Philadelphia University steps into the future

RoxReview.com - Philadelphia,PA,USA

Spinelli also said that the center would be looking into nanotechnology and its application in textiles to "really understand it in a 21st Century way. ...

Penn State gets $5M NSF grant for Nanotech Applications and Career ...

EurekAlert (press release), DC - Oct 23, 2008

Penn State will receive $5 million over four years from the National Science Foundation to establish a National Center for Nanotechnology Applications and ...

Oak Ridge National Laboratory - ORNL nano technologies big winners in ...

ORNL nano technologies big winners in DOE call. OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Oct. 23, 2008 — Eight Oak Ridge National Laboratory nanomanufacturing technologies have won $8.4 ...

Global MEMS/Microsystems markets and opportunities

By 2012, MEMS makers will be shipping 8.1B units/year, and nearly half the $15.5B market will be consumer devices, according to a joint SEMI/Yole Développement study. Major market drivers will include silicon microphones, microdisplays, RF MEMS, and even microfluidics for biomedical applications. Meanwhile, severe cost pressures of consumer markets are driving device makers to smaller geometries, creating requirements -- and opportunities -- for new kinds of etch and clean technologies.

Source: http://www.smalltimes.com

Nanotechnology: Potential for Revolution

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States and cities all over the country are competing for nanotech cluster status. But is this emerging science living up to the hype? Nanotechnology? a technology that creates small materials at the scale of molecules by manipulating single atoms?

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 22:41:00 GMT

Source: www.lawyerment.com/ news/ nanotechnology | www.areadevelopment.com

A Need for Improved Efficiency in Nanomanufacturing

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New research shows nanotech's environmental gains may be canceled out WASHINGTON, Oct. 28 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- New research shows that environmental gains derived from the use of nanomaterials may be offset in part by the processes used to

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 18:47:00 GMT

Source: http://www.lawyerment.com/news/nanotechnology | http://www.streetinsider.com

Secret lives of catalysts revealed

Oct 21, 2008 Science Daily

The first-ever glimpse of nanoscale catalysts in action could lead to improved pollution control and fuel cell technologies. Scientists from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory observed catalysts restructuring themselves in response to various gases swirling around them, like a chameleon changing its color to match its surroundings. Gabor Somorjai, a renowned surface science and catalysis expert, conducted the research with Miquel Salmeron of UC Berkeley's department of materials sciences and engineering.

Defense Environment Alert

October 28, 2008

DESPITE RISK QUESTIONS, NANO REMEDIATION METHOD COULD SPEED CLEANUPS

SECTION: Vol. 16 No. 22

LENGTH: 697 words

A process that uses nanoscale iron particles to remediate environmental contamination is showing potential to speed soil and groundwater cleanup efforts at 37 sites around the country and reduce cleanup costs, according to new research, though questions linger about how well the technique works and the mobility of the nanomaterials.

The remediation method was discussed in a presentation given by a group of nanotechnology experts including academics and EPA officials at the International Environmental Nanotechnology Conference, which was hosted by EPA Region V in Chicago Oct. 7-10. The presentation is available on InsideEPA.com.

While zero-valent iron has been used for site remediation in its bulk form for around 15 years, there is increased interest in using the nano-form of the substance in remediation efforts, as it offers a greater surface area for reactions, a quicker process, and might be able to reach more contaminants because of its smaller size, according to a source with the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN) who is involved with the research.

In the process, nano-scale zero-valent iron (nZVI) is pumped into contaminated sites, where it reacts with contaminants like trichlorethlene (TCE) and trichloroethane (TCA) and breaks down the solvents into more benign substances like ethylene, which can be eaten by bacteria in the soil, according to an EPA source involved with the project. The nZVI can also react with contaminants, turning them into rust.

The technique is currently being used at 37 sites around the United States, primarily large contaminated sites on the East Coast. Increased interest in the method comes as remediation choices have shifted in recent years from so-called pump-and-treat techniques to in ground, or in situ, approaches. For example, prior to 1992, pump-and-treat technologies were used in 80 percent of remediation decisions but dropped to only 20 percent in 2005. In situ approaches, which were essentially non-existent in 1986, represented 31 percent of all remediation in 2005.

Nanotechnology experts at the conference pointed to cleanups in Alaska and the Czech Republic to illustrate the potential of nZVI. A site in Alaska that was contaminated with the highly controversial industrial solvent TCA saw reductions in TCA levels of 60 percent to 90 percent, while a site in Czech Republic saw chlorinated solvents levels "reduced to an order of magnitude lower than original concentrations and were maintained for six months," according to the presentation.

Proponents of the method say it can reduce costs, pointing out that remediation at a New Jersey site would cost $4 million using a pump-and-treat method, compared with $450,000 using nZVI. The presentation also said it could cut the time needed to clean up a site from 18 months using pump-and-treat to a "99 percent reduction in days" with nanoremediation.

But proponents admit "it's not a perfect technique yet." One site in New Jersey treated with nZVI saw an initial decrease in carbon tetrachloride from 250 parts per billion (ppb) to 180 ppb, but after four months the level increased back to 230 ppb, according to the presentation.

The ability of the methodology to work depends on the chemical makeup of the site, such as whether the groundwater is aerobic or anaerobic, says an EPA source. Factors like the composition of groundwater, minerals and dirt can affect how the technique will work, the source says.

Questions remain about how the nanoparticles behave once they have been pumped into the remediation site. "Nanoparticles don't follow normal fluid-like kinds of movements like other chemicals do," the agency source says. "Instead of following along with water, they will all accumulate in one place." This has lead engineers to continue to develop new nZVI particles with improved dispersion and mobility capabilities, sources say.

But the engineered particles could also bring up more issues about the fate and transport of the particles, which could be hard to track as they move through the environment, the PEN source says. While iron occurs naturally in the ecosystem, the source says the particles might behave differently in the nano scale.

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Biotech 2008

10th Nov 2008

Save the Date for Biotech 2008 to be held at the Loews Philadelphia Hotel, November 10-11, 2008. This will be the eighth annual joint symposium of BioNJ and Pennsylvania BIO.

http://www.biotech2008.org