International Travel: AIChE-SCEJ Co-sponsored Symposium on Biorecognition and Transport Phenomena in Bioseparation and Bio-nanotechnology in Tokyo, Japan, on March 14-17, 2012

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Carta, Giorgio 1152403Intellectual Merit:Funding is requested from the NSF to help support travel expenses for participants from U.S. academic and nonprofit research institutions who are members of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) to attend the Annual Meeting of the Society of Chemical Engineers of Japan (SCEJ) to be held in Tokyo, Japan, on March 14-17, 2012 on the occasion of the 75th Anniversary of the foundation of SCEJ. A special session entitled "Biorecognition and Transport Phenomena in Bioseparation and Bio-nanotechnology" cosponsored by SCEJ and AIChE is planned for this meeting. Following the lead of a successful similarly co-sponsored session held at the 2010 Annual AIChE Meeting, the primary goals and, hence, the intellectual merit of this session is to allow scientists and engineers from the U.S. and Japan to share their most recent research efforts in a critically important area where these two countries lead, to strengthen their scientific relationships, and to establish a basis for future collaborations. Engineers and Scientists from Europe and other parts of Asia and Oceania are also expected to participate, providing a truly international forum for a broad dissemination of knowledge at the forefront. Broader Impacts:The broader impacts of the proposed activity are associated with the potential technological advances in biotechnology, biopharmaceuticals, biomaterials, and biosensing made possible by sharing new scientific information. Further broader impacts will be associated with the participation of U.S. faculty in a Japanese conference and their exposure to the Japanese scientific community, a strengthened relationship between the leading chemical engineering professional societies in U.S. and Japan, and further improved scientific ties between the two countries. As is well known, Japan was recently impacted by a devastating earthquake, which has caused widespread damage and loss of life. The Japanese scientific community has also been negatively impacted in a serious way. Thus, participation of U.S. scientists and engineers in this jointly sponsored session will also serve to show solidarity to our Japanese colleagues during a time of severe hardship.