[BNC-all] Monday Memo: 02.25.08

Sat Feb 23 18:21:42 EST 2008

WEEKLY MEMO, February 25, 2008

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1. Announcements
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1.1:  TOUR TRAINING:  A make-up tour training session has been scheduled for
Wednesday March 5th, 2008 from 10:00 a.m.  12:00 p.m.  If you could not
make the first training session, this is your next opportunity to attend.
The session will be held in MRGN 121. Please RSVP to Valerie Lawless,
lawlessv at purdue.edu.
In addition, all training materials have been posted:
<http://www.purdue.edu/dp/trainingGuide.php>.  Check out this site for lots
of information regarding visits: they¹ve even included an events calendar.
Feel free to join any of the posted tours.  Lastly, a Discovery Park video 
made available during the training session  is posted on the Discovery Park
homepage: <http://www.purdue.edu/dp/index.php>

1.2:  CLEANROOM AND LAB PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE SCHEDULE: MONDAY, 03.31.08
TO FRIDAY, 04.04.08
         Monday, 03.31.08, 10:00 AM: All materials must be removed from
cleanroom solvent hoods.
          Monday, 03.31.08, 4:00 PM: All materials must be removed from the
remaining cleanroom hoods.
         CLEANROOM CLOSED. Tuesday, 04.01.08 7:30 AM: No ultrapure water
available. No acid processing in laboratories. No hazardous gases available.
         CLEANROOM CLOSED. Wednesday, 04.02.08, all day: No ultrapure water
available. No acid processing in laboratories. No hazardous gases available.
         Wednesday, 04.02.08, 4:00 PM: All materials must be removed from
laboratory hoods (including biosafety cabinets; all bio materials must be
removed from exhausted enclosures).
         Thursday, 04.03.08, 8:00 AM: Cleanroom will re-open, barring
unforeseen circumstances. All solvent hoods and processes will remain down
for general exhaust upgrades.
         LABORATORIES CLOSED. Thursday, 04.03.08
         Friday, 04.04.08, 8:00 AM: Laboratories will re-open and Cleanroom
general exhaust should be operational, barring unforeseen circumstances.
Questions or comments?  Contact Mark Voorhis (mvoorhis at purdue.edu)

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2.  TOURS/VISITORS
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2.1:  Monday, 02.25.08, 8:15AM: 3M Corporation, will meet with Prof. Sands;
this is a DP visitor.
2.2:  Monday, 02.25.08, 1:30PM:  Father Jenkins, President of Notre Dame
University.
2.3:  Monday, 02.25.08, 1:00-3:00:  Purdue¹s for Me visitors  admitted
students and parents; please make them feel welcome.
2.4:  Thursday, 02.28.08, 9:40AM:  Dr. Yan Shao, faculty candidate, Chemical
Engineering.
2.5:  Thursday, 02.28.08, 1:30PM:  Joe Rosenberger, facilitator, Nano
Technology Focus; preliminary visit with subsequent visits to be scheduled.
2.6:  Friday, 02.29.08, 4:15PM:  Purdue University Life Science education
[PULSe].

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3.  SEMINARS/WORKSHOPS
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3.1:  17th Biennial University Government Industry Micro/nano Symposium,
Louisville, KY, July 13-16, 2008.  Abstracts due March 10, 2008.  For
additional information, visit http://louisville.edu/conference/ugim2008

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4.  KUDOS
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4.1:  John Weaver named Fellow of the Institute of Environmental Sciences
and Technology for ³his numerous publications and significant technical
contributions to the advancement of cleanroom design and construction,
particularly in the emerging field of nanotechnology.²  Formal announcement
will be made in the late Spring.

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5.  DISCOVERY PARK NEWS
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5.1:  Fifth Annual Idea-to-Product Competition for Environmental and Social
Entreneurship, March 1, 2008, Krannert Center; Lunch available to registered
guests (http://innovate.ecn.purdue.edu/i2p08/src/preg_input.html).  See
their website for additional information.

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6.  OPPORTUNITIES
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6.1:  Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRCs):  The Department¹s FY09
budget has been released. Undersecretary of Science Dr. Orbach¹s budget
rollout presentation is available as well
(http://www.science.doe.gov/Budget_and_Planning/Budget_Rollouts/RLO%20SC%20F
Y%202009-2-04-08-v1%20final.pdf?ReleaseNumber=mr20080124-00
<http://www.science.doe.gov/Budget_and_Planning/Budget_Rollouts/RLO%20SC%20F
Y%202009-2-04-08-v1%20final.pdf?ReleaseNumber=mr20080124-00> ).  There are
significant increases in the BES budget as compared to the FY08
appropriations, especially in high priority research areas identified in the
series of Basic Research Needs workshops.  As an implementation strategy,
BES will institute the Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRCs), which will
bring together the skills and talents of multiple investigators to enable
research of a scope and complexity that would not be possible with the
standard individual investigator or small group award. While such centers
were under consideration in BES for a few years, it wasn't until the FY2009
request that we will have available sufficient new budget authority to
solidify and execute an EFRC plan at the level of funding needed to do a
proper job.  You may find specific details of the EFRCs at the BES website,
http://www.sc.doe.gov/bes/EFRC.html <http://www.sc.doe.gov/bes/EFRC.html> .
In brief, the EFRC awards are expected to be in the $25 million range
annually for an initial 5-year period.  A Funding Opportunity Announcement
(FOA) will be issued later in FY 2008 to request applications from the
scientific community for the establishment of the initial suite of EFRCs.
It is anticipated that approximately $100 million will be available for
multiple EFRC awards starting in FY 2009.  Please monitor the ERFC website
for news/updates on the FOA.  In addition, we plan on putting out
web-announcements for single-PI and small group awards for the remaining
research increases (~ $60 million) as part of the core research
solicitation.  Information provided by Dr. Aravinda (Arvind) M. Kini;
Director (Acting); Division of Materials Sciences and Engineering; Team
Lead, Materials Discovery, Design and Synthesis Team; Program Manager,
Biomolecular Materials; Office of Basic Energy Sciences; U. S. Department of
Energy; 301-903-3565; Fax301-903-9513; a.kini at science.doe.gov;
http://www.science.doe.gov/bes/dms/Staff_Contacts/Kini.htm
<http://www.science.doe.gov/bes/dms/Staff_Contacts/Kini.htm> .