Discovery of the Buckyball at Rice University in 1985 that led to a Nobel Prize for three of the five team members, and ushered in the modern era of nanotechnology, will be recalled by surviving team members October 2 in Dallas, Texas.
Moderating this historic evening will be Dr. Malcolm Gillis who was president of Rice University when the Nobel Prize for discovery of Carbon60 (dubbed “buckminsterfullerene” or buckyball) was awarded. This event will reunite two men who shared the Nobel Prize with Rick Smalley and one of the two students who were key members of the team. Dr. Harold Kroto is flying in from an engagement in Taiwan and Dr. Robert Curl will arrive from Rice University in Houston. Dr. Sean O’Brien, currently with Texas Instruments, is back in Dallas from assignment in Belgium.
“We are missing two important people,” said Greg Magel, a member of the nanoTX’07 Advisory Board, Managing Partner of TIPRA, and former president of Rice Alumni—Dallas. “Dr. Norman Hackerman, who was president of Rice when C60 was discovered, and a respected chemist himself, just passed away two weeks ago at 95. We were very much hoping that he could join us. We are also hoping Dr. James Heath, who was a student member of the buckyball team, and who has gone on to become a professor at Caltech and a leader in nanoelectronics, might be able to attend.”
The Nobel Laureate Legends evening, sponsored by SIA and IEEE, is held in a comfortable library room-like setting on stage in front of a live audience at the elegant Dallas Convention Center Theatre. Past Nobel evenings have been improvisational, natural and spontaneous, with friends and colleagues reliving old times. For historical purposes it will be captured on camera and copies will be made available to university libraries. Those wishing to be added to the waiting list for an invitation may apply at http://www.nanotx.biz/index.php?content=nobelLaureates
The Nobel Laureate Legends evening has become the premier nanotechnology networking event, and it kicks off the two-day nanoTX’07 Conference & Expo, presented by the Semiconductor Industry Association. Other sponsors include Lockheed Martin, MANCEF, Winstead, and numerous universities and sponsors listed at the web site.
This international event is widely known by its theme:
The Promise of Tomorrow—The Global Business of Nanotechnology.
Business, academic and government people with nanotech interests from North America, Europe, Asia and elsewhere around the world, will converge on Dallas during International Nanotechnology Week at nanoTX’07.
The conference provides a unique perspective on the current state of both the markets and technologies associated with nanotechnology, with particular emphasis on those areas where clear trends and business opportunities are emerging.
Those wishing to register at early-bird discounts can do so at www.nanotx.biz
Participants at nanoTX’07 will learn:
· What NASA’s plans are for a permanent lunar base in the coming decade and the role nanotechnology will play in its realization
· What the key emerging nanotechnology trends are in energy, electronics, robotics, life sciences, homeland security, materials, manufacturing, etc.
· How to separate the hype from reality – what’s real? What’s not?
· What the most recent developments are in the US, Europe, Asia and other countries around the world
· How every business will be impacted by the emerging nanotechnology revolution
This major conference and trade expo at the Dallas Convention Center is October 3-4, 2007.
