Zeiningen (Switzerland), September 7, 2004: Douglas Connect announces the launch of InterNanotech, a new online community for international researchers in computational and experimental nanoscience and nanotechnology. By holding regular seminar sessions over the internet, supported by virtual communication and networking tools, InterNanotech is designed to facilitate rapid communication of new research results and discoveries between different disciplines and geographic regions.
The scientific advisory board is headed by Prof. Nick Quirke of Imperial College, London, who emphasized “Nanotech is such a large field, encompassing most if not all scientific disciplines, that it is vital to have a forum in which it is possible to make new contacts easily and exchange information and news as rapidly as possible. I think the concept of the InterNanotech community will make a vital contribution to this end.” Dr Jurgen Schulte, Executive Director of the Asia Pacific Nanotechnology Forum went on to say, “A vibrant manufacturing industry depends on its ability to adapt swiftly to a changing market and its long term viability and future depends on its ability to pro-actively engage in innovation. Nanotechnology is about to become one of the key driving forces in a new cycle of innovation in Asia and around the world.”
Prof. Quirke and Dr Schulte were speaking from Broome, Australia where they are currently at the Pacific Rim Conference in Nanoscience, which starts today and is being chaired by Prof. Quirke. InterNanotech’s first activity is to make this conference available over the internet, not only as an online record for the participants during and after the conference, but also for all the people who were unable to attend in person. Presentations will be recorded and uploaded daily, along with the accompanying presentation materials. The conference includes contributions from leading researchers in the Pacific Region, in addition to invited speakers from Europe and the USA, and contains a significant amount of advanced chemistry and physics applied to nanotech research problems. InterNanotech is also giving a talented young scientist from India, Dr B.L.V. Prasad of the National Chemical Laboratory Nanoscience Group, a unique opportunity to present his work on the synthesis of metal magnetic nanoparticles. “I was overjoyed when my abstract was accepted for a hot-spot lecture at the conference in Australia, but I wasn’t able to raise the funds to travel there,” said Dr Prasad, who continued “I cannot express how thrilled I was when I learned that I would still be able to hear the lectures through the virtual conference, and I could also present my work to an international audience from right here in India. I really hope this concept picks up! ”
Later in the year, members of the InterNanotech community will also be able to join a session on Modelling of Membranes and Ion Channels, chaired by Dr Richard Pastor of the FDA Center for Biologics Evaluation & Research. InterNanotech will continue throughout 2005 with regular seminar sessions covering topics related to nanofluidics, nanobiology, nanofabrication, nanoparticles, computational nanoscience, nanomaterials, nanodevices, nanoelectronics, molecular manufacturing, activated carbon and zeolite design, self-assembly, health, safety, environmental and medical applications.
Full information about the Conference and the Community can be found on http://nanotech.colayer.net
Contact: Nicki Douglas, nanotech (at) douglasconnect.com, Tel: +41 61 851 04 61
Douglas Connect (www.douglasconnect.com)
Douglas Connect organises both independent and sponsored virtual conferences for scientific communities, as well as providing consultancy services for setting up communities of expertise and for a range of communication projects. Further current conferences by Douglas Connect include eCheminformatics: Applications of Cheminformatics and Chemical Modelling to Drug Discovery; and eCombiChem: Cutting Edge Technologies in Combinatorial Chemistry; and Integrating Knowledge in the Life Science Product Life Cycle. Douglas Connect is based in Zeiningen, Switzerland.
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