New Vistas Series: Living in the Nano-world
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Presented By
Presented by The New York Academy of Sciences
National Medal of Science winner and MIT professor Mildred Dresselhaus hosts an evening of scientific exploration and conversation around the theme of "Living in the Nanoworld" with up-and-coming nanoscience stars Jing Kong and Pablo Jarillo-Herrero.
The New Vistas Lecture Series invites highly accomplished scientists to serve as hosts for an evening of "Science at the Frontiers." Each evening will feature talks by two up-and-coming scientists whose work has been identified by the host as exceptionally worthy of the spotlight.
Abstracts
Tiny Pipe, Icon of Nanotechnology
Jing Kong, PhD; MIT
Nanotechnology is bringing a new industrial revolution in the 21st century. Carbon nanotubes are playing a pivotal role in this revolution. These long, thin cylinders of carbon can be constructed by rolling up a layer of graphite and are very unique for their size, shape, and remarkable physical properties. They have sparked much excitement during the past decade and have promised many potential applications in nanotechnology. In this talk I will present an overview of nanotube electrical, thermal and mechanical properties and their future applications.
Nanotechnology In a Pencil Trace
Pablo Jarillo-Herrero, PhD; Columbia University & MIT
A new revolution in science and technology is stemming from exploring materials and fabricating devices at ever smaller length scales. Among these materials, recently discovered carbon nanostructures are beginning to show just how different their properties are from standard materials. In this talk I will introduce you to the latest newcomer to the family of carbon nanomaterials: graphene. Graphene, a single sheet of graphite, is a one atom thick material where electrons propagate in a very intriguing way: their behaviour mimics that of ultrarelativistic particles, usually found only in large accelerators or in cosmic rays. Along with fascinating science, I will discuss the enormous potential of graphene in the areas of nanoelectronics, nanosensor and nanoelectromechanic devices.
Speaker Bios
Jing Kong is an assistant professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department at MIT since 2004. She received her Bachelor's degree in Chemistry in Peking University, Beijing, China in 1997 and her PhD degree in Chemistry at Stanford University in 2002. Before joining MIT, she worked at NASA Ames Research center as a Research Scientist and then a postdoc researcher at Delft University in the Netherlands. She has been working in the nanotube research field since the beginning of her PhD.
Pablo Jarillo-Herrero is an assistant professor of physics at MIT since January 2008. He received his MSc in physics from the University of Valencia, Spain, in 1999. Then he spent two years at the University of California in San Diego, where he got a second MSc degree before going to the Delft University of Technology in The Netherlands, where he got his PhD in 2005, working on the quantum electronic properties of carbon nanotubes. After one year of postdoctoral research in Delft, he moved to Columbia University in late 2006, where he worked as a NanoResearch Initiative Fellow on the electronic properties of graphene.