Nov 9 2012
A workshop on nano and micro scale manufacturing is being planned for the Ford Motor Company Conference and Event Center in Dearborn, Michigan on May 22 and 23 of 2013. The organizers have begun registering participants and soliciting abstracts for speakers, panelists, and posters.
Flyer for Nano and Micro Manufacturing Workshop. (PRNewsFoto/WIMS2 Research Center)
Confirmed invited speakers include program managers from the National Science Foundation (NSF), Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Advanced Energy Consortium (AEC) and experts on the federal policy on manufacturing. Instructions for submitting abstracts as well as registering can be found on the workshop website http://nano-microworkshop.com.
The intent of the workshop is to identify the opportunities, challenges, and pathways for meeting practical industrial needs through nano and micro technologies. The meeting will emphasize the needs of manufacturers and technology users. Workshop participants will discuss future applications, what research and development priorities will be required to meet the customers' needs, and what technological innovations will lead to rapid and effective translation of laboratory research into commercial products.
The meeting will focus on materials and devices ranging in size from micro meters (around three ten thousandth of an inch) to a nano meter (three ten millionth of an inch) or less. Potential applications of nano and micro technologies are in the areas of biomedical devices, communications and information technology, defense and homeland security, energy, infrastructure, and transportation among others.
The workshop is divided into four main topics areas with several subtopics in each. Potential topics in industry needs section include: transportation, defense and security, consumer products, energy and environment, and medical sectors. Possible topics in the manufacturing processes area include: lithographic techniques, additive and imprint methods, self-assembly, integration and packaging, and barriers to commercialization. The infrastructure area will include discussions of metrology, health and safety, and standards. Topics in the policy issues area: how federal agencies, industry and academia should work together, intellectual property regulation, perspectives of state and local governments, entrepreneurship, business incubation, education, and training.
This workshop is supported by the National Science Foundation and organized by the Center for Wireless Integrated MicroSensing and Systems. It will be held in Dearborn, Michigan, where precision manufacturing, standardized parts, and the assembly line were combined for the first time in high-volume manufacturing.
According to meeting organizer, Joseph Giachino, "This is an opportunity for manufacturers to connect with researchers and discuss how to speed up the commercialization of nano and micro technologies and move them from the laboratory to the factory floor. End users of this technology will be able to directly discuss their needs with the technical community by attending the workshop." Professor Yogesh Gianchandani, the Director of the WIMS2 Research Center added, "This workshop is a first step toward developing a roadmap for practical innovations in nano/micro-manufacturing. A significant impact of this workshop will be to unite the voices of stakeholders in nano- and micro-scale manufacturing technologies – potential end-users, customers of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), device/material manufacturers, and researchers – in defining a path forward for application-driven research and commercialization of relevant manufacturing technologies."