Awards and Honors

Two UCSC engineers invited to attend nanotechnology conference

Associate Professor Ali Shakouri and Assistant Professor Holger Schmidt, both in the Department of Electrical Engineering, were among 86 of the nation's top nanotechnology researchers selected to participate in the second annual conference of the National Academies Keck Futures Initiative, held in November in Irvine, Calif.

The three-day event brought together researchers from different disciplines and sectors--industry, academia, and government--to explore the future of nanoscience in medical imaging, materials science, biological machines, and tissue engineering. Researchers who attended the conference are eligible to compete for $1 million in "seed" grants to begin collaborative research inspired by ideas and relationships developed during the conference.

Launched in 2003 by the National Academies and the W. M. Keck Foundation, the National Academies Keck Futures Initiative is a 15-year effort to stimulate interdisciplinary inquiry and to enhance communication among researchers, funding agencies, universities, and the general public. For more information on the Futures Initiative, visit national-academies.org/keck.

The National Academies comprise the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, and National Research Council. They are private, nonprofit institutions that provide science, technology, and health policy advice under a congressional charter. For more information, visit national-academies.org.

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