NSF Tri-National Workshop - Advances in Micro and Nano Technologies for Sensing Applications

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The next generation of engineered systems and enabling materials are desired to have bio-mimetic attributes such as thinking, self organizing, self healing, self powered, multifunctional and reconfigurable, on demand information-to-knowledge conversion, application specificity, etc. Novel sensing capabilities are required to achieve highly sophisticated actuation and system control functions. To deliver such diverse attributes to today's device and system platform, advancements in micro and nanotechnology area are essential and timely. NSF Review Criterion 1-Intellectual Merit of the Proposed Activity: Innovations in micro and nanotechnology are essential to develop the devices, enabling materials and advanced systems, which can foresee and anticipate the important events rather than providing merely an after-event diagnosis. In the context, of the above subject it is imperative that the "discoveries and innovations in micro and nano technologies for sensing" need to be shared and discussed by eminent scientists and engineers on the international dais due to complexity and wide range applicability of the subject. Hence, the objective of this proposal is to call for such a focused workshop in conjunction with a large conference on "Smart Materials, Nano- and Micro- Smart Systems" sponsored by SPIE (http://spie.org/info/au) in Melbourne, Australia. The goal is to invite leading researchers in the related areas from America, Australia, and Japan to discuss and develop the subject through presentations and panel discussions, which will lead to further findings, recommendations and focused research programs/linkages between research groups on an international level. NSF Review Criterion 2- Broader Impacts of the proposed activity: The economy of several countries depends on the synergy between various technologies via the important common features of "sensing" techniques, "sensing" devices and "sensor" control systems. Principal research funding agencies such as National Science Foundation in USA, Australian research Council in Australia and Japanese Society for Promotion of Science (JSPS) in Japan can play an important role of enabler to bring American, Australian and Japanese teams of researchers together to provide an impetus to the advancement of sensing technologies to build integrated micro- nano- and macro systems. It is proposed to invite about 20 specialists from USA, about 15 from Japan and about 10 from Australia to participate in this workshop dedicated to novel and practical "sensing" applications. The efforts of a PI from USA and two co-PI's from Australia and Japan are being put together to plan and execute this project of international importance and relevance. The outcome of the workshop will be a detailed report and a book to be published by a leading publisher in USA. Attendance by industry champions may lead to collaborative projects to commercialize novel products.