Colombia-U.S. Workshop on Nanotechnology in Energy and Medical Applications

This award supports a workshop with the goal of bringing together U.S. and Colombian researchers and graduate students to identify nanotechnology research problems related to energy and medical applications that are of mutual interest to our hemisphere. The focus areas of the workshop will be local nanomaterials, biofuels with more diverse feedstocks than the US, low-cost solar cells using local biodegradable materials, low-cost medical innovation, which will build on the US strength in fundamental nanoscience and state-of-the-art instrumentation. Potential areas of discussion are the role of nanotechnology in 4th generation biofuels production, and scanning probe methods for characterizing energetic materials. The long-term vision for this workshop is to develop a model for international cooperation that addresses three key aspects: (i) emphasizing long-term, international research opportunities for graduate students and early-career researchers; (ii) leveraging existing cyber tools to accelerate collaboration between U.S. and Colombian scientists; and (iii) identifying international funding opportunities that will promote nanotechnology research in the U.S. and Colombia.

The workshop is scheduled to be held in October 2012 in Medellín, Colombia. Multiple Colombian federal agencies, research centers of excellence, universities and leading corporations will be partners in this effort, including: (i) Colciencias, the Colombian Department of Science, Technology and Innovation; (ii) EPM, the largest energy provider in Colombia; and (iii) the Center of Excellence in Novel Materials. This workshop will consist of oral presentations and poster sessions, panel discussions, and a tutorial on the 'nanoHUB' tool and other cyber-infrastructure organized by Purdue's Network for Computational Nanotechnology. Strengthening graduate education and education opportunities will be a key focus of the workshop. Event organizers will broadly disseminate the presentations made at the workshop and the final report of the exploratory workshop.