NUSNNI Seminar Series 2002 No.1

Time: January 11, 2002, 3:00-4:00pm
Venue: Engineering Auditorium Block EA, 9 Engineering Drive 1
Speaker: Prof Arun Majumdar (Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley)
Title: Engineering at Nanoscales: Examples from Biomolecular Analysis to Energy Conversion
Abstract:
When solids and liquids are confined to sizes in the range of 1-100 nm, their properties can be manipulated in unique ways. In solids, the wavelength of electrons and phonons falls in this size range, allowing one to manipulate electronic, optical and thermal properties through quantum confinement. In addition, the natural overlap in length scales between biological molecules and non-biological micro/nanostructures provokes the question: Could non-biological structures be used to study biological molecules? Could biological molecules be used for non-biological purpose? Clearly, this range of length scales offers tremendous opportunities not only for new science but for technology as well. To exploit these opportunities, however, one needs to understand not only the basic science, but combine the science with engineering to develop technology. In this talk, I will present progress in our laboratory to develop technologies related to: (i) integrating nanomechanics of biomolecules with micromechanical devices; and (ii) nanostructured energy conversion devices. The first topic will describe how the mechanical properties of biomolecules such as DNA and proteins could be exploited for bioassays, while offering the possibility of creating biomolecular energy conversion devices. The second topic relates to how the efficiency of solid-state energy conversion could be significantly improved by nanostructuring semiconductors.

About the Speaker:
Dr. Arun Majumdar is a Professor and the Vice-Chairman in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley. He completed his PhD in ME from UC Berkeley in 1989, after which he was in Arizona State Univ. (1989-92) and UC Santa Barbara (1992-96) as a faculty in Mechanical Engineering. He is a recipient of the NSF Young Investigator Award, the ASME Melville Medal, the ASME Best Paper Award from the Heat Transfer Division, and the 2001 Gustus Larson Memorial Award. He is currently serving as an associate editor for the ASME Journal of Heat Transfer and Int. Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, and the co-editor-in-chief of Microscale Thermophysical Engineering. He also serves as the Chair, Board of Advisors, ASME Nanotechnology Institute, and a member of the Council on Energy Engineering Research for the Department of Energy.