When it comes to regulating nanotechnology — a burgeoning global industry with wide-ranging potential applications — a new study led by professors Dietram Scheufele at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Elizabeth Corley at Arizona State University (ASU) reveals that the views of U.S. nanoscientists differ from those of the general public.

Nanotechnology involves controlling matter of atomic and molecular size to develop devices of incredibly small scale, usually 100 nanometers or smaller (small enough to fit through the pores of a surgical mask). The technology is becoming more pervasive, with more than 1,000 products — ranging from more efficient solar panels to scratch-resistant automobile paint to souped-up golf clubs — already on the market. Global revenues from products using nanotechnology are estimated to reach $2.8 trillion by 2015, according to Global Industry Analysts Inc.  [MORE]

Please join us in congratulating Professor Arun Yethiraj on receiving a Letters and Science Faculty Fellow Award. The Faculty Fellow Awards are extremely competitive awards that are provided to the most outstanding faculty in the College of Letters and Science on the basis of their research, teaching, and service. The award consists of 5 years of flexible research support. Please join us on congratulating Arun on this terrific honor!

Through a series of nine research articles — each one of which colleagues worldwide consider a ‘landmark’ publication — Howard Curler Distinguished Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering Juan de Pablo has demonstrated unprecedented advances in developing powerful computational methods that enable researchers to conduct molecular simulations of complex fluids. With his students, de Pablo has invented new simulation methods, algorithms and theoretical formalisms that are key to establishing quantitative relations between atomic-level structure and interactions, processing conditions, macroscopic properties, and performance in applications.   [MORE]

Professor Bob Hamers has been selected to receive the 2009 Medard Welch Award of the AVS (formerly the American Vacuum Society), the society's highest award. The citation reads, "for wide ranging studies of chemistry and photochemistry at semiconductor surfaces and for establishing connections to various emergent technologies". The Welch award consists of a cash prize, a struck gold medal, and an honorary lectureship at the national AVS meeting in November. Please join us in congratulating Bob!

Susan N. Coppersmith, a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor of physics, was elected to the prestigious National Academy of Sciences in recognition of her \"distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.\"

Coppersmith is a theoretical physicist who explores the fundamental properties of many types of matter. At UW-Madison, she has studied how crustaceans form their shells, how advanced computers may operate at the atomic scale, and, in collaboration with the university\'s Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center, how to manipulate matter at scales of a few billionths of a meter.
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Andrew Greenberg, Co-Leader of the NSEC Education Group, was featured in an ACS Nano podcast to support a NanoFocus article he wrote for ACS Nano\'s April issue. Follow the link to listen to the podcast.  [MORE]

Four members of the University of Wisconsin-Madison faculty, including Song Jin, are among 118 scientists, mathematicians and economists from around the country who have been awarded prestigious Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowships.

Sloan Fellowships, which come with two-year, $50,000 grants, are awarded on a competitive basis to promising young researchers in the early stages of their careers.

Sloan Research Fellowships have been awarded since 1955. The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation is a New York-based not-for-profit philanthropy founded in 1934. The foundation makes grants in support of research and education in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and economic performance.
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Chemical and Biological Engineering Associate Professor Sean Palecek is noted in a February 13 article in the Wisconsin State Journal for his collaboration on research that turned a new kind of stem cell into heart cells.  [MORE]

Franco Cerrina, a professor of electrical and computer engineering, cited for work to develop technology in support of on-demand DNA microarray chips, a technology that permits high-definition gene expression analysis.   [MORE]

An exerpt:
"What we captured is nano-specific," said Dietram Scheufele, University of Wisconsin-Madison professor of life sciences communication. "But it is also representative of a larger attitude toward science and technology. It raises a big question about what's really going on in our public discourse where science and religion often clash."

"Our findings show that the public no longer just turns to scientists for answers about the science, but also for answers about its social implications," he said. "In other words, they want to know not only what can be done, but also what should be done. The more prepared scientists are to answer both questions, the more credible their societal leadership will be on issues like nanotechnology," said Scheufele, who co-authored the study with Elizabeth Corley, School of Public Affairs at Arizona State.
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