Nanotech materials, start-ups highlighted at ACS symposium

These and other potentially revolutionary research developments of the future will be on the agenda Aug. 19 when five renowned chemists and inventors gather to describe the challenges and opportunities for commercializing new technologies. The elite panel will be part of a special Presidential symposium, “Material Innovations: from Nanotech to Biotech and Beyond,” scheduled for the 234th national meeting of the American Chemical Society.

The speakers include Charles Lieber and George Whitesides, of Harvard University; David Tirrell, of the California Institute of Technology; and Chad Mirkin, of Northwestern University.

“These distinguished researchers have pioneered the development of cutting-edge technologies that promise to improve human health and productivity in the future,” says ACS President Catherine T. Hunt, who will preside at the symposium and moderate a panel discussion afterward. The symposium is part of the overall national meeting theme of Biotechnology for Health and Wellness.

“They will share their perspective of taking a fundamental concept in materials and biological science and bringing that concept forward through research, and ultimately achieving commercialization of a new product,” says Hunt. Many of the speakers have started their own companies or are on the boards of multiple start-up companies, she notes. -American Chemical Society