Next Scientia to look at past, present, future of carbon nanotechnology

FROM RICE NEWS STAFF REPORTS

The history of carbon nanotechnology at Rice and the future of the field will be the topic of the next Scientia lecture Nov. 15 at 4 p.m. The two TED-style presentations and a panel discussion will be held at 4 p.m. in Duncan Hall’s McMurtry Auditorium. The lecture is free and open to the public.

James Tour, the T.T. and W.F. Chao Professor of Chemistry, professor of mechanical engineering and materials science and professor of computer science, will present “Carbon-based Nanotechnologies Developed at Rice University.” This brief talk will illustrate a series of carbon-based nanotechnologies, including T carbon nanotube composites for remote repair in space, graphene growth protocols from Girl Scout Cookies and cockroaches, graphene nanoribbons made by longitudinal unzipping of carbon nanotubes, radome coatings for aircraft and ships, carbon nanoparticles for oil drilling and for identifying oil downhole, carbon nanoparticle drug delivery agents for cancer chemotherapy and for treating traumatic brain injury, and nanocars: nanometer-sized single-molecule cars with light-activated motors and fullerene wheels.

Cyrus Mody, assistant professor of history, will present “Eight Lessons From the Career of Rick Smalley.” Mody will explain eight observations about the conduct and organization of science and illustrate them using episodes from the life and work of Rick Smalley, one of Rice University’s most high-profile and institutionally entrepreneurial scientists.

A panel discussion will examine “The Future of Carbon Nanotechnology.” Robert Curl, University Professor Emeritus and the Kenneth S. Pitzer-Schlumberger Professor Emeritus of Natural Sciences; Pulickel Ajayan, the Benjamin M. and Mary Greenwood Anderson Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and professor of chemistry, will join Tour and Mody in this talk. The panel will be moderated by Richard Baraniuk, the Victor E. Cameron Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Devika Subramanian, professor of computer science and of electrical and computer engineering.

The theme of this year’s Scientia lecture series is “Rice: A Century of Change.” The evolution of Rice from a small, regional institute to a major research university is rooted in the vision of its various presidents and trustees, the ingenuity and insight of its faculty and the generosity of its supporters. In this centennial series, Scientia is looking at the decisive events that shaped the university in its first century and exploring the emerging fields of research that will shape the future of Rice.

For more information on Scientia, visit http://scientia.rice.edu.