Nano/Bio Interface Center NBIC Award for Research Excellence in Nanotechnology NAOMI J. HALAS 2008 Recipient Naomi Halas is Stanley C. Moore Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Professor of Chemistry, and Professor of Bioengineering at Rice University. She received her undergraduate degree in Chemistry from La Salle University and her master’s and Ph.D. degrees in Physics from Bryn Mawr College, the latter while she was a graduate fellow at IBM Yorktown. She also did postdoctoral research at AT&T Bell Laboratories. Halas is best known for inventing nanoshells, a new type of nanoparticle with tunable optical properties. Awards include an NSF Young Investigator Award, three Hershel Rich Invention Awards, the 2003 Cancer Innovator Award, and the 2000 CRS-Cygnus award for Outstanding Work in Drug Delivery. She was also awarded “Best Discovery of 2003” by Nanotechnology Now and was named finalist for Small Times magazine’s 2004 Nanotechnology Researcher of the Year. She is the author of over 150 peer-reviewed publications, has presented over 275 invited talks, and has ten issued patents. Dr. Halas is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Physical Society, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the Optical Society of America, and the International Society for Optical Engineering (SPIE). She is also the founder and director of the Rice University Laboratory for Nanophotonics, a multidisciplinary research resource whose mission is the design, invention, and application of nanoscale optical components and systems. Abstract: Perhaps the most important and potentially far-reaching outcome of the many nanotechnology initiatives worldwide is the birth of the new field of Nanophotonics. Our growing abilities to generate and manipulate light at nanoscale dimensions based on the properties of metals springs from the confluence of scientific disciplines, from condensed matter physics to electromagnetism, including chemistry and modern materials science. In particular, the “marriage” of metallic nanostructures with organic and biomolecules to create new types of composite functional nanomaterials with unique, engineered properties is of particular importance. The impact of this emerging field is already evident in applications spanning the spectrum from chemical sensing for homeland defense, solar light harvesting for alternative energy, new device concepts for state-of-the-art computer chips, to new and revolutionary biomedical applications. This talk will focus on how metallic nanostructures, known since antiquity for their remarkably vivid and colorful optical properties, are now being designed and engineered as new nanoscale optical components that successfully serve a role in all these applications. Join the Nano/Bio Interface Center NBIC Award for Research Excellence in Nanotechnology (2008 Recipient) Naomi J. Halas Stanley C. Moore Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Professor of Chemistry Rice University When Plasmons Interact, Worlds Collide: Optics At The Nano-Bio Interface Wednesday, October 29, 2008 4:00 PM Wu and Chen Auditorium Levine Hall 3330 Walnut Street Reception to follow Nano/Bio Interface Center at the University of Pennsylvania is a Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center (NSEC) bringing together researchers from the Schools of Engineering and Applied Science; Arts and Sciences; and Medicine. The NBIC exploits Penn's internationally recognized strengths in design of molecular function and quantification of individual molecules. The study of the ethics of nano-bio technology is also an integral part of the program. The Center unites investigators from ten departments to provide, not only new directions for the life sciences, but also for engineering in a two-way flow essential to fully realizing the benefits of nano-biotechnology..