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NUSNNI Seminar Series 2002 No.1
Time: January 11, 2002, 3:00-4:00pm
Venue: Engineering Auditorium Block EA, 9 Engineering Drive
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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.
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