Program

Engineered nanomaterials, with characteristic ultrastructural dimensions in the nanoscale, exhibit unique mechanical, electronic and optical responses. Methods, models, tools and techniques to probe the nanoscale properties of engineered materials also provide unique new insights into the mechanisms underlying the biological responses of living cells and molecules. This lecture will highlight some recent scientific findings on the nanoscale behavior of biological materials, with implications for human disease diagnostics, therapeutics and drug efficacy assays.

“How is nanoscience doing in moving toward applications?” This talk will provide a perspective on this question.

Semiconductor electronics has seen a remarkable ride. Since Gordon Moore’s observation in 1965 “incremental” progress in semiconductor technology has continued unabated, and the result has transformed the modern world. Microelectronics has become nanoelectonics, and the MOSFET has become the most ubiquitous device on the planet. This workshop honors the remarkable career of Dr. Rajinder Khosla and is an opportunity to reflect on what has been accomplished over the span of his career and on where the new opportunities lie. My topic is the evolution of semiconductor technology from microelectronics to nanoelectronics, and my talk is organized around the evolution of the MOSFET - from 5 micrometer channel lengths when I began my career as an MOS process engineer to the 5nm channel lengths that we hope to manufacture in the not so distant future. Understanding the MOSFET as a nanoelectronic device is not only useful for advancing MOSFET technology, it also provides a useful paradigm for understanding nanoelectronic devices more generally. Along the way, I’ll reflect on what the nanotechnology initiative has meant to microelectronics, on what the future might hold for nanoelectronics, on the importance of connecting research and education, and the role of theory, modeling, and simulation in science and engineering.

This talk is a testimony to my friend and colleague Rajinder Khosla honoring his life and contributions to science and engineering. After his early education and work in India in the development of electronic systems based on vacuum tubes, he came to the United States and received his PhD at Purdue University in Solid State Physics. He accepted a research position at the Kodak Research Laboratories, where as a scientist and later as a technical manager of his research team, he oversaw the development of the first, megapixel, CCD imaging camera for consumers. Rajinder faced challenges at Kodak, as he sought to develop a new way of imaging in a company deeply committed to the pursuit of alkali-halides and emulsion polymer photographic film. After retirement from Kodak, Rajinder entered a new career as a Program Director at the National Science Foundation to encourage the development of new programs to bridge biology with engineering. This talk will highlight Rajinder’s industrial, academic and governmental work as these contributions have provided the basis for the integration of research and education and a stronger future for science and nanotechnology.

The semiconductor industry has been driven by Moore's Law for more than four decades. During that time, major university research efforts have helped to create the technologies and inventions that have made progress possible. Yet the end of this remarkable era is in sight and is likely less than a decade away. In all likelihood, the end of this era will be driven by economics and not by physics. While physical limits to continued scaling may be further away, the cost of pushing toward those limits will soon exceed the benefits in terms of improved system performance. What will the semiconductor industry look like 10 years from now? If it does reach maturity as seems likely, where will the interesting opportunities for university research lie? What are the implications for university nano science research programs and facilities? This talk will try to suggest answers to some of these questions.

Engineering Research Centers challenge the research community to build research cultures that join discovery with technological innovation through transformational fundamental and engineered systems research. My remarks will explore the challenges and successes in building cross-disciplinary teams working with shared visions for engineered systems goals and in scaling up from nano to micro to systems scales in real-world technologies. These centers work in a framework that includes developing an innovation ecosystem in partnership with industry and an educational ecosystem that integrates research and education to develop a creative and innovative engineering workforce.

Unifying science based on the material unity of nature at the nanoscale provides a foundation for knowledge creation, innovation and technology integration. Convergent knowledge and technology refers to the synergistic combination of four foundational "NBIC" (nano-bio-info-cogno) provinces of science and technology, each of which is currently progressing at a rapid rate and providing transformative tools: (a) nanoscience and nanotechnology; (b) biotechnology and biomedicine, including genetic engineering and biocomplexity in the environment; (c) information technology, including advanced computing and communications; (d) cognitive science, including cognitive neuroscience ("Converging Technologies for Improving Human Performance", 2003, Springer). Developments in system approach, mathematics and computation in conjunction with understanding materials and systems from the nanoscale allow understanding the natural world and scientific research as closely coupled complex, hierarchical systems. Such perspective underlines the needs to better integrate and correlate disciplines and research and education programs.