportunities and complex challenges around university/industry partnerships.  Corporate representatives came from DuPont, IBM, and Johnson and Johnson as well as Sandia National Laboratory.  Christoph Gerber of the University of Basel in Switzerland presented his view of the future of nanotechnology and opportunities these kinds of collaboration will afford.  The discussion among the panelists centered on nanotechnology, biotechnology, computation, and information technology.

Listen to the podcast or watch streaming video of the event at

http://www.nanotech.upenn.edu/events.html#industry_highlight_07

 

Bioethics and Nanotechnology
New resources this spring

Several new podcasts have been added to the growing list of resources from Science and Society. The following are of particular interest in the nanobiotechnology area.

Dr. Buddy Ratner, Chairman, Scientific Advisory Board, Ratner BioMedical Group, and Professor of Bioengineering and Professor of Chemical Engineering, University of Washington discusses his research interests in nanobiotechnology in a program entitled, “Engineered Cardiac Morphogenesis.”

Richard Garozzo, Senior Composites Engineer in the Polymer Nanocomposites and Composites Group, University of Dayton Research Institute, and Manager, UDRI’s Center for Multifunctional Polymer Nanocomposites and Devices. discusses the world’s first manufacturing center for product demonstration of nano-enhanced polymer composites.

http://www.bioethics.upenn.edu/nanotech/nanocasts/nanocasts.html

Nader Engheta

Nader Engheta named as “2006 Scientific American 50”

Nader Engheta is the H. Nedwill Ramsey Professor of Electrical and Systems Engineering and professor of bioengineering in Penn’s School of Engineering and Applied Science.  He was recently honored by Scientific American magazine as one of the “2006 Scientific American 50.” 

Read more about this at http://www.seas.upenn.edu/whatsnew/2006/nader_engheta.html

Engheta is also a faculty advisor the NBIC’s Integrated Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT).  This research has focused on the development electric tweezers and the positioning and orientation objects at the nanometer scale.

 

DNA shown to very flexible at the nanoscale

DNA / Phil NelsonScientists have answered a long-standing molecular stumper regarding DNA: how can parts of such a rigid molecule bend and coil without requiring large amounts of force?  According to a team of researchers from the United States and the Netherlands, led by a physicist from the University of Pennsylvania, DNA is much more flexible than previously believed when examined over extremely small lengths. They used a technique called atomic force microscopy to determine the amount of energy necessary to bend DNA over nano-size lengths (about a million times smaller than a printed letter).  The findings, which appear in the November issue of the journal Nature Nanotechnology, illustrate how molecular properties often appear different when viewed at different degrees of magnification. 

"DNA is not a passive molecule. It constantly needs to bend, forming loops and kinks, as other molecules interact with it,” said Philip Nelson, a professor in Penn’s Department of Physics and Astronomy in the School of Arts and Sciences.  "But when people looked at long chunks of DNA, it always seemed to behave like a stiff elastic rod.”

For example, DNA must wrap itself around proteins, forming tiny molecular structures called nucleosomes, which help regulate how genes are read. The formation of tight DNA loops also plays a key role in switching some genes off. According to Nelson, such processes were considered a minor mystery of nature, in part because researchers didn’t have the tools of nanotechnology to examine molecules in such fine detail. 

"Common sense and physics seemed to tell us that DNA just shouldn’t spontaneously bend into such tight structures, yet it does,” Nelson said. "In the conventional view of DNA molecule, wrapping DNA into a nucleosome would be like bending a yardstick around a baseball.”  To study DNA on the needed short length scales, Nelson and his colleagues used a technique called high-resolution atomic force microscopy to obtain a direct measurement of the energy it would take to bend lengths of DNA just a few nanometers long. The technique involves dragging an extremely sharp tip across the contours of the molecule in order to create a picture of its structure.

With this tool, Nelson and his colleagues measured the energies required to make various bends in DNA at lengths of five to fifty nanometers---about a thousand times smaller than the diameter of a typical human cell.

"We found that DNA has different apparent properties when probed at short lengths than the entire molecule does when taken as a whole,” Nelson said. "Its resistance to large-angle bends at this scale is much smaller than previously suspected.”

Nelson is also a member of Penn’s Nano--Bio Interface Center, which explores how the fields of nanotechnology, biology and medicine all intersect. "The nanoscale just happens to also be the scale at which cell biology operates,” Nelson said. ``We’re entering an era when we are able to use the tools of nanotechnology to answer fundamental puzzles of biology.”

Nelson’s collaborators include Paul A. Wiggins from the Whitehead Institute at MIT, Rob Phillips from Caltech, Jonathan Widom from Northwestern University and Thijn van der Heijden, Fernando Moreno--Herrero and Cees Dekker from Delft University.

written by Greg Lester, University Communications

Innovation Grants Program (NBIC)

Dawn Bonnell, Director of the Nano/Bio Interface Center announces the second round of Innovation Grants awarded by the NBIC.  The Innovation Grants constitute a competitive program to support new topics of inquiry in the field of nanoscience and engineering.  Four new awards were made in the second round.  Read about each by clicking the links below.

Ritesh Agarwal, Assistant Professor, Materials Science and Engineering
Christopher S.Chen, Associate Professor, Bioengineering
So-Jung Park, Assistant Professor, Chemistry
Gianluca Piazza, Assistant Professor, Electrical and Systems Engineering

Nanotech Research at Penn Tops the List

Small Times

The May/June 2006 issue of Small Times magazine ranks the University of Pennsylvania #1 in research in nanotechnology. This is a result of an integrated initiative across the campus of numerous centers, laboratories, and collaborations. These include the Nano/Bio Interface Center, the Nanotechnology Institute, and the Penn Regional Nanotechnology Facility to name a few. The article also ranks other aspects like education, facilities, and industrial outreach. On the Education list, Penn ranks 5th and on the Commercialization list it ranks 10th.

Small Times magazine details technological advances, applications and investment opportunities to help business leaders stay informed about the rapidly changing business of micro and nanotechnology from biotech to defense, telecom to transportation. Small Times spotlights key issues in the industry's development, along with market intelligence, company profiles and more. (6/06)

<< Click to read article "Top 10 universities by category" >>
<< Click to read article "A complete list of universities who participated" >>

J. Lukes

Lukes Receives NSF CAREER Grant

Jennifer R. Lukes, William K. Gemmill Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics has been awarded a National Science Foundation CAREER grant for her work in modeling thermal energy transport in nanostructures. The NSF CAREER program provides support of the early career-development activities of those teacher-scholars who most effectively integrate research and education within the context of the mission of their organization.

Lukes equipment

This photo shows the modulated laser thermoreflectance setup Dr. Lukes is using to perform thermal conductivity measurements related to this research.

[posted 1.12.06]

Yale Goldman

Yale Goldman honored.

Yale Goldman, M.D., Ph.D. and Associate Director of the NBIC is the tenth recipient of the Stanley N. Cohen Biomedical Research Award. The award will be presented to Dr. Goldman by Dean of the School of Medicine , Arthur H. Rubenstein on November 30, 2005.

[posted 11.9.05]

 

Dawn Bonnell and Michael TherienTwo NBIC Researchers: AAAS Fellows

Dawn Bonnell, Director of the NBIC and Professor of Material Science and Engineering and Michael Therien, Professor of Chemistry were both named Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The announcement appeared in Science on October 28 th 2005.

[posted 11.9.05]

NanoDay@Penn / October 26, 2005

NanoDay@Penn 2005The Nano/Bio Interface Center of the University of Pennsylvania sponsored a day of education and outreach programs for the Penn community as well as regional high schools and neighbors. Activities included exhibits and demonstrations, laboratory tours, a graduate student research poster session, and high school research projects/science fair. The day culminateds with a NBIC awards program and keynote speech by Horst Stormer, Professor of Physics at Columbia University, and 1998 Nobel Prize Laureate in Physics. Professor Stormer was presented with the NBIC Research Excellence Award.

read more about the event >>

[posted 11.9.05]

Penn tries to dispel myths about nanotechnology

Courier Post OnlineThursday, October 20, 2005
By EILEEN STILWELL
Courier-Post Staff
PHILADELPHIA

The University of Pennsylvania aims to be on the cutting edge of nanotechnology, a far-reaching science with endless applications; but it also wants to head off the kind of backlash that has hampered progress in other hot-button topics like stem-cell research and genetically engineered foods ...

Read full Courier Post article >>
download PDF version >>

[posted 11.9.05]

 

Marija Drndic

NBIC Physics Researcher awarded with PECASE

Dr. Marija Drndic, an assistant professor of physics is among 58 of the nation's most promising young scientists and engineers. The Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) honors the most promising researchers in their field. Drndic was nominated for her contributions to understanding the physics and applications of nanoscale electronic devices and materials. Earlier this year, she was awarded a grant through NBIC in the Innovations Grant Program. Her research website is located at: www.physics.upenn.edu/~drndic/group/index.html

Read Penn Almanac article >>

Small Technology, Big Promise

Big PromisePenn researchers are helping write the rulebook for the future of nanotechnology.

By Samuel K. Moore

The Pennsylvania Gazette, May/June, 2005   Read full article >>


Tiny, on a grand scale

Tiny on a Grand ScaleNanotechnology's next big challenge: Making and manufacturing minuscule machines. Penn's Dawn Bonnell is leading the way.

By Peter Mucha
Inquirer Staff Writer

The Philadelphia Inquirer, posted April 25, 2005   Read full article >>

Innovation Grants Program 2005 (NBIC)

Dawn Bonnell, Director of the Penn Nano/Bio Interface Center announced on Friday, February 4, 2005, the first round of Innovation Grants awarded by the NBIC. The Innovation Grants constitute a competitive program to support new topics of inquiry in the field of Nanoscience and Engineering. Four awards were made in the first round. Read about each by clicking the links below.

Jennifer Lukes, MEAM, Penn
Marija Drndic, Physics, Penn
Jorge Santiago, ESE, Penn
Jon Spanier, MSE, Drexel University

 

Small Times® Magazine

Small Times

Nov/Dec 2004 Jan/Feb 2005

Small Times magazine is a bimonthly business publication focused on the applications, advancements and investment opportunities in micro and nanotechnology. Two recent issues (Nov/Dec 2004 and Jan/Feb 2005) included special advertising sections featuring the Pennsylvania Initiative for Nanotechnology (PIN). The NSF grant to Penn that initiated the Nano/Bio Interface Center is described in the 2005 publication. Select each link to view (in PDF) each special insert. (1/05)

Article on Delawareonline.comThe News Journal/JENNIFER CORBETT

By IN-SUNG YOO / The News Journal 12.14.2004

Chances are, you've heard the term nanotechnology being thrown around as "the next big thing" in science and technology. Chances are also good that you still have no idea what it is.

So why is it such a big deal, and when will we see it?

delawareonline.com

read the full article >>
download PDF version >>

The Nano/Bio Interface Center is Officially Up and Running

NBIC Dedication CeremonyThe Nano/Bio Interface Center was officially inaugurated on 23 November 2004 at a reception attended by University President Amy Gutmann and Eduardo Glandt, Dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Secretary of Community and Economic Development, Dennis Yablonsky lent his support and that of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

The University of Pennsylvania received funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to establish a new Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center (NSEC). Penn’s Nano/Bio Interface Center will be housed in the School of Engineering and Applied Science and will bring together researchers from across campus (Engineering, Arts and Sciences, and Medicine) to study the intersection of technology and biology at the nanometer length scale. The Center’s research program is structured around two major themes: biomolecular function and molecular motion.

The establishment of the Nano/Bio Interface Center recognizes Penn’s leadership role in the application of the physical sciences to biomedicine. It will nucleate a large number of research programs at the Penn campus and in the region while capitalizing on intellectual property. The Center will eventually be housed in the planned Nanotechnology Gateway Laboratory. The Principal Investigator and Director of the Center is Dawn Bonnell, Trustee Term Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at Penn. The Associate Director is Yale Goldman, Director of the Pennsylvania Muscle Institute at Penn.

more pictures of this event >>


 

New LogoNew logo adopted by Center


Logo Winners At the inaugural reception for the Nano/Bio Interface Center, Center director Dawn Bonnell announced the winning entry from a campus-wide logo contest. With 20 entries to select from, the winning design came from brothers William and Joseph Ho. Their proposal was all the more impressive in that several variations and alternatives were presented for consideration.
The brothers spent time reviewing the issues and concerns surrounding the disciplines of nanotechnology before setting to work. The winning design “represents a field of molecules that are manipulated to form the initials of the Center, while the results and ethics that affect society are represented by the figure,” according to the proposal. William Ho is a graduate student in the School of Arts and Sciences.


 
Dean Glandt, President Gutmann & Dawn Bonnell
Dean Eduardo Glandt with President Amy Gutmann and Professor Dawn Bonnell celebrating the new Nano-Bio Interface Center

Penn Receives $11.4 Million to Open Center to Explore the Boundaries Between Nanotechnology and Biology


Dean Eduardo Glandt with President Amy Gutmann and Professor Dawn Bonnell celebrating the new Nano-Bio Interface Center
PHILADELPHIA -- The University of Pennsylvania is one of six institutions to receive funding today from the National Science Foundation for a new Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center. As part of the NSEC program, Penn's new Nano/Bio Interface Center will bring together researchers from across campus to study the intersection of technology and biology at the nanoscale -- or molecular -- level.

read full article>>



Penn granted $11.4M
Philadelphia Business Journal Region's nanotech push boosted with national funding

By Peter Key
Philadelphia Business Journal

The University of Pennsylvania has landed a five-year, $11.6 million grant from the National Science Foundation to establish a center that will study the intersection of biological and physical systems at the molecular level.

read full article>>

 

 

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