His lecture, entitled "Nanophase Ceramics for Orthopedic Applications," will be part of a session on Nanostructured Materials and Nanotechnology.

Nanotechnology can be defined as using materials whose components exhibit novel and significantly changed properties by gaining control of structures at the atomic, molecular, and supramolecular levels. Although many advanced properties for materials with constituent fiber, grain, or particle sizes less than 100 nm have been observed for traditional science and engineering applications (such as in catalytic, optical, mechanical, magnetic, and electrical applications), few advantages for the use of these materials in biomedical implant applications have been explored. However, nanophase materials may give researchers control over interactions with biological entities (such as proteins and cells) in ways previously unimaginable with conventional materials. This is because organs of the body are nanostructures and, thus, cells in the body are accustomed to interacting with materials that have nanostructured features. Despite this fact, materials currently being investigated as the next-generation of implants have much larger micron-structured features. Work will be presented that provides evidence that nanophase ceramics can be designed to control interactions with proteins and subsequently mammalian cells for more efficient bone tissue regeneration. Such investigations are leading to the design of a number of more successful implantable materials, but most noteable for orthopedic/dental applications. In all applications, compared to conventional materials, the fundamental design parameter necessary to increase bone tissue regeneration is a surface with a large degree of biologically-inspired nanostructured roughness. In this manner, results from the present collection of studies have added increased bone tissue-regeneration as another novel property of materials with particle (or grain) sizes less than 100 nm.