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Exhibition : Advanced & Perspective Technologies
The Technology Fair of the Future took place last June 14-18, 2004, in Săo Paulo, Brazil. Organized by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), it has been one of the events in the XI General Conference of UNCTAD, which gathered around 3,000 participants from over 190 countries.
Participants were innovative enterprises, technology parks and institutes with research and development activities operating at or near the frontier of knowledge in developing countries and countries with economies in transition as well as leading research centers and companies from developed countries. It is a great opportunity for participants to present new ideas, design, concepts, future products and markets in their fields of specialization.
The Fair concentrated on some selected technology sectors: energy, biotechnology, nano-technology, materials, ICT and aerospace industry, as well as selected sub-sectors of importance for low-income countries and least developed countries, such as renewable energy, agro-food processing, medicines and building materials.
For further details, please see :
brochure | website | sketch of exhibition area
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Expert Group Meeting on Nanotechnology
The International Materials Assessment and Application Centre (IMAAC), one of the International Technology Centres of UNIDO, in cooperation with the Committee for Science at the Council of Ministers and the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Belarus organized an Expert Group Meeting on Nanotechnology , held last November 10-12, 2003 in Minsk, Republic of Belarus.
Main objectives of this Meeting : (i) to discuss the basic areas of application of nanotechnology ; (ii) to review the experience of selected industrialized and developing countries in the application of these new technologies - principles in the development of industrial sectors and new products, as well as in the formulation and implementation of a relevant technology policy ; (iii) to introduce UNIDO technology roadmapping programme and discuss the areas and modality of its implementation for Nanotechnology ; (iv) to outline a programme of international cooperation in that emerging industrial sector, define the role of international organizations, identify possible sources of funding for such a programme, and define the funds mobilization strategy ; (v) to work out recommendations and measures to further promote and implement this programme in the materials sectors of industry .
Invited participants were specialists in Materials Science and Engineering (from Austria, Brazil, India, Italy, Japan, People's Republic of China, Republic of Belarus, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom), with expertise in nanotechnology and industrial technology policy.
The IMAAC/UNIDO Expert Group Meeting on Nanotechnology was opened by Dr. Dan Liang (Director, Industrial Promotion and Technology Branch / Programme Development and Technical Cooperation Division / UNIDO, Austria) and by Academician Piotr A. Vitiaz (First Vice-President,
National Academy of Sciences, Republic of Belarus), and was chaired by Dr. Lelio Fellows Filho (IMAAC International Coordinator and Head, Technical Advisory Board /
Centre for Strategic Management and Studies - Science, Technology and Innovation, Brazil).
Presentations are listed in alphabetical order of their titles and can be downloaded by clicking the links provided:
- "Carbon Nanomaterials Syntheses under Non-Equilibrium Conditions" (37 slides) , presented by Academician Serguey A. Zhdanok (General Scientific Secretary, National Academy of Sciences, Republic of Belarus)
- "Development of NanoTech with Use of Methods of Powder Metallurgy" (34 slides) , presented by Prof. A. Ph. Ilyuschenko (Director, Belorussian State Powder Metallurgy Scientific and Productional Concern / National Academy of Sciences, Republic of Belarus)
- "Nanoelectromagnetics" (18 slides) , presented by Prof. Sergey Maksimenko (Deputy Vice-Rector, Belarusian State University, Republic of Belarus)
- "Nanovation Technology Program : NanoPower Engineering, Hot Superconductors and NanoElectronics" (12 slides) , presented by Dr. Alexander Ilyanok (Scientific Director, Consulting Center Nanobiology / AMEL Ltd., Republic of Belarus)
- "Nanotechnology for Interdisciplinary Research" (150 slides) , presented by Dr. Enzo Di Fabrizio (Head, Nanotechnology Group at Sincrotrone Trieste / ELETTRA - Area Science Park, Italy)
- "Nanotechnology in Brazil" (33 slides) , presented by Dr. Margareth S. Andrade (Head, Nanotechnology Group / CETEC-Technological Center of Minas Gerais State, Brazil)
- "Optics of Nanostructures : Science, Technology and Applications" (36 slides) , presented by Dr. Sergey Gaponenko (Director, Institute of Molecular and Atomic Physics / NAS, Republic of Belarus)
- "Precision Engineering : Micro Engineering and Nano Technology" (115 slides) , presented by Prof. C. Gajendran (Director, Central Manufacturing Technology Institute, India)
- "Projects Related to Nanotechnology and Materials, Developed by NEDO" (full text | 11 slides + 17 slides) , presented by Dr. Akira Kamiya (Director, Nanotechnology and Materials Technology Development Dept. / NEDO-New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization, Japan)
- "State-of-the-Art and Prospects of Development of Nanomaterials and Nanotechnologies in the Republic of Belarus" (full-text | 22 slides) , presented by Academician Piotr A. Vitiaz (First Vice-President, National Academy of Sciences, Republic of Belarus)
- "Strategy and Programs for Nanotechnology Development of Korea" (28 slides) , presented by Dr. Sang Hee Suh (Director, Center for Nanostructured Materials Technology, Republic of Korea)
- "The Nanotechnology Initiative of Styria, Austria" (38 slides) , presented by Dr. Werner Rom (Co-Director , Institute of Nanostructured Materials and Photonics / Joanneum Research Forschungsgesellschaft, Austria)
- "UNIDO Programme on Technological Advances and Innovations to Enhance Productivity of Industry" (36 slides) , presented by Dr. Vladimir Kozharnovich (Programme Manager, Industrial Promotion and Technology Branch / Programme Development and Technical Cooperation Division / UNIDO, Austria)
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Expert Group Meeting on Technology Roadmapping (IMAAC / UNIDO)
See the Aide-Memoire and the List of Participants of this meeting, held on December 15-16, 2002 in Cairo, Egypt.
Companies are facing many challenges in today’s global markets. Products are becoming more complex and, at the same time, more customized. Innovation - based on new technology - plays an enormous role in any company’s success. Innovative companies enjoy greater sales, profitability and global market share. Many countries, particularly the developing ones, have weak innovation performance, and companies must use effective tools to plan their future and better position themselves and their products. One of these tools, technology roadmapping, is a way to identify product or service needs, map them onto technology alternatives, and develop plans to ensure the required technologies will be available when needed. Technology roadmapping brings players together to collaborate in a far-reaching planning process and opens the door to collaborative research and development (R&D). It can play a key role in enhancing innovation.
The International Materials Assessment and Application Centre (IMAAC) and other UNIDO International Technology Centres (ITCs) are are well equipped and placed to play an important role in supporting this process at a country level, assisting in technology sourcing and assessing, bringing best international practices and experience, thus contributing to the process of sustainable development.
The output of this Meeting (recommendations and measures to further promote and implement this programme in the materials sectors of industry) will be available soon !
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Promotion of IMAAC in Argentina and in Turkey
Prof. Dr. Roberto C. Villas Bôas delivered conferences in Argentina and in Turkey, presenting his book Technological Challenges Posed by Sustainable Development: the Mineral Extraction Industries, and disseminating IMAAC's main missions, functions and activities.
Articles about his participation in the international events have been published in the following periodicals: Panorama Minero (in Spanish) and Gözlem (in Turkish).
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Establishment of ICISCE
IMAAC established the International Centre on Innovations for Small Cement Enterprises (ICISCE) to deal with problems caused to the environment by the cement industry. That initiative was launched at the IMAAC Forum in Beijing in May 1999. The China Building Materials Academy (CBMA), with the support of the Chinese Government, offered to host such a centre in Beijing.
The Government of China announced its full support to the new Centre and is ready to allocate financial resources to start the Pilot Phase work Programme. An initial project on the technological upgrading of the Indian cement industry has been already identified.
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ISEM-2008
The 3rd International Symposium on Advanced Fluid/Solid Science and Technology in Experimental Mechanics ISEM-2008 took take place in the main-campus of the National Cheng Kung University, Tainan City / Taiwan, on December 07-10, 2008.
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Materials Science and Technology Conference & Exhibition
The MS&T 2008 Conference and Exhibition was held from October 05-09, 2008 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (USA).
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Diamond-Like Materials, Carbon Nanotubes and Nitrides
The 19th European Conference on Diamond, Diamond-Like Materials, Carbon Nanotubes and Nitrides took place in Sitges, Spain, last September 07-11, 2008.
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International Conference on Engineering Education
The ICEE-2008 has been jointly organized by the University of Pecs and the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, and was held from July 28-31, 2008 in Hungary. Its main theme - "New Challenges in Engineering Education and Research in the 21st Century". Sessions were organized according to 43 different topics.
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Engineering Education and Research
The International Conference on Engineering Education and Research iCEER-2007 , the second major conference of the iNEER Network for 2007, took place during December 2-7, 2007 in Melbourne, Australia. The conference was organized by Victoria University, a major research and education institution comprising several campuses spread across central and western Melbourne, with over 50,000 students and 3,000 staff members.
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Permeable Reactive Barriers and Zones
The 3rd International Symposium on Permeable Reactive Barriers and Reactive Zones , was held on November 8-9, 2007 in Rimini (Italy).
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Intelligent Processing and Manufacturing of Materials
The 6th International Conference on Intelligent Processing and Manufacturing of Materials (IPMM-2007) took place in Salerno, Italy from June 25-29, 2007. This celebrated the 10th Anniversary of IPMM which was founded in 1997 in Australia. The conference theme was "Intelligence: where progress meets culture !". The city of Salerno, wherein one can view historical sites dating back over 2,500 years, was specially meaningful to host this event ! For more details, see both conference websites : site 1 and site 2.
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Global Colloquium on Engineering Education
This 5th ASEE Colloquium on "Engineering Education in the Americas and Beyond" was held on October 9-12, 2006 at Le Meridien Hotel, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. See details.
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Symposium on Transparent Conducting Oxides
The 1st International Symposium on Transparent Conducting Oxides was held in Crete, Greece, on September 23-25, 2006. The range of topics covered : fundamentals, fabrication, processing, characterization and applications.
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International Conferences in Russia
Organized by Novosibirsk State Technical University, two international conferences took place in September about :
- Information and Telecommunication Systems
(Sept. 17-24, 2006)
- Actual Problems of Electronics Instrument Engineering
(Sept. 26-28, 2006)
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Fuels Cells: Science and Technology
This Forum (September 13-14, 2006 in Turin, Italy) provided an update on scientific advances relating to the technological development of fuel cells. Major areas covered : Cell and Stack Technology ; Component Modelling and Characterisation ; Electrocatalysis ; Membrane Science ; Systems Analysis and Applications.
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Conference on Nanoscience
The 1st International Conference on Nanoscience (ICON 2006) happened in Venezuela, September 07-11, 2006. The event featured talks addressing all fields of science, engineering and technology at the nanoscale.
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International Liquid Crystal Conference
The 21st International Liquid Crystal Conference (ILCC 2006) was held on July 2-7, 2006 in Colorado, USA. The first of the series took place in 1965 at Kent State University, and these meetings have become regular biennial events organised under the auspices of the International Liquid Crystal Society.
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International Conference on Biodiversity
This first DIVERSITAS Conference was devoted to Integrating Biodiversity Science for Human Well-Being and took place on November 9-12, 2005 in Oaxaca, Mexico. More than 180 talks were delivered by leading scientists from around the globe.
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International Conferences on Engineering Education
The general objective of the ICEE conferences was the promotion of international collaboration in the field of engineering education, with special focus on modern methods and tools, as well as successful examples of networking and joint efforts with respect to universities students, teaching staff and governing bodies.
- ICEE 2007 took place at the University of Coimbra, Portugal.
- ICEE 2006 was held in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
- ICEE 2005 was organized by the Silesian University of Technology, Poland.
- ICEE 2004 was hosted by the University of Florida, USA.
- ICEE 2003 was organised by the Polytechnic University of Valencia, Spain.
- see also the report written by Robin King, Professor and Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University of South Australia on ICEE-2002 (click on the eighth bullet from the top).
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International Conference on Soft Matter
Organised by the Indian Society for Surface Science and Technology, the Conference was held at the Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India, between November 18-20, 2004. This International Conference on Soft Matter has been designed to cover the following aspects of the subject : Colloids ; Drug Encapsulation and Delivery ; Emulsions and Microemulsions ; Gels ; Liquid crystals ; Membranes (natural and artificial) ; Micelles ; Nanoparticles ; Polymers and Biopolymers ; Supramolecular Assemblies. Its technical programme comprised lectures and poster presentations.
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International Seminar on Aggregates for Civil Construction
Promoted by ANEPAC and Caterpillar, the 2nd International Seminar on Aggregates for Civil Construction was held in Campinas, Brazil, between October 25-28, 2004. The central theme of this seminar was "Aggregates Mining and Sustainable Development". Information about other international events from ANEPAC, see website.
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IEEE Conference on Sensors
More than 800 abstracts have been submitted to the 3rd IEEE Conference on Sensors (October 24-27, 2004 at Vienna University of Technology, Austria). The major topics of interest were : phenomena and modeling ; sensors and actuator systems ; applications of bio, chemical, mechanical and optical sensors (automotive, medical, environmental monitoring, consumer, alarm and security, military, nautical, aeronautical and space sensor systems, robotics, and automation).
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International Conference on Inorganic Materials
This 4th International Conference on Inorganic Materials, the latest in a series of interdisciplinary conferences, was devoted to all aspects of inorganic materials research. Held on September 19-21, 2004 at the University of Antwerp, Belgium, the conference comprised six sessions in the following areas : electronic and magnetic materials ; structural materials and ceramics ; nano-structured matter ; porous and catalytic materials ; theory in structure-property relationships and other emerging topics.
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Solid State Chemistry
The Conference on Solid State Chemistry (SSC 204) happened from September 12-17, 2004 at the Pyramida Hotel, Prague, Czech Republic. Full texts of conference contributions have been published in two Journals : Ceramics-Silikáty and Solid State Electrochemistry.
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Interfaces and Colloidal Systems
Organised by the European Science Foundation, the Conference on Interfaces and Colloidal Systems, held from September 10-15, 2004 in Giens, France, concentrated on new trends and developments of structural and dynamic aspects in colloidal systems which have the potential for usage in photonic devices, optical computing, memory storage devices, photonic crystals, and many others.
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Nanophotonic Materials
Organised by the School of Chemical Sciences/University of East Anglia (United Kingdom), the Conference on Nanophotonic Materials (AM222) was held on August 2-6, 2004 at the Colorado Convention Center, Denver, USA. The conference was oriented towards the advances of nanophotonics and the optical applications of nanomaterials. Systems of interest included semiconductor single crystals, hybrids and composite materials, and polymers, and coverage ranged from fundamental physics to applied research and technology.
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Conference for Engineering Education and Research
ICEER 2004 (International Conference for Engineering Education and Research), jointly sponsored by the Technical University of Ostrava (Czech Republic) and iNEER, the International Network for Engineering Education and Research, was held on June 27-30, 2004 in the Czech Republic.
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Battery Recycling Conference
The International Battery Recycling Conference, organized by the Asia Battery Association, was held in Beijing between June 10-12, 2004, in parallel with the International Lead Battery Fair (ILBF 2004). Some of the topics covered : Country reports ; Environmental Impact of Batteries ; New Technologies for Primary and Secondary Battery Recycling ; Battery Collection Programmes.
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Roundtable on Sustainable Consumption and Production
The 9th European Roundtable on Sustainable Consumption and Production (ERSCP-2004), was held on 12-14 May, 2004 in Bilbao, Spain.
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International Conference on Copper
COPPER 2003-COBRE 2003 was held in Santiago, Chile, from November 30 to December 3, 2003 as the fifth in a series of international conferences devoted to the economics, the mineral processing, the extractive metallurgy, the environment and the application of copper.
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Training Engineers in Risk Management
The OECD Workshop on Sharing Experience in the
Training of Engineers in Risk Management happened in Montreal, Canada, from October 21-24, 2003.
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Seminar on Processes, Rolled and Coated Products
The Brazilian Association for Metallurgy and Materials (ABM) organized its 40th Rolling Seminar in October/2003. See details of the program ( page 1 , page 2 and page 3 ). Further information may be obtained from ABM.
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Enhancing Metals Recycling in Emerging Markets
This International Workshop took place on September 10-12, 2003 in St. Petersburg, Russia. See the Programme ! It has been organized jointly by the member countries of the International Lead and Zinc Study Group , the International Copper Study Group and the International Nickel Study Group , and sponsored by the Common Fund for Commodities.
Dr. Heloisa Medina, from CETEM-Centre for Mineral Technology, Brazil presented the results of her study on "Non Ferrous Metals Recycling: Economic, Technical and Environmental Aspects of Aluminium and Lead Market in Brazil".
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Sustainable Development Indicators in the Mineral Industries
This International Conference took place in Greece, from May 21-23, 2003. Prof. Villas Bôas (Chairman of the IMAAC Advisory Committee) chaired a meeting on "Impacts and Life Cycle Concepts", and presented the book "Indicators of Sustainability for the Mineral Extraction Industries" , published by GEF/UNDP/UNIDO in joint collaboration with CYTED, CNPq, IMAAC, CETEM and CVRD).
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Workshop on "APELL for Mining"
Prof. Villas Bôas (Chairman of the IMAAC Advisory Committee) chaired the discussions of a Workshop on "APELL for Mining" (see the workshop Report), which was held prior to the APELL Senior-Level Expert Advisory Group Meeting, as a side event on May 14, 2003. It was co-hosted by UNEP and the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM). The workshop laid the foundation for further work by ICMM and UNEP in promoting APELL-Awareness and Preparedness for Emergencies at a Local Level.
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Inaugural Meeting of the Brazilian Society for Materials Research
Almost 400 scientists from 18 countries gathered in Rio de Janeiro in July/2002 for the Inaugural Meeting of the Brazilian Society for Materials Research (Brazil-MRS), also known by its Portuguese name - Sociedade Brasileira de Pesquisa em Materiais (SBPMat).
Five important symposia took place during this meeting : (i) Current Trends in Nanostructured Materials and Systems ; (ii) Advances in the Development of Biomaterials ; (iii) Frontiers in Semiconductor Materials and Devices ; (iv) 3rd Brazilian Symposium on Electroceramics ; (v) Surface Modifications in Materials and Polymeric Thin Films. More information about the meeting can be found in the MRS Bulletin (October 2002). The proceedings are being published in Materials Characterization and Journal of Materials Research.
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Nanotechnology for Health
By 2015, nanotechnology-based materials, products and services - including nanomedicines - are expected to form global markets worth hundreds of billion euro each year. As part of its continuing support for EU-level collaboration in nanotechnology and nanoscience (N&N) research, the European Commission has sponsored EuroNanoForum2005, whose showpiece is the launch of the vision paper
Nanotechnology for Health.
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Technology Transfer
The building up of domestic scientific and technological capabilities in developing countries is intertwined with the acquisition of foreign technologies through technology transfers. With this in mind, SciDev.Net is currently developing a dossier on Technology Transfer, and has recently launched a quick guide that can give you a taste of the issues that will be covered in original policy briefs and opinion articles.
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Publications on High-Tech Materials
Hundreds of scientific and technical journals can be accessed, free-of-charge, from the IMAAC site, at the
High-Tech Materials section.
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Reinforced Plastics Magazine
Reinforced Plastics, one of Elsevier's publications in the composites field, also offers a free weekly e-mail service. To opt in for the free updates, fill in the application form . Whether or not you are a subscriber to the printed magazine, you can sign up for this e-newsletter, and ensure that you get a quick update on what's going on in the industry. To view a sample of the latest issue, please click here.
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Bulletin from SBPMat
The electronic bulletin from the Brazilian Society for Materials Research (SBPMat) is already available online (in Portuguese only).
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Nano and Microstructural Design of Advanced Materials
The book Nano and Microstructural Design of Advanced Materials, a commemorative volume on Professor G.Thomas' Seventieth Birthday has been recently published by Elsevier. Its contents :
- Part 1 : Characterization: the key to materials; Nanochemical and nanostructural studies of the brittle failure of alloys; Laser surface alloying of carbon steels with tantalum, in situ TEM observation of alloying process in isolated nanometer-sized particles; Development of advanced materials by aqueous metal injection molding.
- Part 2 : Functional materials; Effects of topography on the magnetic properties of nano-structured films investigated with Lorentz transmission electron microscopy; Microstructural design of nanomultilayers (from steel to magnetics); Slip induced stress amplification in thin ligaments.
- Part 3 : Structural materials; Microstructure and properties of in situ toughened silicon sarbide; Ideal strength of iron; Bottom-Up approach to materials by design; Crystal imperfections seen by X-ray diffraction topography; Elastic constants of disordered ternary cubic alloys.
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InFoCus : a quarterly newsletter
See the second 2003 issue of the InFoCus newsletter, published by the International Copper Study Group. It has interesting articles about copper's economic contribution worldwide, as well as regulations affecting copper-bearing products.
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Books & Reference Works For The Materials Industry
The Materials Information Society announces several of its recent publications :
- ASM Handbook, Volume 11: Failure Analysis and Prevention : revised to focus on the root causes of failure; it describes the principles, practices and analytical techniques of failure analysis, so that root causes are identified and corrected.
- Understanding How Components Fail : covers basic failure analysis principles and practices, featuring numerous examples of commonly used metals, parts and service environments; the updated second edition provides expanded coverage of many important failure analysis concepts and analytical techniques.
- Metals Handbook Desk Edition : the original edition was published in 1984, but the new second edition contains improved information published in ASM Handbooks over the past 14 years.
- Metallurgy for the Non-Metallurgist : written for beginners as well as those who need to refresh their understanding of a particular topic; well illustrated and indexed, this book makes technical subjects easy to understand.
- Surface Engineering for Corrosion and Wear Resistance : provides practical information to help engineers select the best possible surface treatment.
- Metallographer's Guide: Practices and Procedures for Irons and Steels : prepared with the beginning metallographer in mind, but it will also be of interest to experienced metallographers who are seeking practical tips, alternative approaches and useful insights. The book features over 500 representative microstructures, with discussions of how the structures can be altered by heat treatment and other means.
- Corrosion: Understanding the Basics :a practical "how to" approach to understanding and solving the problems of corrosion of structural materials; includes identification of the various forms of corrosion, critical factors leading to a specific type of corrosion, necessary preventive steps to eliminate or reduce corrosion damage, protective-coating selection, corrosion characteristics of common structural materials, corrosion-testing programs and failure-analysis procedures.
- Alloying: Understanding the Basics : considers "alloying" to include any addition of an element or compound that interacts with a base metal to influence properties. The book addresses the beneficial effects of major alloy additions, inoculants, dopants, grain refiners and other elements that have been deliberately added to improve performance, as well the detrimental effects of minor elements or residual (tramp) elements included in charge materials or that result from improper melting or refining techniques.
- ASM Specialty Handbook: Copper and Copper Alloys : comprehensive guide to the selection and applications of copper and copper alloys, which constitute one of the largest and most diverse families of engineering materials.
- Superalloys: A Technical Guide : covers virtually all technical aspects related to the selection, processing, use and analysis of superalloys; provides the most reliable and cost-effective means of achieving high operating temperature and stress conditions in aircraft and industrial gas turbines and in a wide variety of other applications.
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Hydrogen Production from Heavy Oil
A new hydrogen production method, the HyPr-RING process was applied to a vacuum residue of Arabian light crude oil to clarify the effects of added water, calcium hydroxide, which absorbs carbon dioxide, and the reaction temperature. It was determined that when a sufficient amount of calcium hydroxide was present, it provided enough water to produce hydrogen and additional water was not necessary. To consume all of the carbon dioxide in 1 mol of carbon from the feedstock, 25 mol% of calcium hydroxide was needed and hydrogen production was saturated at 50 mol%. Carbon conversion was dependent mainly on the temperature and was slightly dependent on water and pressure. The reaction pressure was as low as 4.2 MPa. Thermal decomposition of the feedstock was the dominant reaction below 600 °C, which produced methane.
At the website of the AIST Institute for Energy Utilization , Tsukuba (Japan) or at recent publications of IEU , more detailed information about the ongoing research projects can be found.
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Iberoamerican Polymer Magazine
You may search for articles and news about recent advances in polymer science and technology in Revista Iberoamericana de Polímeros , a periodical published in Spain.
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Gypsum Productive Chain Vortal : An Electronic Directory
An electronic Vortal on Gypsum was publicly launched during the XIX Meeting on Ore Treatment and Extractive Metallurgy held in Brazil. This directory, in Portuguese, gathers hundreds of useful information (from mining to end products) related to gypsum, being an important tool for all engaged in R & D activities as well as in the productive chain.
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Nanostructured Advanced Materials
A special issue of Pure and Applied Chemistry, the scientific journal of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) has been entirely devoted to this emerging interdisciplinary field of Nanostructured Advanced Materials. This issue is based on lectures presented in February/2002 at the 2nd IUPAC Workshop on Advanced Materials, Bangalore, India.
The full contents of the papers have been published in Pure and Applied Chemistry, Vol. 74, No. 9, p. 1489-1783, 2002, and abstracts are available at IUPAC Publications website.
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Five-Year Forecasts of Latin American Countries
Latin American Newsletters has commissioned an exclusive Five-Year Forecasts of the six largest economies in the region (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Venezuela). This report (in PDF or hard copy format) looks at each of the six countries in turn, providing an analysis of the performance of the economy over the last five years and assessing risk factors for the next five years. Analysis and data on GDP per capita, GDP growth rates, unemployment rates, exports and imports, current account balance and exchange rates are all provided for both the historic and forecast periods. You may place your order by e-mail.
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Harvesting Gold Nanoparticles from Sprouts
Seeking biological routes to metal nanoparticles, researchers have harnessed the biosynthetic power of biomass, bacteria, and fungi. Now they have another option : living plants ! Prof. Gardea-Torresdey, Prof. Yacaman and co-workers have isolated gold nanoparticles from alfalfa plants grown in a solid medium containing potassium tetrachloroaurate. An article entitled "Formation and Growth of Au Nanoparticles inside Live Alfalfa Plants" has been published in Nano Letters, January/2002, and you may download it directly from here.
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MMSD Project Final Report
Breaking New Ground: Mining, Minerals, and Sustainable Development is available at the MMSD website. This report identifies the principal challenges confronting the minerals sector and recommends ways in which it can move forward. It proposes an Agenda for Change with recommendations and suggestions for immediate and long-term actions for the various actors in the sector, including government, industry and civil society.
Also see MMSD Regional Processes around the World.
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Special Series on Mine Closure
A series on environmental, economic, social, legal and technical aspects of mine closure has been published by the United Nations Journal entitled Natural Resources Forum. The "marismática" Marcia Brewster is the editor-in-chief of this special series (which ran throughout volumes 25 and 26). The editors expressed their thankfulness to Prof. R. Villas Bôas, Chairman of IMAAC Advisory Committee and one of the Editorial Advisers of NRF, for inspiring the work on this series.
The first article by M.M. Veiga, M.Scoble and M.L. McAllister entitled "Mining with Communities" is available in the printed NRF Vol. 25 # 3 , pages 191-202 (August 2001). The article that appears in Vol. 25 # 4, pages 265-274 (November 2001), entitled "Economic and Financial Aspects of Mine Closure", has the authorship of the "marismáticos" Kahn, Franceschi, Curi and Vale. All articles from the series are short versions of the discussions held in La Rabida, Spain, at the premises of the IUA-International University of Andalucía, during the Mine Closure Workshop sponsored by CYTED-XIII and IMAAC. The articles are available at Blackwell site or at Ingenta site .
Note : "Marismáticos" stands, after the Marismas of Huelva from where Colon sailed towards America, for those participants of the mentioned Workshop at IUA.
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Quarterly Updates from NRC / BPD
A series of Quarterly Updates on the progress of the Natural Resources Cluster (NRC) of Business Partners for Development (BPD) programme is being electronically published. One of the objectives of the BPD is to find ways to bring the tri-sector partnership model of corporate social investment 'to scale'.
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Dissemination, in Spain, of the book "Cierre de Minas : Experiencias en Iberoamérica"
This book , edited by R. C. Villas Bôas and M. L. Barreto, was disclosed in February/2001 at the International University of Andalucia, in the presence of important representatives from academic and industrial organizations. An article about the event has been published in Panorama Minero (in Spanish).
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U.S. National Science Foundation Support Extended-Stay International Research and Education Visits
The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) has announced the continuation in 2007 of a supplemental funding opportunity for International Research and Education in Engineering (IREE). As reported last year, IREE was initiated by NSF in 2006 to support visits by U.S. early-career researchers (students, post-docs, assistant & associate professors) to collaborating institutions and laboratories outside of the United States to engage in cooperative research for periods of 3-6 months. Eligible researchers must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents.
Current awardees with expiration dates falling before October 31, 2008 must contact the cognizant program officers at NSF to request a no-cost extension, before submitting the proposals.
Furthermore, all undergraduate students must have research experience prior to the foreign travel under IREE. Principal Investigators may request funds to support undergraduate students under the active awards before the start of foreign travel. Also required will be a letter from the coordinator at the foreign institution/laboratory certifying its agreement to accept the U.S. researcher(s).
See full details on allowable costs and instructions for proposal preparation.
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EPA/NSF/NIOSH/NIEHS Joint Research Grants
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Office of Research and Development (ORD) as part of its Science to Achieve Results (STAR) program; the National Science Foundation (NSF), Engineering Directorate; the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, (NIOSH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) ; and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Department of Health and Human Services
(DHHS), are seeking applications proposing research about the potential implications of nanotechnology and manufactured nanomaterials on human health and the environment. Research areas can include the toxicology, fate, transport and transformation, bioavailability, exposures of human and other species in natural ecosystems to nanomaterials, and industrial ecology related to nanomaterials.
See details at Funding Opportunities for Nanotechnology ! The opening date was December 20, 2005 and the closing date for receiving applications is February 22, 2006.
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Other Opportunities by U.S. National Science Foundation
Click on the links provided under each topic for further information of current funding opportunities for international activities by U.S. National Science Foundation :
(i) Materials World Network : Cooperative Activity in Materials Research between US Investigators and their Counterparts Abroad
(ii) Developing Global Scientists and Engineers
(iii) International Research and Education : Planning Visits and Workshops
(iv) East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes for U.S. Graduate Students (EAPSI)
(v) Pan-American Advanced Studies Institutes Program (PASI)
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Funding Opportunities Sponsored by EPA/NCER
In 2003, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's National Center for Environmental Research (NCER) also invited small business firms to submit research proposals for its Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, especially regarding : nanomaterials and clean technology, drinking water and wastewater management, and solid and hazardous waste management.
Several SBIR solicitations covering Air Pollution Monitoring, Technology Solutions for Western USA Environmental Problems , and Safe Buildings and Water Security have been issued. For more detailed information, please see Research Opportunities at EPA/NCER website.
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Funding Availability for Engineering Research Centers
U.S. National Science Foundation announces new funding availability for Engineering Research Centers (ERCs). The newly launched program is entitled "Partnerships in Transforming Research, Education and Technology". See details of the announcement at the NSF website. It is also worth having a look at other existing ERCs.
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Funding Availability for Developing Countries Researchers
The International Foundation for Science (IFS) provides support to young researchers in developing countries by awarding research grants and providing grantees with additional services such as travel grants and purchasing assistance. Research grants are awarded up to a maximum value of USD 12,000 for a period of 1-3 years and may be renewed twice. They are intended for the purchase of equipment, expendable supplies, and literature, and to arrange field activities. Applicants must be :
- citizens of, and carry out the research in, a developing country;
- affiliated with a university or national research institution in a developing country;
- at the beginning of their research career, have a minimum academic degree of an MSc/MA or the equivalent, and preferably be younger than 40 (under 30 for applicants from China). Applications can be downloaded from the IFS website.
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High-Tech Materials : R & D Centres and Associations
Visit the High-Tech Materials section of the IMAAC website : direct links to R & D Centres, as well as Associations worldwide dealing with Biomaterials, Lasers, Plasmas, Optical Materials, Materials for Microelectronics and Nanotechnology are provided.
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2009 iNEER Awards
Awards are in the form of engraved plaques and will be presented during ceremonies to be held at ICEE-iCEER 2009 (August 23-28, Seoul, Korea). Please see guidelines for nominations, award categories, selection criteria, and information on past awards. Clicking on the names of the award recipients will allow you to see the respective nomination packages.
Nomination packages for 2009 awards, following format described in the guidelines, should be submitted by e-mail to the Awards Committee through the iNEER Secretariat, and include a copy for the Secretary of the Awards Committee. Please include the word NOMINATION in the subject line of your e-mail message to facilitate processing of the nomination. The deadline for nominations for presentation at ICEE-2009 is June 26, 2009.
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Nanotechnology Dilemmas
If nanotechnology is billed as the "Next Industrial Revolution", then it also must raise a host of important social and ethical questions that we need to consider now, says Patrick Lin (Research Director for The Nanoethics Group). His article points some issues already familiar to philosophy and ethics, but considering them in the context of nanotechnology, they can reveal new insights.
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Method to Produce Carbon Nanotubes
Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) has developed a method to mass produce carbon nanotubes, raising output efficiency by 100-fold. The method will pave the way for the commercialization of carbon nanotubes for use in such products as high-strength textiles for use as aviation materials, as well as antibacterial filters and scaffolds for cell culture. Researchers at AIST's Research Center for Advanced Carbon Materials, led by Takeshi Saito, succeeded in raising the output of single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT), by improving a conventional synthesis method called direct injection pyrolytic synthesis. Under the conventional method, a gas made up of carbon-containing materials, catalyst and reaction accelerator is pumped into a furnace to make SWNT.
Saito and his colleagues adjusted the composition of the mixture and the temperature of the furnace. As a result, the purity of the SWNT produced was raised to above 97.5 pct from 50 pct, while the amount of structural defects was reduced to less than one-tenth. They also succeeded in adjusting the diameter of the SWNT by as little as 0.1 nanometers. The diameter of SWNT usually ranges from 0.4 to 50 nanometers, and the length from one to several micrometers.
The commercialization of carbon nanotubes has been sofar delayed because of the lack of technology for mass production. [May 12,2006 - Jiji Press English News Service, via ProQuest Information and Learning Company]
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Mining and Metallurgical Heritage
Under the leadership of Prof. Fathi Habashi, a research unit has been recently organized at Laval University, Canada. This new unit - Mining and Metallurgical Heritage Research Unit - will collect, classify, safeguard and disseminate all types of documents pertaining to the history of Canadian mining and metallurgy.
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UNIDO Technology Roadmap for Development
Today, companies face many challenges in the global markets. Products are becoming more complex and, at the same time, more customized. Time-to-market for a new product is shrinking and product life is shortening. A short-term focus is reducing investment funding. R&D is expensive, and reduced budgets are making it impossible for individual companies, especially for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), to independently develop all the technologies they might need to meet future market imperatives. Competition is global and fierce, especially from countries that are technologically advanced. Better technology planning can help industry deal with this increasingly competitive environment and companies themselves must use effective tools to better plan their future and position at the markets. One of these tools, Technology Roadmapping, is a way to identify product or service needs, map them onto technology alternatives and develop plans to ensure the required technologies will be available when needed.
The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) has responded to the needs of its Member States in better integration of their economies, industrial development processes and trade capacity into the regional and global contexts, and together with its International Materials Assessment and Application Centre (IMAAC, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) developed a dedicated on-line programme - Technology Roadmapping for Development. This initiative was implemented in close cooperation with the Centre for Strategic Management and Studies (Science, Technology and Innovation - CGEE, Brasilia, Brazil).
The UNIDO Technology Roadmapping website is currently being tested. You are invited to : visit the TR site, get acquainted with TR concept that UNIDO has developed, and participate in the on-line Discussion Forum during the test period of the TR website. Suggestions for the improvement of this programme should be directly sent to Dr. K. Ausadamongkol.
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Managing Knowledge Networks
The Latin American Trade Network (LATN) together with the Latin American Faculty on Social Sciences (FLACSO) organized a Workshop on Managing Knowledge Networks last December 5-6, 2003 in Montevideo, Uruguay.
Networks are organizational forms characterized by multiple equilibrium points, which are frequently unstable and of varying duration. The workshop made it possible to identify a series of management choices faced by networks, on which hinges their effectiveness and efficiency. It is worth seeing the draft version of the Report of Discussions held at this workshop !
Note: LATN brings together researchers, academic institutions and international organizations with the objective of analyzing the changes in international trade relations and supporting the trade policy progress in Latin American countries.
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Information Centre in Metallurgy and Materials
The Brazilian Association for Metallurgy and Materials (ABM) announces the implementation of its Information Centre. From anywhere in the world, affiliate and non-affiliate members may perform searches and request copies of articles from all publications edited by the Association - more than 12,000 bibliographical references are already available online !
See the ABM Information Centre website (in Portuguese).
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Nanoscience and Nanotechnology in Brazil
In May / 2003, the Brazilian Ministry for Science and Technology nominated a Working Group to discuss and elaborate the guidelines of a four-year (2004-2007) National Programme for the Development of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology in Brazil. The Proposal from this Working Group (a document of 28 pages, in Portuguese) is publicly available.
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International Materials Institutes (IMI)
The National Science Foundation supports a program entitled International Materials Institutes (IMIs) in order to enhance international collaboration between U.S. researchers and educators and their counterparts in specific areas of the world such as major regions of Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, or the Pacific region. The objective is to advance materials research by coordinating international research and education projects involving condensed matter and materials physics; solid state and materials chemistry; and the design, synthesis, characterization, and processing of materials to meet global and regional needs.
The Institutes must be university-based (single or multi-campus) and provide a research environment that will attract leading scientists and engineers. The Institutes' long term goal is the creation of a worldwide network in materials research and the development of a new generation of scientists and engineeers with enhanced international leadership capabilities. A critically important aspect of an IMI is its potential impact on advancing materials research on an international scale and developing an internationally competitive generation of materials researchers, and this distinguishes an IMI from other materials research centers that NSF supports.
See Program Requirements. Further inquiries should be made to : Carmen I. Huber (Program Director, Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences, Division of Materials Research) or to Kathryn Sullivan (Deputy Director, Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences, Office of International Science and Engineering).
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NSF-Funded Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center
The U.S. National Science Foundation announces the establishment of the Center for Nano-Chemical-Electrical-Mechanical Manufacturing Systems (Nano-CEMMS), which aims to build on recent discoveries in nanotechnology to revolutionize the nation's nanomanufacturing capabilities. Nano-CEMMS research will target development of a path-breaking, commercial-scale manufacturing tool that can build devices and systems at nanometer scale (one inch contains 25.4 million nanometers).
Nano-CEMMS is a collaboration between the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the California Institute of Technology, and North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University (NCAT).
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Nanotechnology and iNEER Activities
Nanotechnology is one of the key enabling technologies for economic growth in many nations. New initiatives are appearing in Asia, Europe and Latin America. Recognizing this, some members of the iNEER community are considering the need for a more in-depth discussion of the progress achieved in this field, both in education and in research. Thus, iNEER (International Network for Engineering Education and Research) addresses the following questions to you:
1) Should the iNEER community convene a future conference, perhaps an iNEER conference in 2004, that will have a stronger research focus and there, give greater visibility to education and research in Nano Science and Engineering ? The rationale for iNEER conferences and request for input has been posted on the iNEER website.
2) If iNEER decides to proceed, would you like to participate ? What would you like to do and what role(s) would you like to play? Please give a brief explanation of your interests, replying to ineer@ineer.org.
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NFMSD Working Group on Science, Research and Development
Read the Fact Sheet about the Working Group's activities. Recognising the important contribution that non-ferrous metals can make to sustainable development of society, member countries of the Copper Study Group, Lead and Zinc Study Group, and Nickel Study Group initiated a multi-stakeholder process to address issues related to the mining, production, use and recycling of non-ferrous metals.
The NFMSD website also provides information about the Non-Ferrous Metals Consultative Forum on Sustainable Development and the future activities of the three international metal study groups.
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UBC Engineers Develop Thousand-Year Plug to Clean Up Canada's Most Toxic Mine
Mining engineers from the University of British Columbia have launched an innovative project to stop the toxic run-off from Canada's most polluted mine. This project could revolutionalize mine reclamation and closure techniques worldwide and involves the construction of two plugs in a tunnel of the old Britannia copper mine which was once the largest copper producer in the British Empire. See detailed information at the Centre for Environmental Research in Minerals, Metals and Materials.
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The World Economic Forum (WEF) Corporate Performance Project
The main themes and objectives of this project are : (i) emphasis on corporate performance (the ability to generate sustainable growth and profits in order to meet a company's obligations, whatever they may be) ; (ii) respect for the variety of corporate goals and responsibilities that have developed from the varied legal, cultural and business environments around the world; (iii) generating a better understanding of the objectives of the capital markets and the objectives of the consumers of capital, in order to improve the quality of understanding and enhance the congruity of behaviors.
More information about how this project has emerged and how it is expected to contribute to the convergence of the global economy with national interests can be obtained from the charter document.
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Some Engineering Aspects about the World Trade Center Collapse
The Department of Civil Engineering of the University of Sydney, Australia structured a site containing general information about the WTC twin 110-story towers and interesting details about their design and structure, why did they collapse, and what other engineers say. Well worth visiting their site.
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Global Mercury: an international cooperation project approved
A three-year project entitled "Artisanal Gold Mining Without Mercury Pollution" has been approved by the Global Environmental Facility (GEF). It has a total budget of USD 12.5 million and involves six countries (Brazil, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Sudan, Tanzania, Zimbabwe). Detailed information can be obtained from the UNIDO site or by contacting Dr. C. Beinhoff.
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