May 1 2009
For the first time since its inception more than a decade ago, the world's largest international nanotechnology conference, expo and trade show is coming to Houston May 3-7 at the George R. Brown Convention Center, and University of Houston researchers will be attending in full force.
The Nano Science and Technology Institute's NanoTech 2009 has traditionally been held on the East and West coasts. This year, it not only comes to the Bayou City, but also is being held alongside two other prestigious conferences – CleanTech 2009 and the TechConnect Summit – as part of the overarching TechConnect World that combines the three in an effort to match innovative technology solutions with real-world business challenges.
NanoTech 2009 will feature more than 250 exhibitors and is expected to surpass 5,000 attendees from 67 countries. No longer exclusively focusing on scientists and researchers, this year's conference also will reach out to investors, venture capitalists and business executives interested in nanotechnology.
Among the nearly 40 University of Houston participants in NanoTech 2009, talks will address the role of nanotechnology in such areas as biosensors and diagnostics, tissue engineering, carbon nanotubes, energy storage technology, high-temperature superconductivity, prostate cancer, sickle cell anemia, safety in space, wind energy, solar cells, energy storage solutions and clean transportation. Exact times and locations for speakers can be found at http://www.nsti.org/Nanotech2009/program.html.
At the TechConnect Summit, the business exhibition offshoot of NanoTech 2009 that features intellectual property groups and early-stage companies, UH's Center for Industrial Partnerships (CIP) is sponsoring a booth to showcase UH inventions. The CIP is an industry portal to UH, offering licensing opportunities in the areas of health, biotech, nanotech, energy, cleantech, information technology and bioimaging.
A number of licensees and spin-off companies will be on hand at the CIP booth to discuss their ventures, create new opportunities and potentially find new investors and partners. Some of the invited companies include VNet Corporation, Eureka Genomics, SeprOx, Metox, OsteoSphere, Sentorix, Virtual Vision and Integrated Micro Sensors. Students also will be represented at the CIP exhibit. A team of seven UH MBA students working on a commercialization plan as part of a finance consulting class will be at the booth to promote an invention to potential executives and investors. Additional details and location can be found at http://www.techconnect.org/Summit2009/expo/exhibitors.html?id=17.
Emmanuelle Schuler, director of the CIP, will talk about best practices in innovation and nanotechnology commercialization, addressing the tight partnership necessary between universities and the private sector. She will discuss how the CIP, which is housed in the Division of Research, uses a variety of problem-solving methods, such as careful analysis of the industrial and institutional bottlenecks linked to the commercialization of emerging technologies.
Also from the UH Division of Research, Vice President of Research Donald L. Birx will be a speaker in CleanTech's symposium on wind with John D. White, the managing director of The Wind Alliance, which is a UH-led consortium formed to advance the renewable wind energy industry in the United States. Birx will discuss renewable energy, The Wind Alliance and what role UH plays in it. CleanTech focuses on how global sustainability requires a full portfolio of energy, water and environmental technologies deployed across all industries. Location, time and line up can be found at http://www.csievents.org/Cleantech2009/symposia/wind.html.
Another UH participant in CleanTech is Alex Freundlich, a research professor of physics and electrical and computer engineering, who will present a daylong course on photovoltaic solar energy conversion. His background is in the development of thin-film semiconductors and high-efficiency solar cells. Information on his seminar can be found at http://www.csievents.org/Cleantech2009/workshops/solar.html.
For more information about all three TechConnect World events, visit http://www.techconnect.org/World2009/.