Nanotechnology for National Security

BOSTON /BUSINESS WIRE/ -- Nanotech for National Security at the Nanotech 2006 will bring together for the first time the world's leading nanotechnology experts in biology/chemical defense, radiological defense, and sensors to explore how nanotechnology discoveries can help create the next-generation of devices to protect the public from a variety of threats. The symposium will be held May 8–11 in Boston, Mass.

The nano/micro technology for national security program will bring together scientists, engineers, physicians, professors, and government and business professionals to examine nanotechnology's role in a variety of high-risk public-safety applications. The national security symposium will be held in conjunction with Nanotech 2006, the world's leading multi-disciplinary nanotechnology conference.

"At this symposium, we're interested in learning how national security problems might be better addressed through the use of integrated systems that may rely on nanotechnology components," said Dr. Anantha Krishnan, Director of Lawrence Livermore's R&D for micro- and nano-technology unit, and one of the main drivers of the Nanotech 2006 program in nanotech for national security. "The key for us, therefore, is not to simply review the individual pieces, but to examine how different pieces of nanotechnologies could be integrated together into next-generation solutions."

Here are just a few of the technology areas where Nanotech for National Security speakers will focus:

• Improve ease-of-use of nano-sensors.
• Design smaller, smarter, and more integrated devices to improve efficiency and meet the public's expectation of noninvasive techniques.
• Increase smart-identification capabilities of chemical/biological agents for quicker and easily updateable screening and data analysis.
• Speed results to support near real-time results.
• Use super-sensitive sensors to work with micro-samples.
• Extend mobility to extend suitable locations via extended battery life and filters.

Speakers with research and applications impacting national security considerations will be drawn from the following organizations:

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Case Western Reserve University
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal, Canada
Harvard Medical School
Institute of Biomedical Engineering, United Kingdom
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Navy Naval Research Lab
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Tel Aviv University
University of California—Berkeley
University of California—Irvine
University of Cambridge, United Kingdom

The Nanotech for National Security 2006 conference details can be seen online. Also, online registration is available.

A limited number of press passes will be available for NanoSecurity 2006. If you are interested in a press pass or if you would like to interview a speaker, please contact Sarah Wenning at [email protected] or 925-901-4959.

About NanoSecurity 2006 and Nanotech2006
CancerNano 2006 and Nanotech2006 are among the largest gatherings of industrial, academic, business, and governmental nanotech-related professionals in the world and are presented by The Nano Science and Technology Institute (NSTI), Boston, Mass. NSTI is chartered with the advancement and integration of nanotechnology's use for a variety of research and business sectors through education, collaboration, and research services. NSTI offers continuing education programs, conventions, scientific and business publishing, and custom research services. NSTI was founded in 1997 as a result of the merger between various scientific societies and is headquartered in Cambridge, Mass., with additional offices in California and Switzerland.