[BNC-all] Weekly memo: June 2, 2008

[Deborah S. Starewich]

WEEKLY MEMO, June 2, 2008
 
 
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1.  ANNOUNCEMENTS
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1.1:  Monday and Tuesday, June 9 and 10: Physical Facilities will be working
on the high-pressure steam system for this portion of campus.  As a result,
the Birck Nanotechnology Center will lose temperature and humidity control
during that period.  It is likely that we will see a 2⁰-3⁰F drop in
temperature and a 5% increase in humidity in the offices, laboratories, and
cleanroom.  Laboratories with fume hoods will feel more impact than those
without hoods.  There will continue to be hot water in the bathrooms during
this period.  Please note that it will take 6-8 hours for the building to
stabilize after steam is turned off on Monday and about the same amount of
time for it to stabilize when the steam is turned back on late Tuesday
afternoon.  Please arrange your schedule to avoid temperature-critical and
humidity-critical (such as positive photolithography) during this period.
Our apologies for any inconvenience that this may cause, but it is a campus
shutdown that is out of our control.  Thank you in advance for your patience
and understanding. For questions, contact John Weaver (jrweaver at purdue.edu)
or Mark Voorhis (mvoorhis at purdue.edu).
 
 
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2.  SEMINARS
*see abstracts/bios below
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2.1:  MARK YOU CALENDARS NOW:  Friday, September 12, 2008, 3:30PM, Fowler
Hall:  “The Roles of Short RNAs in Cancer and Biology,” by Dr. Phillip A.
Sharp.
 
 
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3.  OPPORTUNITIES
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3.1:  The Interconnect & Packaging Sciences area of the SRC Global Research
Collaboration is soliciting white papers in BEP & Packaging for work to
begin February 1, 2009.  Three-page white papers addressing needs in a new
research needs document are due Thursday, June 26, 2008 by 3:00 p.m. ET.
This call for research, issued to universities worldwide, may be addressed
by individual investigators or by research teams.  Successful white paper
authors will be invited to submit a full proposal. Contracts resulting from
this solicitation are anticipated to be three years in duration.  Interested
researchers should note the proposal and review schedule, needs document and
instructions for web-based white paper submissions on the SRC GRC Web site
at: http://grc.src.org/fr/S200807_IPS_Call.asp.
 
3.2:  POSTDOCTORAL POSITIONS IN CHEMICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL MICROSENSOR
RESEARCH AT THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY. Postdoctoral
Associateships will be available through several programs in 2008 (and 2009)
to qualified persons interested in doing research as part of an
interdisciplinary team at the National Institute of Standards and Technology
(NIST), Gaithersburg, Maryland. These positions at NIST are awarded
following competitive evaluations of applicants under programs administered
by the National Research Council (NRC).  Research is done in an area of
common interest to the candidate and NIST advisor, but the Associate is
largely responsible for defining the specific problem to be studied.
Activities within the Chemical Microsensor Program at NIST offer interested
applicants a variety of advanced research opportunities relating to project
areas that include:  Study of surface/interfacial chemical and electronic
effects, in gases and liquids, relevant to chemical and biochemical sensing
(including functionalization and nanoscale contacts); Nanoengineering of
materials (oxides, metals, polymers, organics, nanotubes, nanowires) for
solid state microsensors and microanalytical chemical and biochemical
systems; Design/fabrication of micromachined (MEMS/NEMS) devices as
microscale research tools and as microanalysis platforms; Application of
microscale devices, including microhotplate arrays, to investigate materials
processing/properties, transient phenomena and the kinetics of (bio)chemical
processes; Development of new sensing schemes for biochemical processes and
medical diagnostics; Study of new signal processing protocols (including
bio-inspired methods) for the rapid analysis of dense data streams.
Available research capabilities permit multi-technique surface analytical
characterization (XPS, UPS, TDS, AFM, etc.) as well as measurements of
electronic behavior and electrical transport properties. Ultrahigh
vacuum-based reactive sputter deposition hardware is also housed within the
Group, as are MEMS design software, microfabrication equipment, a CVD
system, SEM, and Sensor Testing Facility. Experience in areas such as
surface science, electrochemistry, materials science, biochemistry,
semiconductor electronics, micromachining, thin film science, or response
modeling is particularly suited to our projects, but is not mandatory. Most
positions are open only to U.S. citizens (although a joint NIH-NIST program
does not require US citizenship). Applications include a brief research
proposal. The programs provide successful applicants with a stimulating
research opportunity at a major government laboratory located 30 miles from
Washington, DC. In addition, stipends (base salary ~ $60,000) and benefits
are quite generous.  For more information about our projects, equipment
capabilities or application procedures, please contact:  Dr. Steve Semancik
Tel: 301-975-2606; NIST Fax: 301-975-2643; 100 Bureau Drive, Stop 8362;
steves at nist.gov; Gaithersburg, MD 20899-8362.
 
 
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4.  Call for Papers
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4.1:  TMS 2009: 138th Annual Meeting & Exhibition. “Linking Science and
Technology for Global Solutions,” February 15-19, 2009, Moscone West
Convention Center, San Francisco, CA.  To be a part of this global,
interdisciplinary conference, submit your abstract online at CMS-Plus,
http://cmsplus.tms.org, by July 15.  For more information about abstract
submission, contact Christina Raabe Eck, Technical Programming and
Publications Manager, raabe at tms.org; 724-776-9000, ext 212; 800-759-4TMS.
Information about the TMS 2009 meeting: www.tms.org.annualmeeting.html
<http://www.tms.org.annualmeeting.html> .
 
 
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5.  *ABSTRACTS/BIOS for seminars
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5.1:  MARK YOU CALENDARS NOW:  Friday, September 12, 2008, 3:30PM, Fowler
Hall:  “The Roles of Short RNAs in Cancer and Biology,” by Dr. Phillip A.
Sharp.
Phillip A. Sharp is Institute Professor at the David H. Koch Institute for
Integrative Cancer Research (formerly the Center for Cancer Research) at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He received the Nobel Prize in
Physiology or Medicine in 1993 for his landmark work on the molecular
biology of gene expression relevant to cancer and the mechanisms of RNA
splicing. His lab has now turned its attention to understanding how RNA
molecules act as switches to turn genes on and off (RNA interference). These
newly discovered processes have revolutionized cell biology and could
potentially generate a new class of therapeutics. Dr. Sharp’s work has
earned him numerous cancer research awards and presidential and national
scientific board appointments. He is elected member of the National Academy
of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine. He is also the recipient of the
National Medal of Science. Dr. Sharp earned a B.A. degree from Union
College, KY, and a PhD in chemistry from the University of Illinois. He is
the cofounder of Biogen (now Biogen Idec) and Alnylam Pharmaceuticals and
serves on the boards of both companies.