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Biomolecular Materials and Processes
Summary
The goal of this study is to assess current work and future promise at the interfaces between biology and materials physics, and to recommend actions to realize the identified opportunities.
The committee is charged with the following tasks:
1. Identify the most compelling questions and the emerging scientific opportunities at the interface between biology and condensed matter and materials research—the biomolecular domain.
2. Suggest strategies to best meet the identified opportunities.
3. Consider connections to national priorities including healthcare, security, workforce, economic and other societal needs.
In carrying out this study the committee may consider what opportunities biology presents to materials research and what opportunities materials research presents for biology. In its deliberations, the committee may consider previous reports in this field (such as Biomolecular Self-Assembling Materials: Scientific and Technological Frontiers, National Academies Press, BPA 1996), current programs and strategies implemented by the federal research support agencies, and a review of international activity.
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Committee and Staff Members
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Committee Membership
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Arup K. Chakraborty, Chair, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Joanna Aizenberg, Bell Labs/Lucent Technologies
Annelise E. Barron, Northwestern University
Kenneth A. Dill, University of California at San Francisco
Sharon C. Glotzer, University of Michigan
Yale E. Goldman, University of Pennsylvania
Elias Greenbaum, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
W. John Kao, University of Wisconsin-Madison
David Needham, Duke University
V. Adrian Parsegian, National Institute of Child Health & Human Development
Alan Rudolph, Adlyfe Inc.
Cyrus Safinya, University of California Santa Barbara
Charles F. Stevens, Salk Institute for Biological Studies
David A. Weitz, Harvard University
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NRC Staff
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Donald C. Shapero, Director, BPA
Fran Sharples, Director, BLS
Adam Fagen, Program Officer, BLS
Natalia Melcer, Program Officer, BPA
Phil Long, Senior Program Assistant, BPA
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Activities
The study will be completed in two stages with a total of three plenary meetings over 18 months. The first (assessment) stage will be concerned with a science review of the field, addressing the key research issues, exposing the compelling scientific motivations for the field, and evaluating themes and opportunities for further progress. The committee will participate in a comprehensive data-gathering phase that will involve the committee hearing from federal agencies that support the field and from researchers who will present overviews of the various sub-fields of biomolecular materials research. The committee will also consider data-gathering on an individual or sub-group basis and by contact with the wider community through a web site and dedicated e-mail address.
The second (outlook) phase will result in the development of a forward-looking strategy for the pursuit of these goals and realization of the opportunities. The committee will plan to meet in plenary session as well as considering holding town meetings (for example at professional society meetings) so as to engage the research community in the survey process and gather data on the most promising research in the field.
Past Meetings
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Future Meetings
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November 28-29, 2006
Keck Center of The National Academies
Washington, DC
Agenda
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None currently planned.
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June 18-19, 2006
The Molecular Foundry at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Berkeley, CA
Agenda Presentations
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March 16-17, 2006
Keck Center of the National Academies
Washington, DC
Agenda Presentations
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Feedback
To send comments or suggestions to the committee, please send e-mail to bmap@nas.edu. Feedback will be posted on this website as it is received.
Related Links
The committee is pleased to acknowledge support from the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy.
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