2007 Liquid Crystals Gordon Research Conference will be held at Colby-Sawyer College in New London, New Hampshire, June 10-15, 2007

液晶科学技术已经真正超越了许多基础学科的界限，正在向其他许多领域和应用领域深入渗透。一些例子学科包括生物科学、生物技术和健康科学领域，以及光子学、传感器和纳米技术领域。液晶是由各向异性有机分子组成的，它与外部场和表面相互作用，对其结构和性能有很大的影响。从基础的角度来看，液晶的基本理论和模型已经得到了许多科学界的广泛认可；定向秩序和集体分子行为的概念渗透到当代生物科学界的知识基础中，有助于对细胞膜、功能肌肉、细胞分裂和形态发生的基本理解。由于其有用的电光特性，它们是许多应用的理想选择；最普遍的是信息显示。由于它们在信息显示方面的成功，研究人员和技术人员正在推动应用研究的前沿，为这些独特的材料寻找其他用途。戈登液晶研究会议历来汇集了一群不拘一格的研究人员和技术人员，讨论和辩论液晶的合成、潜在的物理现象和潜在的应用。戈登液晶研究会议将通过口头和海报展示以及社会活动，为液晶科学和技术的前沿思想提供讨论和辩论的场所。讨论主题包括新型液晶化合物的合成和表征，包括低摩尔质量、弹性体和反应介介材料；具有生物学意义的液晶系统；仿生材料;纳米颗粒对液晶的改性研究自组装与新型液晶相；最先进的仿真和建模；液晶在生物医学成像、光子学、激光、电光和生物传感器等方面的现代应用。通过在笔记本电脑、台式机和电视机上的平板显示设备上的成功，液晶已经对社会产生了深远的影响，目前，液晶正准备在生物学、医学和人类健康方面找到新的令人兴奋的应用。NSF基金将用于资助青年研究人员参加会议，并在这个高度跨学科的领域进一步整合和培训。乍一看，笔记本电脑和生活之间的联系并不明显。然而，这种共性涉及一种被称为液晶的独特材料。液晶为科学家和工程师提供了许多独特的特性，因为它们能够像液体一样流动，但又具有许多与晶体相同的特性。这些特性使它们在涉及电输入和光输出的应用中非常有用；最普遍的是用于笔记本电脑、台式电脑和最近的电视市场的信息显示器。如今，液晶显示器（LCD）市场日趋成熟。然而，由于信息显示方面的成功，液晶研究人员和技术人员正在推动应用研究的前沿，寻找这些材料的其他用途，如环境传感器、快速筛查传染病的床边诊断设备、提高药物功效的药物输送平台、可以检测和监测热量和湿度的执行器，以及用于医疗应用的廉价光谱仪。所有这些都有可能对未来的新工程应用和产品产生深远的影响。由于其简单性，液晶材料为研究人员提供了基本的系统来测试和验证分子和纳米尺度上的许多理论和模型。戈登液晶研究会议将通过口头和海报展示以及社会活动，为液晶科学和技术前沿的思想提供一个平衡的讨论和辩论场所。在应用方面，会议将重点讨论液晶科学的基础知识和下一代液晶器件。客观地说，液晶使便携式计算成为可能，改变了我们分享和传递信息的方式。现在，该领域正处于许多新的科学发现的边缘，这些发现可能使令人兴奋的新的生物医学设备能够改善健康和人类福祉，造福社会。这一潜力的核心是积极研究液晶科学的年轻研究人员；国家科学基金会的资金将用于资助这些人参加会议，并得到更充分的培训，并融入这个高度跨学科的领域。

Liquid crystal science and technology has truly transcended the boundaries of many fundamental disciplines, and now is deeply penetrating into many other fields and application areas. Some example disciplines include the bioscience, biotechnology, and health science fields, as well as the areas of photonics, sensors and nanotechnology. Composed of anisotropic organic molecules, liquid crystals interact with external fields and surfaces, which strongly influence their structure and properties. From a basic perspective, the fundamental theories and models of liquid crystals have gained great acceptance in many scientific communities; the concept of orientational order and collective molecular behavior penetrates the contemporary knowledge base of the bio-sciences community, contributing to the fundamental understanding of cell membranes, functioning muscles, division of cells, and morphogenesis. Because of their useful electro-optical properties, they are ideal for many applications; the most ubiquitous being the information display. Due to their success in information displays, researchers and technologists are pushing the frontiers of applied research to find other uses for these unique materials. The Gordon Research Conference on Liquid Crystals has historically brought together an eclectic set researchers and technologists to discuss and debate the synthesis, underlying physical phenomena, and potential application of liquid crystals. The Gordon Research Conference on Liquid Crystals will provide a venue for discussion and debate of the ideas at the forefront of liquid crystal science and technology through oral and poster presentations, and social events. Discussion topics include synthesis and characterization of new liquid crystal compounds including low molar mass, elastomeric, and reactive mesogen materials; liquid crystal systems of biological significance; bio-inspired materials; the modification of liquid crystals with nano-particles; self-assembly and new liquid crystal phases; state-of-the-art simulation and modeling; and modern uses of liquid crystals in biomedical imaging, photonics, lasing, electro-optic, and biosensor applications. Liquid crystals have already had a profound impact on society, through their success in flat panel display devices on our laptops, desktops and television sets, and are currently poised to find new and exciting applications in biology, medicine and human health. The NSF funds will be used to fund young researchers to attend the conference and become further integrated and trained in this highly interdisciplinary field. %%%At first glance, the connection between laptops and life is not readily apparent. However, the commonality involves a unique material known as a liquid crystal. Liquid crystals offer scientists and engineers many unique features because of their ability to flow like liquids, but possess many of the same properties of crystals. These properties make them useful for applications involving an electrical input and an optical output; the most ubiquitous being the information display, which is used in laptops, desktops and more recently the television market. Today, the liquid crystal display, or LCD market is maturing. However, due to the successes in information display, liquid crystal researchers and technologists are pushing the frontiers of applied research to find other uses of these materials for environmental sensors, bedside diagnostic devices for rapid screening of infectious disease, drug delivery platforms to improve the efficacy of drugs, actuators that can detect and monitor heat and humidity, and inexpensive spectrometers for medical applications, all of which have the potential to have a profound impact on new engineering applications and products in the future. Because of their simplicity, liquid crystal materials provide researchers with basic systems to test and validate a number of theories and models on the molecular and nanoscale, for example. The Gordon Research Conference on Liquid Crystals will provide a balanced venue for a discussion and debate of ideas at the forefront of liquid crystal science and technology through oral and poster presentations, and social events. In terms of applications, the conference will focus on the fundamentals of liquid crystal science and the next generation of liquid crystal devices. By any objective account, liquid crystals have enabled portable computing and transformed the way we share and transfer information. Now the field is on the verge of many new scientific discoveries that may enable exciting new biomedical devices to improve health and human welfare for societal good. At the heart of this potential are the young researchers actively investigating the liquid crystal sciences; the NSF funds will go towards funding these individuals to attend the conference and become more fully trained and integrated into this highly interdisciplinary field.