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Crystal Growth & Design, Vol. 1, No. 6, 2001
Announcement Biomimetic Engineering Meeting March 3-8, 2002 Sandestin, Florida Biological organisms exhibit sophisticated crystal engineering capabilities that underlie the remarkable material properties of mineralized tissues such as bone and teeth, and the beautiful and functional nacre of mollusks and abalone. Increasing interest is being paid to nature’s processing strategies, particularly by materials scientists looking for bioinspired methods to engineer unique ceramics coatings or composites for use in magnetic, optical, biomedical, and protective coatings applications. In particular, the engineering of hard tissues may benefit from biomimetic approaches since the benign conditions allow for the incorporation of biomolecular compounds into the organic/inorganic composite during fabrication. On the other hand, there is great interest from the biomedical community because the disruption of normal biomineralization processes may lead to pathological conditions, such as in arteriosclerotic plaque formation, encrustation of biomaterials (such as urinary catheters and artificial heart valve calcification), kidney stone buildup, dental calculus formation, or bone and tooth demineralization. The main objective of this conference is to bring together scientists, physicians, and engineers in a relaxed environment, with talks designed to bridge the gap between researchers in this interdisciplinary field. This groundbreaking conference will have sessions that deal with (a) Biomineralization in Nature/Vertebrates & Invertebrates (Inspiration for Design Principles), (b) Organic Modulators of Cystallization/Templated Nucleation & Crystal Growth Modification, (c) Engineering Strategies/Bioinspired Materials & Novel Physicochemical Properties, and (d) Applications of Biomimetic Materials/Devices & Processes. Each day will open with a keynote address to highlight the day’s topics; each of the sessions will include eight to 10 presentations, with afternoons left free for ad-hoc meetings and informal discussions. An evening poster session will also promote dialogue among the attendees. The chair of the conference is Dr. Allison A. Campbell of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Washington, and the co-chair is Prof. Laurie Gower of the University of Florida in Gainesville. Additional information about this conferencesand a registration formscan be found at the conference’s web site: http://www.engfnd.org/engfnd/2AM.html. The United Engineering Foundation is located at Three Park Avenue, 27th Floor, New York, NY 10016-5902; Tel: 212-591-7836, Fax: 212-591-7441, E-mail:
[email protected]; Internet: www.engfnd.org.
