News from the Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Institute at UI
September 10, 2015 Items in red are new this issue.
(Others are carried forward from previous issues.)
1.
Upcoming conferences and seminars including nanoscience and nanotechnology:
 Thilini Rupasinghe “Probing the Nanoworld using Atomic Force Microscopy: A Study of
Electrical and Mechanical Propoerties of Nanscale Materials”
Thursday September 10, 2015, 1.30-3.30pm, W323 CB, Chemistry Building, University of Iowa,
251 North Capitol Street
 4th International Conference and Exhibition on Materials Science & Engineering
Orlando, Florida
September 14-16, 2015 http://materialsscience.conferenceseries.com/#
 Jeevapani Hettige “Elucidating the Nanoscale Structure of Ionic Liquids via Molecular
Dynamics Simulations”
Monday September 21, 2015, 12.30-1.30pm, 104 IATL, Iowa Advanced Technology
Laboratories, University of Iowa, 205 North Madison Street

 SPIE: Scanning Microscopies
Monterey, California
September 29 – October 1, 2015 http://spie.org/x104030.xml
 International Symposium on Clusters and Nanomaterials (ISCAN)
Richmond, Virgina
October 26-29, 2015 http://www.iscan.vcu.edu
 SETAC North America 36th Annual Meeting
Salt Lake City, Utah
November 1-5, 2015 http://www.setac.org/events/event_details.asp?id=489394&group =
 5 th International Conference on Nanotek and Expo
San Antonio, Texas
November 16-18, 2015 http://nanotechnologyexpo.conferenceseries.com/
 International Electron Devices Meeting
Washington, D.C.
December 7-9, 2015 http://www.his.com/~iedm/
 Nanotech 2016
Tokyo, Japan

January 27-29, 2016 http://www.nanotechexpo.jp/
2.
Upcoming grant opportunities and funding requests in nanoscience and nanotechnology:
 Nanomanufacturing
National Science Foundation PD 14-1788
Deadline Dates: September 1 – September 15, 2015 http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=13347
 OVPRED Internal Funding Initiatives (IFI)
University of Iowa
Deadline dates: September 15, 2015, December 15, 2015 and March 22, 2016 http://research.uiowa.edu/researchers/find-funding/internal-funding-initiatives-ifi
 Bioengineering Research Grants
PAR-13-137 National Institutes of Health
Deadline Date: September 25, 2015 http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-13-137.html
 Use of the NASA Physical Sciences Informatics System
NASA NNH15ZTT001N-15PSI_A
Deadline Date: September 30, 2015 http://nspires.nasaprs.com/external/solicitations/summary.do?method=init&solId={88074AD3-
2C25-81A8-6EED-D87C6C7459D1}&path=open
 Agricultural and Food Research Initiative – Foundational Program
USDA USDA-NIFA-AFRI-004915
Deadline Date: September 30, 2015 (Letter of Intent) http://nifa.usda.gov/funding-opportunity/agriculture-and-food-research-initiative-foundationalprogram
 Nanomaterials Health Implications Research (NHIR): Comprehensive Evaluation of
Interactions between Engineered Nanomaterials and Biological System
National Institutes of Health RFA-ES-15-013
Deadline dates: October 5, 2015 (Internal deadline); November 30, 2015 (Proposal deadline) https://research.uiowa.edu/grantTrack/preselection.php?get=uiwins&GrantID=18105&Type=2
 Nano-Biosensing
PD 14-7909 National Science Foundation
Deadline dates: October 1 – 20, 2015 http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=503353
 Interfacial Processes and Thermodynamics
National Science Foundation PD 14-1414
Deadline dates: October 1 – 20, 2015 http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=13362
 Fluid Dynamics
National Science Foundation
Deadline dates: October 1 – 20, 2015
PD 14-1443 http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=13365
 Nano-Bio Phenomena and Processes in the Environment
National Science Foundation PD 15-1179
Deadline dates: October 1 – 20, 2015

http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=501030&amp%3BWT.mc_id=USNSF_25&a mp%3BWT.mc_ev=click
 Environmental Sustainability
PD 15-7643 National Science Foundation
Deadline dates: October 1 – 20, 2015 http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=501027
 Electronics, Photonics and Magnetic Devices
National Science Foundation PD 13-1517
Deadline Dates: October 1 – November 2, 2015 http://nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=13379
 Communications, Circuits, and Sensing-Systems
National Science Foundation PD 13-7564
Deadline dates: October 1 – November 2, 2015 http://nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=13381
 NSF Major Research Instrumentation Program MRI Instrument Acquisition or Development
National Science Foundation 15-504
Deadline Dates: October 30, 2015 (Internal deadline); January 13, 2016 (Sponsor deadline) https://research.uiowa.edu/grantTrack/preselection.php?get=uiwins&GrantID=18031&Type=2
 Fiscal Year 2016 National Environmental Information Exchange Network
Environmental Protection Agency
Deadline Date: November 13, 2015
EPA-OEI-16-01 http://www2.epa.gov/exchangenetwork/fiscal-year-2016-national-environmental-informationexchange-network-grant-program
 Cultivating Cultures for Ethical STEM (CCE STEM)
National Science Foundation 15-528
Deadline Dates: December 8, 2015 (Internal deadline); February 16, 2016 (Sponsor deadline) https://research.uiowa.edu/grantTrack/preselection.php?get=uiwins&GrantID=18060&Type=2
 2015 Broad Agency Announcement Engineer Research and Development Center
Department of Defense
Deadline Date: January 31, 2016 http://nano.gov/node/1373
FOA Number: W912HZ-15-BAA-01
 NIST Measurement Science Research: Material Measurement; Physical Measurement;
Engineering; Fire Research; Information Technology; Communications Technology;
Neutron Research; Nanoscale Science
2015-NIST-MSE-01 National Institute of Standards and Technology
Deadline Date: June 1, 2016 http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=277027
 FY2016 Innovations at the Nexus of Food, Energy, Water Systems (INFEWS)
National Science Foundation 15-108
Deadline Date: September 30, 2016 http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2015/nsf15108/nsf15108.jsp#ref1
 Army Research Laboratory BAA for Basic and Applied Scientific Research
Department of Defense
Deadline Date: March 31, 2017
FOA Number: W911NF-12-R-0011 http://www.arl.army.mil/www/default.cfm?page=8
 Image-guided Drug Delivery in Cancer

National Institutes for Health (NIH) FOA Number: PA-09-253
Deadline Dates: January 25, May 25, and September 25, annually http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-09-253.html
 Exploratory/Developmental Bioengineering Research Grants
National Institutes for Health (NIH) FOA Number: PA-12-284
Deadline Dates: January 25, May 25, and September 25, annually http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-12-284.html
 Development of Multifunctional Drug and Gene Delivery Systems
National Institutes for Health (NIH) FOA Number: PA-10-048
Deadline Dates: February 5, June 5, and October 5, annually http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-10-048.html
 Nanoscience and Nanotechnology in Biology and Medicine
National Institutes of Health (NIH) FOA Number: PA-11-148
Deadline Dates: February 5, June 5, October 5, annually http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-11-148.html
 Bioengineering Nanotechnology Initiative
National Institutes of Health (NIH) FOA Number: PA-10-149
Deadline Dates: April 5, August 5, December 5, annually http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=53500
 Cancer Diagnostic and Therapeautic Agents Enabled by Nanotechnology
National Institutes of Health (NIH) FOA Number: PAR-10-286
Deadline Dates: April 5, August 5, December 5, annually http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-10-286.html
3.
Recent news and updates from NNI:
 University of Iowa joins national Center for Sustainable Nanotechnology
The University of Iowa has been added as a partner to the Center for Sustainable
Nanotechnology, a multi-institutional research center based at the University of Wisconsin-
Madison. Professor Sara Mason in the Department of Chemistry in the College of Liberal Arts &
Sciences is one of three computational chemists to join the center. http://now.uiowa.edu/2015/08/small-particlefrontier?utm_source=IANowStaff&utm_medium=nano&utm_campaign=IANowStaff-8-31-2015
4.
Highlights of some new interesting nanoscience and nanotechnology research and articles:
 "Drinkable Book" Turns Dirty Water Clean for a Thirsty World
A group of researchers from the US, in collaboration with a non-profit organisation, has designed a book with silver-impregnated pages that can be used to filter contaminated water.
One page from this ‘drinkable book’ can potentially filter up to 100 litres of drinking water and may provide a cheap, sustainable solution for communities suffering from severe sanitation problems. Waterborne diseases, such as typhoid or diarrhoeal illnesses, kill 1.5 million people a year globally. Poor sanitation or inadequate treatment facilities are primarily to blame, with inadequate hygiene practices also leading to the growth of harmful organisms in water supplies, such as Escherichia coli. Recognising that silver is an effective antimicrobial, Theresa
Dankovich from Carnegie Mellon University used the idea to launch the concept of a book that could both encourage proper sanitation practices and purify water. During her PhD at McGill
University, Dankovich successfully created a page made from cellulose, impregnated with silver nanoparticles. Following a postdoctoral stint at the University of Virginia (UVA), she was also able to dope the paper with relatively inexpensive copper nanoparticles. ‘The paper is really thick and sturdy, it has less than one weight percent of silver in it,’ explained Dankovich,

speaking at the 250th ACS National Meeting & Exposition at Boston, US. ‘Bacteria percolate through it, absorb silver ions and, as a result, end up dying.’ http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/drinkable-book-turns-dirty-water-clean-for-a-thirstyworld/
 Scientists grow high-quality graphene from tea tree extract
Graphene has been grown from materials as diverse as plastic, cockroaches, Girl Scout cookies, and dog feces, and can theoretically be grown from any carbon source. However, scientists are still looking for a graphene precursor and growth method that is sustainable, scalable, and economically feasible, since these are all requirements for realizing widespread commercialization of graphene-based devices. In a new study, researchers have grown graphene from the tea tree plant Melaleuca alternifolia, the same plant used to make essential oils in traditional medicine. The researchers demonstrated that they could fabricate large-area, nearly defect-free graphene films from tea tree oil in as little as a few seconds to a few minutes, whereas current growth methods usually take several hours. Unlike current methods, the new method also works at relatively low temperatures, does not require catalysts, and does not rely on methane or other nonrenewable, toxic, or explosive precursors. The scientists, Prof. Mohan
V. Jacob at James Cook University in Queensland, Australia, and collaborators from institutions in Australia, Singapore, Japan, and the US, have published a paper on the new technique for growing graphene from tea tree extract in a recent issue of Nano Letters. "This research realizes fabrication of good-quality, few-layer graphene from an environmentally friendly precursor,"
Jacob told Phys.org. "Overall, large-area graphene fabrication using a fast, environmentally friendly precursor and process at a relatively low fabrication temperature is the major significance of this work." http://phys.org/news/2015-08-scientists-high-quality-graphene-tea-tree.html
 Intractable pain may find relief in tiny gold rods
A team of scientists at Kyoto Univ.'s Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences (iCeMS) has developed a novel technique using tiny gold rods to target pain receptors.
Gold nanorods are tiny rods that are 1 to 100 nm wide and long. In comparison, a human hair is 100,000 nm wide. The team coated gold nanorods with a special type of protein that transports fat within the body known as a lipoprotein. This allowed the nanorods to bind efficiently to nerve cell membranes bearing a pain receptor called TRPV1 (transient receptor potential vanilloid type 1). Near-infrared light was then applied to the nanorod-coated pain receptors. The nanorods heated up, activating the pain receptors to allow an influx of calcium ions through the membrane. Prolonged activation of TRPV1 is known to subsequently lead to their desensitization, bringing pain relief. Importantly, heating the gold nanorods enabled safe activation of the TRPV1 pain receptors alone, without affecting the membrane in which they lie. http://www.rdmag.com/news/2015/08/intractable-pain-may-find-relief-tiny-gold-rods
 Solar cell absorbs high-energy light at 30-fold higher concentration than conventional cells
By combining designer quantum dot light-emitters with spectrally matched photonic mirrors, a team of scientists with Berkeley Lab and the University of Illinois created solar cells that collect blue photons at 30 times the concentration of conventional solar cells, the highest luminescent concentration factor ever recorded. This breakthrough paves the way for the future development of low-cost solar cells that efficiently utilize the high-energy part of the solar spectrum. "We've achieved a luminescent concentration ratio greater than 30 with an optical efficiency of 82-percent for blue photons," says Berkeley Lab director Paul Alivisatos, who is also the Samsung Distinguished Professor of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology at the University of California Berkeley, and director of the Kavli Energy Nanoscience Institute (ENSI), was the coleader of this research. "To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest luminescent concentration factor in literature to date." Alivisatos and Ralph Nuzzo of the University of
Illinois are the corresponding authors of a paper in ACS Photonics describing this research entitled "Quantum Dot Luminescent Concentrator Cavity Exhibiting 30-fold Concentration."
Noah Bronstein, a member of Alivisatos's research group, is one of three lead authors along with Yuan Yao and Lu Xu. Other co-authors are Erin O'Brien, Alexander Powers and Vivian Ferry. http://phys.org/news/2015-09-solar-cell-absorbs-high-energy-fold.html

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