Conference Proposal - Integrative Smart Sensing using Non-Classical Behavior in Biology

越来越多的证据表明，量子力学行为在某些生物功能中起着重要的作用。例子包括从植物的光合作用到动物的磁感应。结合量子和其他在生命系统中发现的非经典行为，可以创造出一种新的、非传统的生物传感技术，这种技术可以超越我们目前的探测能力来监测我们的环境。约翰霍普金斯大学（在空军科学研究办公室的支持下）将召开为期两天的研讨会，题为“获得非经典传感的更深层次感觉”，该研讨会将探讨这一新兴领域的机遇和挑战。本次研讨会是继2018年4月12日至13日在弗吉尼亚州阿灵顿举行的“生物功能中的非经典行为：智能传感的潜力”研讨会之后的后续研讨会。讲习班的调查结果将予以散发，供公众查阅。长期以来，传感器技术的研究一直集中在基于“经典”化学、电磁和机械模式的转导平台上。尽管许多传感器平台已经成功部署，但应该探索和开发基于非经典（例如量子）模式的替代传感器系统。在生物学中的非经典行为和智能传感的交叉点上的探索可以用来理解自然界中的新现象，并为监测生命系统与其环境的相互作用提供新的机会。因此，我们非常希望在生物学和智能传感领域对综合量子和其他非经典现象进行更多的互动讨论。本次研讨会的总体目标是召集一批不同的、世界级的科学领袖，以：(1)回顾该领域迄今为止的进展；(2)探索识别新的量子生物学行为和其他非经典现象所需的先进工具和技术；(3)识别整合智能传感器中出现的非经典行为的挑战和潜在方法；(4)发展一个社区来分享想法、资源和技术，以应对通过研讨会确定的挑战，并教育和培训该领域的下一代研究人员。研讨会由著名学者和研究人员领导，由一系列小组讨论（邀请的简短报告）组成，然后与所有参与者进行深入讨论。产出将是一份讲习班报告，公众可在网站上查阅，并可作为一份已发表的报告。虽然量子生物学的研讨会和专题讨论会越来越多，但提议的研讨会更深入地探讨了与生物学中测量/检测此类量子现象的实施相关的问题。我们期望这次研讨会将启动和激发关于将量子和其他非经典生物学效应与智能传感相结合的讨论，并启动对潜在的有影响力和及时的量子技术需求的研究。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

There is an increasing body of evidence that quantum mechanical behavior plays non-trivial roles in certain biological functions. Examples range from photosynthesis in plants to magnetoreception in animals. Incorporating quantum and other non-classical behaviors found in living systems opens the possibility of creating novel, non-traditional biosensing technologies that can sense beyond our current detection capabilities to monitor our surroundings. Johns Hopkins University (with support from also the Air Force Office of Scientific Research) is to convene a 2-day workshop entitled "Getting a Deeper Sense for Non-Classical Sensing", which will explore the opportunities and challenges of this nascent field. This workshop is a follow up to the Non-Classical Behaviors in Biological Functions: Potential for Smart Sensing Workshop held Arlington, VA on April 12-13, 2018. The findings of the workshop will be disseminated and accessible to the public. Research in sensor technology has been long focused on transduction platforms based on "classical" chemical, electromagnetic, and mechanical modalities. Despite the fact that many of these sensor platforms have been successfully deployed, alternatives sensors systems based on non-classical (e.g., quantum) modalities should be explored and developed. The exploration at the intersection of non-classical behavior in biology and smart sensing can be used to understand new phenomena in nature as well as offer new opportunities for monitoring living system interactions with its environment. It is, thus, highly desired to have a more interactive discussion on integrative quantum and other non-classical phenomena in biology and smart sensing. The overarching goals of this workshop are to assemble a group of diverse, world-class scientific leaders to: (1) review the progress to date in the field; (2) explore advanced tools and techniques need to identify novel quantum biology behavior and other non-classical phenomena; (3) identify challenges and potential approaches for the incorporation of non-classical behavior appearing in smart sensors; and (4) develop a community to share ideas, resources, and technologies to address challenges identified through the workshop as well as to educate and train the next generation of researchers in this area. Led by leading scholars and researchers, the workshop consists of a series of panels (invited short presentations) followed by in-depth discussions with all the participants. The output will be a workshop report that will be accessible to the public on a website and as a published report. While there has been increasing number of workshops and symposia in quantum biology, the proposed workshop probes more deeply into issues relating toward the implementation of measuring/detecting such quantum phenomena in biology. We expect that this workshop will initiate and stimulate the discussion on integrating quantum and other non-classical effects in biology with smart sensing and initiating research toward potential impactful and timely quantum technology needs.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.