NIST Technicalendar January 1 to January 5, 2007 The NIST Technicalendar is issued each Friday. All items MUST be submitted electronically from this web page by 12:00 NOON each Wednesday unless otherwise stated in the NIST Technicalendar. The address for online weekly editions of the NIST Technicalendar and NIST Administrative Calendar is: http://www.nist.gov/tcal/.
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10:30 AM - Nanoelectromechanical sensing and metrology: Recent progress

10:30 AM - Capacitance of Dielectric Spheres: A Classical Model of Discrete Electrons for Nanoscale Materials and Devices
10:30 AM - Tunneling Microscopy and the NBS Topografiner: 20 Years After (and Before) the Nobel Prize
2:00 PM - Magnetic nanoparticles and nanocomposite magnets

1/1 -- MONDAY

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1/2 -- TUESDAY

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1/3 -- WEDNESDAY

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1/4 -- THURSDAY

10:30 AM - CNST SEMINAR SERIES: Nanoelectromechanical sensing and metrology: Recent progress
Nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) have been at the center of recent applied and fundamental research. Most NEMS are resonant devices — much like simple tuning forks — with submicron dimensions. In this size regime, NEMS come with extremely high fundamental resonance frequencies, diminished active masses and tolerable force constants; the quality (Q) factors of resonance are in the range Q~103-105. These attributes collectively make NEMS suitable for a multitude of technological applications — such as ultrasensitive force and mass sensing, narrow band filtering, and time keeping. From a fundamental physics point of view, NEMS are expected to enable the observation of quantum behavior in mesoscopic mechanical systems. This presentation will start with a brief description of our recent work on nanomechanical mass sensing. It will then outline some of the challenges involved in realizing a practical NEMS mass sensor and focus on our efforts in addressing these challenges. One of the challenges, namely the operation of a nanomechanical resonator in a rarefied gas atmosphere, has led us to re-investigate a well-known fluid dynamics problem: Stokes’ second problem of an oscillating plate in a fluid. At the frequencies of NEMS motion, Stokes’ second problem needs to be reformulated in order to accurately describe NEMS motion. On the other hand, our efforts to develop tunneling displacement transducers have resulted in progress towards a functional radiofrequency scanning tunneling microscope (STM).
Kamil Ekinci , Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA, ekinci@bu.edu.
215 Bldg, Rm. C103-C106. (NIST Contact: Joseph Stroscio, 301-975-3716, joseph.stroscio@nist.gov)


1/5 -- FRIDAY

10:30 AM - QUANTUM ELECTRICAL METROLOGY DIVISION SEMINAR: Capacitance of Dielectric Spheres: A Classical Model of Discrete Electrons for Nanoscale Materials and Devices
Capacitance is a measure of the ability of a system to store electrons and is conventionally considered to be a constant based upon the shape of metallic plates and the dimensions of the system. In systems with relatively large plates, the equipotential surface of the plates allow for a substantially well-defined potential landscape from which the capacitance is derived. In general, however, equipotentials of dielectric systems without metal plates take the shape of very complex three-dimensional surfaces resulting from the spatial configuration of discrete electrons. To demonstrate this approach, using a system of N free electrons confined to a dielectric sphere the proposed model is shown to be consistent with the conventional capacitance for dielectric spheres consisting of a single electron and with C=4 (pi)(eps)(a) for conducting spheres commonly obtained using the capacitance model of concentric shells. This intuitive approach, utilizing solutions of the electrostatic Poisson equation, is particularly appealing to modeling of nanoscale materials and devices, particularly natural biological and chemical systems free of metallic interfaces.
Tim (TJ) LaFave, Jr. , UNC/Charlotte.
Metrology Building, Room B365. (NIST Contact: Neil Zimmerman, 301-975-5887, neil.zimmerman@nist.gov)

10:30 AM - NIST COLLOQUIUM SERIES : Tunneling Microscopy and the NBS Topografiner: 20 Years After (and Before) the Nobel Prize
The original instrument that evolved into the scanning tunneling microscope (STM) was an electron-tunneling based device conceived of and developed by NBS physicist Russell Young throughout the 1960s and early 70s. It measured vertical surface features at the sub 0.1 nm level. Upon publication of two fundamental papers, further development was suspended. Subsequently IBM developed a similar device that in addition achieved atomic resolution within the horizontal plane of the surface. Gerd Binnig and Heinrich Rohrer received the 1986 Nobel Prize in Physics for this work. There exists a considerable intra-NBS folklore of intrigue, rumor, and/or misconceptions on issues, both scientific and administrative, on the connections between the NBS and IBM work, the Nobel process, and the 1986 Prize in which the seminal role of Young's work was prominently recognized. This talk reflects on this from the perspective of an observer who was both scientifically and humanistically involved with these issues.
William Gadzuk , Scientist Emeritus, Physics Laboratory.
Administration Building, Green Auditorium. (NIST Contact: Kum Ham, 301-975-4203, kham@nist.gov)
Special Assistance Available

2:00 PM - TECHNICAL MAGNETIC SEMINAR: Magnetic nanoparticles and nanocomposite magnets
J Liu , Department of Physics, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX.
223 Bldg, Rm. B307. (NIST Contact: Robert Shull, 301-975-6035, robert.shull@nist.gov)


ADVANCE NOTICE

1/10/07 10:30 AM - QUANTUM ELECTRICAL METROLOGY DIVISION SEMINAR: 3D Imaging in Cells: a Physicist's Gateway into Biological Research
Processes in cellular biophysics and biology occur in 3D environments at a range of time-scales from milliseconds to days. Studying such processes poses three principal challenges: speed, sensitivity, and spatial resolution in complex environments. These challenges also simultaneously provide an entrée for physicists and engineers into biological research. We describe the development of a high-speed, high-sensitivity, 3D+time confocal system with the advantages of relatively modest cost and complexity. We present results from ongoing investigations into biological processes, including biopolymer network formation, cytoskeletal dynamics, and intracellular metabolism, that benefit from this system and that have faciliated the speaker's transition from working in experimental physics to collaborative biological and biophysical research.
Ryan McAllister , Georgetown University, Washington, DC.
Metrology Building, Room B365. (NIST Contact: Neil Zimmerman, 301-975-5887, neil.zimmerman@nist.gov)

1/12/07 10:30 AM - MAGNETICS SEMINAR SERIES: The Capres Scanning Conductivity Microscope for Micro-scale Resistivity and Tunneling Magneto-resistance Measurements
Bo Velschow , CAPRES A/S, Lyngby, Denmark.
Physics Bldg, Rm. B145. (NIST Contact: William Egelhoff, 301-975-2542, egelhoff@nist.gov)

1/12/07 10:30 AM - ,,,NIST CHAPTER OF SIGMA XI SEMINAR: Metamaterials and Metafilms: Overview and Applications
In recent years, there has been a great deal of attention directed towards metamaterials (i.e., engineered or man-made materials). In the context of electromagnetics, examples of these are artificial dielectrics, photonic bandgap structures, and frequency-selective surfaces. More specifically and recently there have been studies on the properties and potential applications of double negative (DNG) materials. DNG materials are a class of metamaterials, also known as negative-index materials, backward media (BW), or left-handed materials, for which the effective permittivity and effective permeability are simultaneously negative. This class of metamaterials has a wide range of potential applications in electromagnetics, optics, electronics, and fairytales: (1) shielding materials, (2) low-reflection materials, (3) substrate materials, (4) antenna applications, (5) electronic switches, (6) the so-called perfect lens, (7) resonators, and (8) cloaking objects (from Klingon ships to Harry Potter). Metamaterials are commonly engineered by arranging a set of scatterers embedded throughout a region of space in a specific pattern so as to achieve some desirable bulk behavior of the material. This concept can be extended by judiciously placing scatterers in a two-dimensional pattern at a surface or interface. This surface version of a metamaterial has been given the name metafilm. More specifically, a metafilm is a surface distribution of electrically small scatterers characterized by electric and magnetic polarizability densities. These metafilms can be used in many of the same applications as metamaterials, however, the metafilms easier to design and manufacture. In this talk, we will introduce and summarize the theory and applications of metamaterials and metafilms. We will also summarize the research of EEEL Division 818 in these new classes of materials. Dr. Holloway received the B.S. degree from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in 1986, and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1988 and 1992, respectively, both in electrical engineering. Dr. Holloway has been with NIST - Boulder, since 2000 where he works on electromagnetic theory. He is also on the Graduate Faculty at the University of Colorado (Boulder). Dr. Holloway was awarded the 2006 Department of Commerce Bronze Medal for his work on radio wave propagation, the 1999 Department of Commerce Silver Medal for his work in electromagnetic theory, and the 1998 Department of Commerce Bronze Medal for his work on printed circuit boards. His research interests include electromagnetic field theory, wave propagation, guided wave structures, remote sensing, numerical methods, and EMC/EMI issues. Dr. Holloway is a member of Commission A of the International Union of Radio Science and is an Associate Editor for the IEEE Transactions on Electromagnetic Compatibility. Dr. Holloway was the chairman for the Technical Committee on Computational Electromagnetics (TC-9) of the IEEE Electromagnetic Compatibility Society from 2000-2005. He is currently serving as an IEEE Distinguished lecturer for the EMC Society. Dr. Holloway holds U.S. Patents on electromagnetic absorbing materials, radar systems and antennas for atmospheric radars. He has over 150 technical publications.
Dr. Christopher Holloway, Ph.D. , NIST Electromagnetics Division, Boulder, CO, holloway@boulder.nist.gov.
Administration Bldg, Lecture Rm. A. (NIST Contact: John Slotwinski, 301-975-2171, john.slotwinski@nist.gov)

1/19/07 10:30 AM - NIST COLLOQUIUM SERIES : Nuclear Power in Space
Space nuclear power and propulsion programs in the U.S. started in 1955 with the ROVER project and included ground testing of nuclear thermal rockets and the first ever deployment and in-space operation of the nuclear powered SNAP-10A in 1965. Key challenges for deploying this technology in space will be reviewed, including ultrahigh temperature nuclear fuels and materials, compact and lightweight reactors and shielding, space-suitable energy conversion systems, and launch and in-orbit safety of nuclear power systems. Some recent accomplishments will be described.
Samim Anghaie , Director, Innovative Nuclear Space Power & Propulsion Institute, University of Florida.
Administration Building, Green Auditorium. (NIST Contact: Kum Ham, 301-975-4203, kham@nist.gov)
Special Assistance Available

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MEETINGS ELSEWHERE


1/1 -- MONDAY

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1/3 -- WEDNESDAY

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1/4 -- THURSDAY

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1/5 -- FRIDAY

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ADVANCE NOTICE

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TALKS BY NIST PERSONNEL

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

FOURTEENTH SIGMA XI POSTDOCTORAL POSTER PRESENTATION
CALL FOR POSTERS: The NIST Chapter of Sigma Xi invites all Post-Doctoral Fellows to present a poster on their scientific research to their NIST coworkers and friends. Guest Scientists who have received their advanced degree in the last five years are also welcome. The poster presentation will take place on February 16, 2007 in Lecture Rooms A and B and the adjoining hallway in the Administration Building from 11 am to 3 pm and will be accompanied by refreshments. All the participating Post-docs and Guest Scientists will be invited to a special reception and lunch hosted by Sigma Xi in the following week when the award for the most outstanding poster will be announced. To participate, send a one page abstract of your poster in MS Word (TITLE all caps, followed by full authors’ names, followed by text) and the author information listed below to both yuqin.zong@nist.gov and to barbara.levin@nist.gov Your abstract has to be approved by your mentor. The author information must include: Your Name, Mentor’s name, Division, Laboratory, Room and Building address, Mail Stop, Telephone #, FAX #, email and whether you are a Sigma Xi member. You must choose a category that best describes your poster: Biology, Biotechnology, Chemistry, Engineering, Materials, Mathematics, or Physics. The Sigma Xi Web page containing abstracts from previous years can be seen at http://www.nist.gov/sigmaxi THE DEADLINE FOR ABSTRACTS IS JANUARY 17, 2007. Posters are numbered according to the date of their receipt. Space is limited, so please sign up early.
NIST Contact: Barbara C. Levin, 301-975-6682, barbara.levin@nist.gov

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS NIST GALLERY OF DISTINGUISHED SCIENTISTS, ENGINEERS, AND ADMINISTRATORS
The NIST Portrait Gallery of Distinguished Scientists, Engineers and Administrators honors former NBS/NIST staff members for outstanding career contributions to the work of NBS/NIST. Portraits and biographies of those selected are displayed in the corridor of the NIST cafeteria at Gaithersburg. Portraits of at most ten additional persons will be added to the Portrait Gallery in 2007. Any current or former NIST staff member may make a nomination. Nominations are encouraged of outstanding NBS staff members who retired before 1963. For such nominations, it is understood that some of the requested data may no longer be available. Nominations of distinguished women and minorities are also encouraged. For persons who were nominated last year, but not selected, a new nomination may be submitted. If a nominee is not selected after two successive years of nomination, the nominee will not be considered for a third successive year. Nomination instructions are available from the Standards Alumni Association, Room A-42 Admin, Mail Stop 0952, NIST, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-0952; telephone 301-975-2486; by email: alumni@nist.gov; or from the SAA website: www.nist.gov/director/saa. Nominations shall be received by the Standards Alumni Association on or before February 16, 2007, by mail or by email to the above addresses. No exceptions will be made to this deadline.
NIST Contact: Anneke Segers, 301-975-2463, johanna.sengers@nist.gov

VISITOR REGISTRATION FOR NIST EVENTS
Because of heightened security at the NIST Gaithersburg site, members of the public who wish to attend meetings, seminars, lectures, etc. must first register in advance. For more information please call or e-mail the "NIST Contact" for the particular event you would like to attend.
NIST Contact: . ., ., .

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NIST WEB SITE ANNOUNCEMENTS

No Web Site announcements this week.

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For more information, contact Ms. Sharon Hallman, Editor, Stop 2500, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg MD 20899-2500; Telephone: 301-975-TCAL (3570); Fax: 301-926-4431; or Email: tcal@nist.gov.

All lectures and meetings are open unless otherwise stated.

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