RICHARDSON, Texas (July 25, 2005) – Some of the top nanotechnology researchers in Taiwan will visit their counterparts at two Metroplex-area institutions of The University of Texas System next month, exchanging information and seeking opportunities to collaborate.

The five-member Taiwanese delegation will participate in a day-long conference on Aug. 2 with scientists from The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) and The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) at the Omni Dallas Hotel at Park West. The meeting’s agenda includes a series of presentations, discussions and workshops.


Dr. Da Hsuan Feng, vice president of research and graduate
education at UTD, is one of the founders of SPRING, a
consortium of seven Texas universities focused on attracting
funding. Dr. Ronald L. Elsenbaumer,
U.T. Arlington’s vice
president
for research, calls
nanotechnology a global economy driver.

The meeting is part of a three-city swing through Texas, where the visitors will learn more about the Strategic Partnership for Research in Nanotechnology (SPRING), a consortium of seven Texas universities, including UTD and UTA, that pools talent and facilities of member institutions to attract federal and state funding for nanotechnology studies. The Taiwanese also will visit SPRING members Rice University in Houston and The University of Texas at Austin.

“The conference is being held at the suggestion of the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research, which works closely with SPRING and wants to develop relationships with key nanotechnology researchers in Taiwan,” said Dr. Da Hsuan Feng, vice president of research and graduate education at UTD and one of the founders of SPRING. “I see an enormous amount of collaborative possibilities among the parties in the nascent, but highly promising, field of nanotechnology.”

Nanotechnology encompasses t he theories and techniques that permit the production and manipulation of minute objects measuring the size of atoms. Structures and devices built in this way often exhibit novel and significantly improved physical, chemical and biological properties, phenomena and processes due to their nanoscale size. Still in its infancy, nanoscience has the potential to revolutionize such disparate fields as electronics, medicine, communications and manufacturing.

According to Feng, the visiting delegation – composed of “some of the top people in the field in Taiwan” – will be headed by Dr. Ting Kuo Lee, the national program director for nanoscience and nanotechnology.

“Hosting a group of such accomplished scientists will be both an honor and an opportunity,” said Feng. “We expect that by the end of the day, both sides will be interested in finding new and exciting ways to work together.”

U.T. Arlington Vice President for Research Dr. Ronald L. Elsenbaumer shares Feng’s optimism.

“Nanotechnology is going to play a pivotal role in shaping tomorrow’s technologies that will drive our global economy,” Elsenbaumer said.  “Establishing international research collaborations such as these is an important part of that process.”

The SPRING consortium was founded more than three years ago to position Texas as a center of education, research and development in nanotechnology. Since then, the organization has received tens of millions of dollars in funding from state and federal agencies.

SPRING boasts a number of eminent scientists on its technical advisory committee, including two Nobel laureates – Dr. Alan MacDiarmid of UTD and Dr. Richard Smalley of Rice. In addition to UTD, UTA, U.T. Austin and Rice, the University of Houston, The University of Texas at Brownsville and The University of Texas – Pan American are members of the consortium.

While presentations at the Aug. 2 conference are expected to be highly technical in nature and not of particular interest to the general public, Feng invited interested members of the local scientific community to attend the event, which begins at 8 a.m. For additional information about the conference, please contact Beth Keithly of UTD’s Office of the Vice President for Research and Graduate Education at 972-883-4568 or keithly@utdallas.edu.

About UTD

The University of Texas at Dallas, located at the convergence of Richardson, Plano and Dallas in the heart of the complex of major multinational technology corporations known as the Telecom Corridor®, enrolls more than 14,000 students. The school’s freshman class traditionally stands at the forefront of Texas state universities in terms of average SAT scores. The university offers a broad assortment of bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs. For additional information about UTD, please visit the university’s web site at www.utdallas.edu.