News Release

First series in ‘What’s the Big Idea?’ 
program starts Oct. 6 with ‘lab-on-a-chip’

CHAPEL HILL -- A series of lectures beginning Oct. 6 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will look at the ways science influences society – from spurring job growth to making a visit to the doctor less painful.

Every Thursday in October, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., university scientists will speak on topics as diverse as nanotechnology (the science of the very small), chemistry and the economy.

The lecture series, free to the public, is titled "Materials of the Future" and will be held at UNC’s William and Ida Friday Center for Continuing Education. Part of the Friday Center’s new "What’s the Big Idea?" initiative, the series is designed to introduce university experts in various disciplines to the community and create opportunities for community members to engage in discussions about important issues.

Registration is required and available by visiting http://fridaycenter.unc.edu/pdep/, or by calling (919) 962-2643 or (800) 845-8640.

"Materials of the Future" lectures are the following:

"Smaller, Faster, Cheaper, Better: Lab-on-a-Chip Technologies for Chemical and Biochemical Experimentation": Dr. J. Michael Ramsey, Minnie N. Goldby distinguished professor of chemistry, will discuss his research in miniaturizing and automating the lab process. Ramsey helped create the concept of performing lab tests in miniature – on tiny silicon, glass or plastic chip. The technology could mean that future diagnostic tests might cost less and involve less blood work.

"How Could New Polymers Affect Your Life?": Dr. Joe DeSimone, William R. Kenan Jr. distinguished professor of chemistry and chemical engineering at UNC and N.C. State University, will discuss his work creating new materials for use in fuel cells and in drug delivery.

DeSimone’s group is studying new ways to produce the membrane that forms the "heart" of a fuel cell, which is a portable source of energy, like a battery, but never needs to be thrown away or recharged because it is energized by hydrogen. He also will discuss his work developing a method of creating the world’s tiniest manufactured particles for delivering drugs, genetic material or other organic materials to targeted areas of the body.

"Nanotechnology: Manipulating Viruses, Molecules and Other Objects Too Tiny to See": Dr. Richard Superfine, Bowman and Gordon Gray professor of condensed matter physics, biophysics and microscopy, will discuss the science of the very small.

Superfine will explain the basics of nanotechnology, which involves studying, manipulating and creating materials that are so tiny they must be measured in nanometers (a billionth of a meter). Viruses and atoms are examples of substances on the nanoscale. Materials this small have different properties than normal-sized things, and it takes special microscopes to see them and special tools to manipulate them.

"Science and Technology-Based Economic Development Policy": Dr. Robert K. McMahan, the governor’s senior adviser for science and technology and research professor of physics and astronomy at UNC, will discuss the need for North Carolina to embrace emerging technologies to create jobs and spur economic growth.

McMahan also will discuss what it will take for North Carolina to turn the state’s scientific resources into richer economic growth.

Scientists from the program will participate in a round-table discussion on North Carolina Public Radio-WUNC’s "The State of Things" (heard at 91.5 FM in the Triangle) at noon Oct. 5. The program will be rebroadcast at 9 p.m. that day.

The "Materials of the Future" lecture series is supported by the N.C. Biotechnology Center and the Nannette V. Mengel Program Development Endowment. The series is presented in partnership with UNC’s Endeavors magazine and Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Economic Development.

- 30 -

Friday Center contact: Tyler Ritter, (919) 843-5836
News Services contact: Deb Saine, (919) 962-8415 or deborah_saine@unc.edu