Nanotech 2005.Sponsored by the Nano Science and Technology Institute, the eighth annual Nanotech2005 was held May 8-12 at the Marriott Hotel in Anaheim, California. The conference and exhibit covered all facets of nanotechnology, from biotechnology to metrology to MEMS (MicroElectroMechanical Systems) Tiny mechanical devices that are built onto semiconductor chips and are measured in micrometers. In the research labs since the 1980s, MEMS devices began to materialize as commercial products in the mid-1990s. . Nanotech 2005 included the parallel BioNano and NanotechVentures "sub-conferences;" as a result, technical, business and company presentations shared space on a crowded schedule. Attendance totaled 2,557, a more than 50% increase from the year before. Thirty percent of attendees were from outside the US and 60% were from industrial sectors. The diversity of presentations insured that one could find their area of interest represented.The exhibit hall was filled with instrument makers. Monday and Tuesday's exhibit was devoted to nanotech and featured just over 100 exhibitors. As to be expected, scanning probe microscopy and electron microscopy firms were well represented, as were makers of adjacent x-ray techniques, including Bruker AXS and EDAX EDAX Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy . Molecular spectroscopy companies in attendance included ChemImage and HORIBA Jobin Yvon. In addition, particle sizing instrument companies were well represented as Malvern Instruments, Microtrac and Particle Sizing Solutions each had booths. Making its debut at the show was Infinitesima's VideoAFM, an atomic force microscope atomic force microscope (AFM), device that uses a spring-mounted probe to image individual atoms on the surface of a material. Unlike the scanning tunneling microscope, which is also a scanning probe microscope, the AFM can be used on materials that do not conduct that provides real-images at video frame rates of 15 and 25 frames per second for real-time viewing of molecular processes. Also exhibiting was Cantion A/S, which has just introduced the CantiLab4 nanomechanical biosensor A device that detects and analyzes body movement, temperature or fluids and turns it into an electronic signal. See lab on a chip and data glove. Biosensor . It utilizes molecules immobilized on a cantilever for detection in either the liquid or gas phase and integrated piezo "Piezo", derived from the Greek piezein, which means to squeeze or press, is a prefix used in:
(2) Any display screen or panel. . Wednesday's smaller exhibit was devoted to bionanotechnology. Several conference sessions, both scientific and business oriented, addressed analytical technniques. Although the conference and exhibit provided a comprehensive overview of nanotech, it appeared that its lack of focus made it more appealing to investors and other companies rather than researchers. The next NSTI NSTI Nano Science and Technology Institute NSTI National Summer Transportation Institute NSTI Nashville State Technical Institute NSTI National Statistics Training Institute Nanotech will be held May 7-11, 2006 in Boston, Massachusetts. |
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