Monday, November 19, 2007

NanoScience and Medicine

Updated 3/2017-- photos and all links (except to my own posts) removed as many no longer active.

I am on the Industrial Advisory Committee of the University of Arkansas' microEP Graduate Program. At my first meeting this past spring, I found myself feeling out of place as each person introduced themselves and their credentials. The other members come from companies such as Power Technology Inc, Air Force Research Lab, ITT Industries Space Systems Division, Texas A&M, Genesis Technology, Space Photonics, Lockheed Martin Coherent Technologies, Texas Instruments, and Bell Labs. I truly felt as if I might not have anything to contribute. I had been asked to serve on the committee because I was a graduate of the Physics Department (1978), was in health care, and was willing.
The program is an "interdisciplinary graduate program designed to expand a student's knowledge beyond the boundaries of traditional departmental based graduate programs. Students in the Microelectronics-Photonics program will participate in cross-departmental research, will take applications-intensive classes from multiple engineering and science departments, and will develop workplace productivity skills in a simulated industrial environment.
The outcome of their graduate education in this interdisciplinary environment will be a better understanding of microelectronic-photonic materials; the creation of high-performance, miniaturized devices and systems made from these materials; and an understanding of the economics that affect successful introduction of these devices and systems into industry and the community."
I feel as if I may get more out of this association than they do. I will get to learn more about these nano-particles which are amazing. I recently meet a science writer, Lakshmi Gopal, through on-line friends. She sent me this article on Nanotubes in Biomed Applications. It highlights the wonderful possibilities of this technology in medicine. Check out the article, it is a very good read. (photo credit)

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