Zyvex Corp announces new executives.
The Richardson, Texas based 1000-employee innovator in nanotechnology and nanotubes has added Rob Burgess as vice president of R&D and the appointment of Patrick Howard to head of worldwide sales.

Alice Gast named Lehigh University President.
During her tenure in Stanford's Chemical Engineering Department she made major contributions to the thermodynamics and phase diagrams of colloidal particle systems. Her more recent research has focused upon macromolecules at interfaces, order-disorder transitions in colloidal suspensions, and magnetorheological fluids.

NaturalNano Appoints Cathy A. Fleischer, Ph.D.
as Chief Technology Officer; Science and Technology Veteran to Lead Company's Commercialization Efforts Dr. Fleischer's role at NaturalNano will focus on the commercialization of NaturalNano's technology and the expansion of its intellectual property portfolio. Dr. Fleischer is a highly recognized scientist and manager with extensive experience leading diverse technical organizations and teams to deliver in research, business and manufacturing. During the last five years, Fleischer led organizations that delivered highly innovative and successful products and were responsible for over 200 patent applications. Dr. Fleischer holds eleven patents individually and has numerous publications in the fields of polymer materials science, composites, adhesion and surface science. Most recently, Dr. Fleischer served as R&D Director for Polarizer Films at Eastman Kodak Company (Kodak). Fleischer held a variety of senior leadership positions at Kodak, including that of Program Manager for LCD optical films and Laboratory Head for flexible substrates.

Vinit Murthy (Rice University) earned top honors and $5,000 in the 2006 George Kozmetsky Award competition for outstanding graduate research in nanotechnology, which drew stiff competition from Texas's leading research universities. The award is sponsored by the Nanotechnology Foundation of Texas. Only 14 out of a possible 600 points separated the top four finalists, which represented diverse fields, including medicine, engineering and natural science. Murthy, a fifth-year chemical engineering Ph.D. student in the research group of Michael Wong, assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering and assistant professor of chemistry, studies nanoparticle assembly. Along with Wong, he co-discovered a simple method to encapsulate any water-soluble compound easily and without damage. The method is the most environmentally sensitive approach yet devised for making tiny hollow spheres called microcapsules.

NanoVic Prize and Nano 50 Award given to Ray H. Baughman’s and Ken Atkinson’s research teams, respectively, at the University of Texas at Dallas and at the CSIRO Textile & Fiber Technology Division. The prestigious NanoVic Prize, which includes a $10,000 stipend, presented by Nanotechnology Victoria Ltd. The Nano 50 Award was presented by NanoTech Briefs, a digital monthly magazine that highlights engineering breakthroughs in nanotechnology and microelectromechanical systems. The breakthroughs, first reported in the Nov. 19, 2004, and Aug. 19, 2005, issues of Science, involve fabricating carbon nanotube yarns and transparent nanotube sheets.

Ning Wang wins 2006 Achievement in Asia Award for his research in nanotechnology. Dr. Ning Wang, Associate Professor of Physics at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), was honored June 29th in Taipei by the Overseas Chinese Physics Association for his work on semiconducting nanotubes. This annual award is presented to Chinese scientists under 50 years of age.

Jwa-Min Nam wins 2006 Victor K. LaMer Award. The Victor K. LaMer Award for best PhD Thesis in Colloid and Surface Science was granted to Jwa-Min Nam of Seoul National University by the Colloid and Surface Science Division of the American Chemical Society on June 21, 2006, at the 80th Colloid and Surface Science Symposium held this year at the University of Colorado at Boulder. This award was granted for Nam's work on functional nanostructure-based biodiagnostics that rely on DNA-functionalized nanoparticles and magnetic nanoparticles to create targeted recognition elements. A novel amplification system provides attomolar sensitivity.

The Brian Scarlett Scholarship Fund has been announced by the Particle Characterisation Interest Group of the Royal Society of Chemistry. For over 40 years Professor Brian Scarlett made a major contribution to the Particulate Sciences. During this period many hundreds of students of many nationalities have gained from Brian’s tutoring and lively stimulation of debate. Over the years, Brian made a habit of taking with him on conference and overseas visits, as many of his students as the budget would permit and sometimes more. He reasoned that exposure to new people with other stimulating ideas would build the students character, broaden their understanding and improve their confidence. When one looks at the positions former students of Brian now command one can see that this philosophy was well founded. This fund will be devoted to supporting student travel in this specific area. The fund will be administered by the Particle Characterisation Interest Group, under the umbrella of the Royal Society of Chemistry, who are experienced in this field and registered as a charity.

Eric Dickinson named 2006 Rideal Lecturer by the Society of Chemical Industry and the Royal Society of Chemistry. Dickinson, Professor of Food Colloids at Leeds, will lecture on "Colloid Science of Mixed Ingredients" at a special symposium on 11 April 2006 at SCI Headquarters in London.

Rajiv Singh, Deepika Singh, and Marie-Beatrice Dufourg of the University of Florida (RS) and of Sinmat, Inc. (DS & MBD) were named winners in the 43rd Annual R&D 100 Awards competition for their submicron (50-200 nm diamter) porous silica (5-50 nm pores) particles that behave as soft, elastic nanosponges.

Nobel Laureate and Rice University Professor Richard Errett Smalley, Ph.D. passed away on
Friday, October 28, 2005, after a 7-year battle with Leukemia. He was 62. His extraordinary scientific contributions were recognized by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 1996 with the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the discovery in 1985 of the Carbon 60 molecule, Buckminsterfullerene, which he nicknamed “Buckyball.” He shared the prize with Rice University Professor Robert Curl, and Sir Harold Kroto of the University of Sussex. He is survived by his bride, Deborah Sheffield Smalley, two sons, Chad Richard Smalley and Preston Reed Smalley; two sisters, Linda Rings and Mary Jill Olson; one brother, Clayton Smalley, two step-daughters, Eva Kluber & Alison Kluber, and one granddaughter, Bridget Burkhaulter. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested donations be made to the Smalley-Curl Fund for Innovation c/o Rice University, P. O. Box 1892 (MS100), Houston, TX 77251-1892.

Helmut Schmidt, Founder and Director of the Institute of New Materials (INM) in Saarbruecken, will be relinquishing his position as Director as of the end of August 2005. He will continue as Professor of New Materials at the University of Saarbruecken, and he will also pursue a leadership role in several of the start-up ventures nucleated at INM.

Hunt, Schadler, and Sudarshan named to NMAB
Andrew Hunt, CEO of nGimat, Linda Schadler, Professor of Materials Science at RPI, and T.S. Sudarshan, President and CEO of Materials Modification, Inc. have been named to the National Materials Advisor Board for 2005. NMAB is part of the National Research Council's Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences.

Modzelewski joins NanoDynamics F. Mark Modzelewski joined NanoDynamics in May 2005 as Vice President of Strategic Opportunities. In 2004, he co-founded Lux Research, a research and advisory firm focusing on nanotechnology. In 2003, he founded The Benet Group, a private equity firm focused on developing early stage, bio-nanotechnology companies. In 2001, he founded the NanoBusiness Alliance, the first nanotechnology trade association, and continues to serve as its Executive Chairman. Prior to the formation of the Alliance, Mr. Modzelewski served as Vice President, Business Development for Opion, a surveillance and marketing technology company, Director of Niehaus, Ryan & Wong, New York, and an account leader at Golin/Harris International. He is currently a member of the Nanotechnology Technical Advisory Group to the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, and previously served as a special assistant to Secretary Cisneros (HUD) and Secretary Glickman (USDA) during the Clinton administration. Mr. Modzelewski is a graduate of Boston University and received a J.D. from the University of Denver College of Law.

Markus Antonietti named 2005 MMI Turner Alfrey Visiting Professor Dr. Antonietti is Director at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids in Golm and Professor at the University of Potsdam in Germany. At a joint regional meeting of the SPE, ACS, AIChE, and ASM, Dr. Antonietti presented a lecture on "Polymeric Nanoparticles: Future Chanllenges and Possibilities on June 7th in Midland, Michigan."

Nicholaas de Jaeger has been named president of the International Fine Particles Research Institute (IFPRI). This industrial consortium is a not for profit organization seeking to advance the solutions of important industrial problems in particle technology.

Professor Shlomo Efrima passed away
on March 27 at the age of 57 after fighting cancer for several years. He was Professor of Chemistry and member of the Ilse Katz Center for Meso and Nanoscale Science and Technology at Ben Gurion University in Beer Sheba, Israel. Born in Boston, Efrima emigrated to Israel and earned his PhD at Tel Aviv University. Efrima is best known for his pioneering work in the colloial stabilization of metal nanoparticle films at liquid interfaces, for his experimental and theoretical contributions to SERS, and for his recent practical contributions to nanoparticle synthesis. He cofounded, along with Professor Oren Regev, one of the first undergraduate nanotechnology curricula, designed to attract gifted students into science and engineering. He is survived by his wife Hanna and their four children.

The 2005 Le Fèvre Memorial Prize was awarded to Frank Caruso by the Australian Academy of Sciences. The R.J.W. Le Fèvre Memorial Prize commemorates the work of the late Professor R.J.W. Le Fèvre, FAA, FRS. Its purpose is to recognise outstanding research in chemistry by scientists under 40 years at the closing date. The prize of $3000 is awarded annually. The awardee is also a recent ARC Federation Fellowship recipient and is known for his layer by layer encapsulation work started at the Max Planck Institute of Interfaces in Golm.

Dr. Matthew Lynch of Procter & Gamble Company featured as 2005 Steiner Lecturer at Carnegie Melon University on May 4, 2005. Dr. Lynch addressed the topic of Polymer Induced Gelation of Dispersed "soft" Colloidal Dispersions.

Nicholas A. Peppas was awarded the 2005 Founders Award by the Society of Biomaterials at the society's annual meeting in April. Peppas, a Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin presented an award lecture entitled: Hydrogels as Biomaterials: Infinite Possibilities in Bionanotechnology, Drug Delivery, Biological Recognition, Tissue Engineering, and Pure Scientific Fun!

A. Paul Alivisatos was awarded the 2005 ACS Award in Colloid and Surface Chemistry at the 229th National ACS Meeting in San Diego, CA. The Berkeley Chemistry Professor and Director of the Materials Science Division at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratories was honored for his extensive contributions to quantum dot science and technology.

Innovator Naomi Halas was featured in a recent Nova broadcast
detailing some of the trials and tribulations of developing a leading nanoparticle research group at Rice University. Her contributions and projects associated with her nanoshell technology are featured in the on line ScienceNow Profiles section.

NanoCyl board appoints Mr. Francis Massin
as new managing director of Nanocyl. Mr. Massin holds a chemical engineering degree and a business degree from the Solvay School of Brussles. He also attended INSEAD and IMD. He has more than 20 years of experience in scientific, industrial and business development at Dow Corning in Europe.