NANO @ IOWA
News from the Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Institute at UI
June 3, 2015
Items in red are new this issue.
(Others are carried forward from previous issues.)
1. Upcoming conferences and seminars including nanoscience and nanotechnology:

TechConnect World Innovation Conference and Expo
Washington, DC
June 14-17, 2015
http://www.techconnectworld.com/World2015/

Gordon Research Conference: Environmental Nanotechnology
West Dover, VT
June 21-26, 2015
http://www.grc.org/programs.aspx?id=14914

QEEN Workshop: Quantifying Exposure to Engineered Nanomaterials from Manufactured
Products – Addressing Environmental, Health, and Safety Implications
Arlington, Virginia
July 7-8, 2015
http://nano.gov/node/1327

ICANM 2015: International Conference & Exhibition on Advanced & Nano Materials
Ottawa, Canada
August 10-12, 2015
http://icanm2015.iaemm.com/Home.php

ICEENN 2015: 10th International Conference on the Environmental Effects of Nanoparticles
and Nanomaterials
Vienna, Austria
September 6-10, 2015
https://nanoenvironment2015.univie.ac.at

4th International Conference and Exhibition on Materials Science & Engineering
Orlando, Florida
September 14-16, 2015
http://materialsscience.conferenceseries.com/#

International Symposium on Clusters and Nanomaterials (ISCAN)
Richmond, Virgina
October 26-29, 2015
http://www.iscan.vcu.edu

5th International Conference on Nanotek and Expo
San Antonio, Texas
November 16-18, 2015
http://nanotechnologyexpo.conferenceseries.com/
2. Upcoming grant opportunities and funding requests in nanoscience and nanotechnology:

Industry/University Cooperative Research Centers Program
National Science Foundation
nsf13-594
Deadline Dates: Letter of Intent June 26, 2015; Full proposal September 25, 2015
http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5501&org=NNCO&sel_org=NNCO&from=f
und

Science, Technology, and Society
National Science Foundation
15-506
Deadline Date: August 3, 2015
http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5324

NSF: Science of Science and Innovation Policy
National Science Foundation
PD 09-7626
Deadline Date: September 9, 2015
http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=501084

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

Nano-Biosensing
National Science Foundation
PD 14-7909
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
PD 14-1443
Deadline dates: October 1 – 20, 2015
http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=13365

NSF: Environmental Health and Safety of Nanotechnology
National Science Foundation
PD 14-1179
Deadline dates: October 1 – 20, 2015
http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=501030

NSF Major Research Instrumentation Program MRI Instrument Acquisition or Development
National Science Foundation
15-504
Deadline Date: October 30, 2015 (Internal deadline)
https://research.uiowa.edu/grantTrack/preselection.php?get=uiwins&GrantID=18031&Type=2

Army Research Laboratory BAA for Basic and Applied Scientific Research
Department of Defense
FOA Number: W911NF-12-R-0011
Deadline Date: March 31, 2017
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

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:

Summer REU program 2015 begins!
Nine undergraduate students from the University of Dubuque, Harry S Truman College, Aquinas
College, Iowa State University, Ohio Northern University, Washington and Lee University,
University of Nebraska, Agnes Scott College and Gustavus Adolphus are participating in the NNI
summer REU program 2015. They are working in labs across campus with Tori Forbes, Eric
Nuxoll, Vicki Grassian, Syed Mubeen, Amanda Haes, David Cwiertny, Allan Guymon, Sarah
Larsen, Aliasger Salem and Jennifer Fiegel. Please welcome our visiting students!
4. Highlights of some new interesting nanoscience and nanotechnology research and articles:

Efficiency record for black silicon solar cells jumps to 22.1%
The researchers have obtained the record-breaking efficiency of 22.1% on nanostructured
silicon solar cells as certified by Fraunhofer ISE CalLab. An almost 4% absolute increase to their
previous record is achieved by applying a thin passivating film on the nanostructures by Atomic
Layer Deposition, and by integrating all metal contacts on the back side of the cell. The surface
recombination has long been the bottleneck of black silicon solar cells and has so far limited
the cell efficiencies to only modest values. The new record cells consists of a thick backcontacted structure that is known to be highly sensitive to the front surface recombination. The
certified external quantum efficiency of 96% at 300nm wavelength demonstrates that the
increased surface recombination problem no longer exists and for the first time the black
silicon is not limiting the final energy conversion efficiency. The results were published online
18.5.2015 in Nature Nanotechnology. "The energy conversion efficiency is not the only
parameter that we should look at," explains Professor Hele Savin from Aalto University, who
coordinated the study. Due to the ability of black cells to capture solar radiation from low
angles, they generate more electricity already over the duration of one day as compared to the
traditional cells. "This is an advantage particularly in the north, where the sun shines from a low
angle for a large part of the year. We have demonstrated that in winter Helsinki, black cells
generate considerably more electricity than traditional cells even though both cells have
identical efficiency values," she adds.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/05/150518121440.htm

Nanosilver and the future of antibiotics
Precious metals like silver and gold have biomedical properties that have been used for
centuries, but how do these materials effectively combat the likes of cancer and bacteria
without contaminating the patient and the environment? These are the questions that
researchers from Dalhousie University and the Canadian Light Source are trying to find out.
"Gold and silver are both exciting materials," said Peng Zhang, Associate Professor of Chemistry
at Dalhousie. "We can use gold to either detect or kill cancer cells. Silver is also excited and a
very promising material as an antibacterial agents." Zhang said that if you compare silver to
current antibiotics, silver does not show drug-resistant behaviour. "But with silver, so far, we are
not finding that," he added. Finding out why silver is such a great antibacterial agent is the
focus of Zhang's research, recently published in the journal Langmuir. "We want to understand
the relationship between the atomic structure and bioactivity of nanosilver as to why it is so
efficient at inhibiting bacterial activity. It's a big puzzle."
http://phys.org/news/2015-05-nanosilver-future-antibiotics.html

Researchers develop new way to manufacture nanofibers
Researchers at the University of Georgia have developed an inexpensive way to manufacture
extraordinarily thin polymer strings commonly known as nanofibers. These polymers can be
made from natural materials like proteins or from human-made substances to make plastic,
rubber or fiber, including biodegradable materials. The new method, dubbed
"magnetospinning" by the researchers, provides a very simple, scalable and safe means for
producing very large quantities of nanofibers that can be embedded with a multitude of
materials, including live cells and drugs.
http://www.ecnmag.com/news/2015/05/researchers-develop-new-way-manufacture-nanofibers

Thin coating on condensers could make power plants more efficient
Most of the world’s electricity-producing power plants — whether powered by coal, natural gas,
or nuclear fission — make electricity by generating steam that turns a turbine. That steam then
is condensed back to water, and the cycle begins again. But the condensers that collect the
steam are quite inefficient, and improving them could make a big difference in overall power
plant efficiency. Now, a team of researchers at MIT has developed a way of coating these
condenser surfaces with a layer of graphene, just one atom thick, and found that this can
improve the rate of heat transfer by a factor of four — and potentially even more than that, with
further work. And unlike polymer coatings, the graphene coatings have proven to be highly
durable in laboratory tests.
The findings are reported in the journal Nano Letters by MIT graduate student Daniel Preston,
professors Evelyn Wang and Jing Kong, and two others. The improvement in condenser heat
transfer, which is just one step in the power-production cycle, could lead to an overall
improvement in power plant efficiency of 2 to 3 percent based on figures from the Electric
Power Research Institute, Preston says — enough to make a significant dent in global carbon
emissions, since such plants represent the vast majority of the world’s electricity generation.
“That translates into millions of dollars per power plant per year,” he explains.
https://newsoffice.mit.edu/2015/graphene-coating-more-efficient-power-plants-0529
About NANO @ IOWA
NANO @ IOWA is a biweekly electronic newsletter to inform faculty, staff and students about important
news and events in nanoscience and nanotechnology. This newsletter is provided as a service of the
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