| Nobel Laureates And Other Top Researchers In Singapore To Encourage R&D That Spans Scientific Disciplines |
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The next generation of scientific innovations will come from the spaces that straddle traditional scientific disciplines and cross-disciplinary fields like molecular materials research. Experts from around the world, including two Nobel Laureates, converge at A*STAR IMRE’s M3 @ Singapore 2012 conference to present cross-disciplinary innovations for applications ranging from energy to sensors.
Molecular Materials Meeting (M3) @ Singapore 2012 organised by A*STAR’s Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE).
2. “Molecular materials research is the marriage of traditional materials engineering and modern molecular science, and is a way to inject new designs and innovations in materials for novel technological applications,” said Prof Andy Hor, IMRE’s Executive Director quoting the example of IMRE’s artificial cell membrane technology which integrates materials and biology know-how to synthesize polymer-based cell membranes. Live natural cell membranes used in drug discovery R&D requires time to be cultured or grown, are hard to maintain in a laboratory, and require specialists to handle the specimens. On the other hand, the synthetic polymer cell membranes help speed up the drug discovery process as they are simpler to make, easier to handle and mimic the functions of natural cell membranes.
3. “Cross-disciplinary is the key for the exponential growth of new scientific innovations. An example for merging-disciplines research leading to advanced materials, including improved medications, is X-ray crystallography. This method generates information vital for the design of new compounds with desired properties by shaping our notion on chemical and life processes at the molecular level by exploiting physical methods and advanced mathematics,” explained Prof Ada Yonath who won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2009.
4. Molecular materials science cuts across fields like chemistry, materials science, physics, biology, medicine and engineering. For example, by combining chemistry and physics know-how, molecular materials research is used to examine the structure, alignment of molecules and crystallinity of common materials, and alters them to produce new materials with unique properties.
5. The speakers will cover research topics centered on Materials Synthesis, Assembly & Device Fabrication, Energy & Sustainable Materials, Optical & Electronic Materials, and Materials for Imaging & Sensing. Companies such as Mitsui Chemicals, 3M and Aixtron and those involved in the molecular materials value chain are also participating in the conference as speakers and exhibitors. Participants will have the opportunity to interact/meet with these experts to gain insights into this new and exciting area of research.
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