MADISON – Wisconsin will be represented June 21-24 at TechConnect World, the world’s largest co-located nanotechnology and “cleantech” conference, through an exhibit produced by the Wisconsin Technology Council and Forward Wisconsin.
In its 13th year, TechConnect World is hosted by the Nano Science and Technology Institute and is expected to attract more than 5,000 visitors. Wisconsin will be among 350 exhibitors at the conference, to be held at the Anaheim (Calif.) Convention Center.
“Wisconsin researchers and companies are making a mark in the emerging field of nanotechnology as well as “clean” technologies,” said Tom Still, president of the Wisconsin Technology Council. “This conference offers a platform to introduce others to what the state offers in fields such as advanced biofuels, advanced manufacturing, composites, graphenes and carbon nanotubes, microfabrication and more.”
Nanotechnology is a catch-all description of activities at the level of atoms and molecules that have applications in the real world. A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter, or about 1/80,000th the diameter of a human hair. Viewed another way, a nanometer is about 10 times the diameter of a hydrogen atom.
Nanotechnology is a platform for advancing other sciences. It is the science of defining, fabricating and synthesizing materials, devices and systems that have features and functionality at the nanometric (molecular) scale. The applications in genetics, industry, robotics, artificial intelligence and physics are so vast that scientists believe they’re only now scratching the surface.
Some nanotechnology applications have already found commercial use. Nanoscale materials are being used in products as diverse as sun-blocking lotions, plastics, lubricants for heavy machinery, tennis balls, computer displays, paneling on cars and clothing.
The range of potential uses has been expanding rapidly as researchers discover valuable and sometimes unexpected results by shrinking common materials, thus building in extra strength and flexibility, or new electrical and optical properties.
Wisconsin exhibitors will include the UW-Madison, through the Office of Corporate Relations, and Graphene Solutions of Platteville, which has developed technologies to increase the practical application of nanomaterials. Graphene Solutions was the winner of the 2008 Governor’s Business Plan Contest. Most recently, the company was selected as a semi-finalist in the north central section of the national Cleantech Open business competition.
The Tech Council is managing the Wisconsin pavilion in partnership with Forward Wisconsin. To learn more, contact Jodi Hoeser, national conference director for the Tech Council, at 608-442-7557 ext. 26., or jhoeser@wisconsintechnologycouncil.com
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