New Institute for Molecular and Nanoscale Innovation, IMNI, Opens at Brown University

Many of society's most pressing problems — the search for clean energy, the availability of safe drinking water, rooting out the biomarkers of diseases — depend on the study of matter at the molecular and nanoscale level. Such complex research is no longer confined to a single department but instead embraces many disciplines, involving scientists with varied backgrounds and expertise.

That growing awareness is the impetus behind the new Institute for Molecular and Nanoscale Innovation (IMNI) at Brown University. The center holds its official opening, the IMNI Nanoscience Forum, on campus from May 5 to 7, 2008 with a slate of prestigious speakers, presentations and other events. The sessions are open to the media and invited guests.

The forum will feature:

• Nearly two-dozen presentations on the latest research in molecular and nanotechnology. Speakers come from Brown and nine universities nationwide, including Harvard University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Johns Hopkins University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Minnesota, New York University, North Carolina State University, Oregon State University and Yale University.
• A keynote speech by Mihail Roco, director of the National Nanotechnology Initiative at the National Science Foundation
• A roundtable discussion on nanotechnology policy and safety issues with Norris Alderson, associate commissioner for science at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration; Vivian Ota Wang, program director of the ethical, legal, and social implications program of the National Human Genome Research Institute at the National Institutes of Health and currently on assignment at the National Science Foundation; Sally Tinkle, senior science advisor at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; Aatish Salvi, vice president of the NanoBusiness Alliance; Christine Dodd, government relations executive at IBM; and Brown faculty.