Nano Connect Scandinavia at ImagineNano

More than 1500 participants met in Bilbao for four intense days of networking and plenary sessions addressing different areas within cutting-edge nanoscience.Nano Connect Scandinavia took an active role and we participated with our own conference stand and three project team members representing Scandinavian interests in nanotechnology networking.

The ImagineNano conference took place 11-14 April 2011 at the Bilbao Exhibition Centre, where an exhibition area spanning 15.000 square metres offered access to multiple stands and an extensive portfolio of parallel thematic conferences.

Nobel Laureate Introduction

The conference kick-off included plenary talks by Spanish professor Pedro Landiribar, and Nobel laureate Kostya Novoselov. Both professors managed to combine specific stories from their own research with the broader perspective and thoughts of scientific areas that may deliver further groundbreaking results in the years to come.

The two chosen ”hot topics” were graphene and ultrafast structural/electronic studies on nanoscale systems. The immense current interest in graphene was illustrated by the fact, that an entire single thematic conference at ImagineNano – Graphene 2011 - was devoted to this new compound, that continues to reveal increasingly interesting properties. The graphene focus was also reflected in choice of graphene as being a pilot Flagship project within the European Commision’s new FET-programme (described below), as well as the fact that about 300 of the 600+ conference posters addressed graphene-related research.

New options for funding

The introductory session was finished by a representative for the european commission who provided information on the Future and Emerging Technologies (FET) Flagship programme being launched in 2011. The FET Flagships are intended to be Europe-wide research efforts towards selected technological targets, which are backed by up to one billion Euro for each Flagship.

Starting in may 2011, six pilot projects have received introductory funding for a 12-month period. During the fall of 2012 - after expiry of the trial period - two projects will be selected for full scale launch in 2013. The six Flagship pilots fall within the following categories: The use of graphene in ICT (Information and Communications Technology) which is coordinated by Chalmers University of Technology, the IT-based Future of Medicine, Future ICT, Robot Technology, Human Brain Research and an Environmental ”Guardian Angel” project.

For more information on the framework and the pilot projects, visit:

http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/ict/programme/fet/flagship/home_en.html

http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/ict/programme/fet/flagship/6pilots_en.html

Multiple conferences at the same event

In addition to the exhibition area, several conferences – six scientific and one industrial - were held in parallel during the four days. As already mentioned, graphene was the sole topic at Graphene 2011, the NanoSpain/NanoIberian conference covered nano-related research in the host country and Portugal, and the NanoBio & Med-forum brought news from the expanding nanomedicine and nanobiotechnology sectors and the potential application of nanotechnology in health-care.

PPM 2011 (Photonics Plasmonics an Magneto-Optics) addressed the research centered around the interactions between light and matter, as well new compounds revealing plasmonic and magneto-optic acitivities. Energy Trends In NanoApplications (TNA 2011: Energy) adressed new energyfriendly applications of nanotechnology in portable devices, building materials, transport and energy harvesting. Finally, high-performance computing was covered at the one-day symposium HPC Nanoscience 2011, and the Industrial Forum addressed issues based around funding, collaboration and commercialization of nanotechnology.

Nanotech Networks beyond Scandinavia

The conference also offered contact to fellow innovation and entrepreneur networks in Europe and around the world. In addition to the stand from Nano Connect Scandinavia, local committiees from Catalonia (http://www.nanoaracat.com)and the Basque country (http://www.nanogune.eu/en) was represented at their own stands, as was Austria (http://www.aba.gv.at) Russia (http://www.rusnano.com/Home.aspx)and the South-American Nanotec Latina (http://www.nanoteclatina.com).

Post-conference Interview with Professor Anja Boisen

On our way home, we met with DTU professor Anja Boisen in the airport for a small chat about the conference:

Anja, what would you say is your most important outcome of the conference?

- Definately making new contacts to other researchers and keeping in touch with fellow collaborators from Europe and Taiwan… On the scientific side, the broad scope and multiple different topics present at the conference sometimes made networking a rather diffuse experience. But on the other hand, the opportunity of meeting people from other sectors was en extremely postitive experience.

Could you point to a specific presentation that made an impression, or maybe mention a new scientific area that one should pay attention to in the future?

- I would say that aptamers (short base sequences with properties similar to antibodies, red.) and their use in diagnostics looks extremely promising. Compared to conventional antibodies, aptamers are much more robust and durable, and they can be readily synthesized which makes the conventional growth of antibodies in e.g. mice or horses completely obsolete. On the downside, finding and identifying the rigth aptamers with the desired properties can be a cumbersome affair, but screening methods for that particular purpose are currently being developed. It is very likely that aptamers may find wide use in biosensors of the future and i saw some really interesting talks on that particular topic.

You briefly touched on the multiple topics of the conference – coming from a background in life science and diagnostics did you attend any of the other forums?

– Well, the frequent delays in the lecture halls, made switching between the different forums very difficult, during the sessions. So I mainly attended the talks in the ”NanoBio & Med”-forum, where my own presentation was also located.

What do you think of the stalls/stands in the open area, and the distribution between researchers and companies attending the conference?

– I found it to be a very nice balance between public and private actors. Visiting the different stands resulted in contact to other research groups and university networks where I encountered some alternative ways of seeking collaboration, so all in all it was very well balanced experience.

Text and photo: Morten Christensen, Nano Connect Scandinavia project coordinator at University of Copenhagen.