NIST Technicalendar March 17 to March 21, 2008 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/.

In this Issue: Meetings at NIST Meetings Elsewhere Announcements Talks by NIST Personnel NIST Web Site Announcements NIST Administrative Calendar (current)   NIST Vacancy Announcements (current)

Also available: Previous Issues of the Technicalendar Quick Technicalendar (current) Last week's Quick Technicalendar Last week's Technicalendar Detailed Search NIST Journal of Research (Current TOC) Change User Options

10:30 AM - Solvation at Surfaces: Observations and Oddities in Nonlinear Optical Studies of Liquid Interfaces
3:00 PM - The Topochemical (2+2)Photocycloaddition Reaction of a-trans-cinnamic Acid: A Perspective from Solid State NMR Measurements

10:30 AM - Model-based Systems Engineering at Lockheed Martin
10:30 AM - Pipeline Safety within the Aging U.S. Infrastructure
11:00 AM - Organocatalytic Ring-Opening Polymerization: A Novel Route to Cyclic Polyesters
11:00 AM - Searching for neutrinoless double-beta decay
2:30 PM - Biophysics Seminar Series: Lipid-Based Nanoparticles for Targeted and Triggered Delivery of Therapeutics for Cancer Treatment

8:15 AM - Workshop on the Directed Assembly of Functional Materials and Devices
1:30 PM - Imaging of screened potential and superconductivity in nanoscale spatial resolution by low-temperature STM/S

10:30 AM - OLEDs for Lighting
10:45 AM - Polarized Neutrons on Multi-detector Spectrometers at the ILL
11:00 AM - Rapid Characterization of the Size and Concentration of Biomaterials
1:30 PM - Local Smoothing Segmentation Of Spotted Microarray Images
3:15 PM - Biomimetic Assemblies of Peptide Nanowires, Their Controlled Mineralization at Room Temperature, and Their Applications in New Pathogen Detection Platform

No Scheduled Events

3/17 -- MONDAY

10:30 AM - BIOPHYSICS GROUP SEMINAR: Solvation at Surfaces: Observations and Oddities in Nonlinear Optical Studies of Liquid Interfaces
Robert Walker , Professor, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland.
AML Bldg, Rm. H107. (NIST Contact: Kimberly Briggman, 301-975-2358, kbriggma@nist.gov)

3:00 PM - POLYMERS DIVISION SEMINAR: The Topochemical (2+2)Photocycloaddition Reaction of a-trans-cinnamic Acid: A Perspective from Solid State NMR Measurements
Ryan Nieuwendaal , Washington University, St. Louis, MO.
224 Bldg, Rm. A312. (NIST Contact: David VanderHart, 301-975-6754, david.vanderhart@nist.gov)


3/18 -- TUESDAY

10:30 AM - MANUFACTURING SYSTEMS INTEGRATION DIVISION SEMINAR: Model-based Systems Engineering at Lockheed Martin
Sanford Friedenthal , Principal Systems Engineer, Lockheed Martin.
220 (Metrology) Bldg, Rm. B105 (AMSANT). (NIST Contact: Conrad Bock, 301-975-3818, conrad.bock@nist.gov)

10:30 AM - RESCHEDULED FROM 3/19 TO 3/18 - MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING LABORATORY LECTURE SERIES: Pipeline Safety within the Aging U.S. Infrastructure
Much of the U.S. infrastructure was constructed during the past several generations, and it is now starting to show its age.  Several NRC studies conclude that we are not keeping up with maintenance, so the situation is actually getting worse.  The American Society of Civil Engineers has developed a score sheet on the status of our infrastructure and currently rates it with an overall grad of D (poor).*  The magnitude of the issues with the infrastructure are huge and span multiple Departments (DOT, DOI, DOD, and DOE).  What is the appropriate role of NIST? NIST has defined responsibilities in some areas, and has expertise to contribute in others.  For example, some pipeline research activities were authorized in the Pipeline Safety and Integrity Act (PL 105-355), but the funding was never appropriated.  Nevertheless, the Materials Reliability and Metallurgy Divisions have worked with the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Agency in DOT on a number of pipeline safety issues, which will be summarized. 
Tom Siewert , Deputy Chief, Materials Reliability Division, Boulder, CO, siewert@boulder.nist.gov.
Administration Bldg, Employees Lounge. (NIST Contact: Bill Boettinger, 301-975-6160, william.boettinger@nist.gov) http://www.asce.org/reportcard/2005/page.cfm?id=103

11:00 AM - POLYMERS DIVISION SEMINAR: Organocatalytic Ring-Opening Polymerization: A Novel Route to Cyclic Polyesters
Robert Waymouth , Stanford University.
224 Bldg, Rm. A312. (NIST Contact: Wen-li Wu, 301-975-6839, wenli@nist.gov)

11:00 AM - IONIZING RADIATION DIVISION SEMINAR: Searching for neutrinoless double-beta decay
In the past decade our understanding of neutrinos and their role in the universe has undergone a remarkable transformation. We have discovered that neutrinos have non-zero rest masses and that they morph from one species to another as they journey through matter and space. But there is much that remains unknown about neutrino properties. What do neutrinos "weigh" -- we still do not know their absolute masses. Are neutrinos and anti-neutrinos indistinguishable from one another (Majorana particles), indicating lepton number violation? Neutrinoless double-beta decay provides the only practical experimental technique to probe the Majorana nature of neutrinos, and if observed can provide information on the mass of neutrinos. A number of next-generation experiments are currently being constructed or developed to search for neutrinoless double-beta decay. This talk will review the physics of neutrinoless double-beta decay, describe some of the diverse experimental techniques being employed, and discuss the status of the MAJORANA Collaboration's efforts to develop a large 1-tonne detector using enriched 76Ge.
John Wilkerson , Professor, Seattle, WA.
Bldg. 235, Rm. E100. (NIST Contact: Jeff Nico, 301-975-4663, jnico@nist.gov)

2:30 PM - OPTICAL TECHNOLOGY DIVISION SEMINAR: Biophysics Seminar Series: Lipid-Based Nanoparticles for Targeted and Triggered Delivery of Therapeutics for Cancer Treatment
Lipid-based nanoparticles (Liposomes) have been under investigation as carriers for targeted and sustained delivery of therapeutic agents. However, successful application of liposomes in the clinic relies on their biocompatibility, in vivo stability, targeting, biodegradability, intracellular delivery and/or on demand-triggered release properties. We have designed lipid-based nanocapsules and nano fusion machines based on our knowledge and skills in elucidating mechanisms of viral entry. The projects include design and study of multifunctional liposomes bearing drugs (e.g. toxic or anti-inflammatory substances), conjugated with a disease-specific targeting agent (e.g. antibodies), and labeled with imaging agents. We are using external sources of energy (electromagnetic radiation) for controlled disruption of liposomes at the optimal time and within a limited volume. The liposomes are protected by polymers or polymerized lipids and modified to allow controlled disruption. We are exploiting a new class of fusion-associated small transmembrane (FAST) proteins to build nano fusion machines that will directly deliver their cargo to the cells' cytoplasm. We are also designing Radiation Induced and Targeted Chemotherapy (RITCH) modalities. The concept envisions a non-toxic pro-drug that when administered intravenously will distribute throughout the body. When the pro-drug is subjected to electromagnetic radiation it will undergo a chemical transformation into a cytotoxic compound. We have used as a prototype the hydrophobic membrane probe Iodonaphthyl-azide (INA). We show that INA is very efficient in blocking tumor cell proliferation and inducing apoptosis upon activation with UV light.
Robert Blumenthal , Director, CCR Nanobiology Program, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health.
Building 215, AML Conference Room C103. (NIST Contact: Angela Hight Walker, 301-975-2155, ahight@nist.gov)


3/19 -- WEDNESDAY

8:15 AM - POLYMERS DIVISION SEMINAR: Workshop on the Directed Assembly of Functional Materials and Devices
***This is a two-day event. Day one, March 19 will begin at 8:15 a.m. Day two, March 20 will begin at 8:35 a.m.*** Controlling the placement of nanoscale units into designed structures and patterns through directed assembly processes answers one of the grand challenges of nanotechnology. Innovative approaches using the directed assembly of nanoscale units are being developed to facilitate the nanofabrication of new materials and applications that can incorporate biological functionality, or devices such as flexible, large-area electronics devices. Directed assembly methods provide an opportunity to overcome limitations of traditional semiconductor processing; specifically, the small materials set with which to work, restriction to two dimensional patterning, and exorbitant equipment costs. Moving directed assembly from research demonstrations to viable manufacturing processes is difficult because it requires control over the simultaneous transport, placement, and interactions of a potentially large set of nanoscale units with different size, shape, and chemical functionality. New measurements and process control methods must be developed to enable successful implementation of this groundbreaking technology. This workshop will bring together leading researchers and stakeholders from industry, government, and academia that are actively engaged in research and development of the directed assembly of nanoparticles into functional materials and devices. Through invited presentations and focused discussions, the workshop will explore and identify the most pressing measurement and technological needs to advance directed assembly as a viable manufacturing method for future nanotechnology applications.
Heiko Wolf , International Business Machines. Haw Yang, Christopher Murray, , Oleg Gang,. Babak Parviz, Dan Herr, Mike Natan, Mike Bevan, Abe Stroock, Sharon Glotzer, Kate Stebe, Chong Ahn, CJ Kim, Hiroshi Matsui, Alex Tkachenko, Theresa Mayer, and Tobias Kraus.
AML, 215 Bldg, Rm. C103/106. (NIST Contact: Steven Hudson, 301-975-6579, steven.hudson@nist.gov) http://polymers.nist.gov/Directed_Assembly/Directed_Assembly_Workshop2.htm
Rooms are wheel chair accessible.

1:30 PM - CNST ELECTRON PHYSICS GROUP SEMINAR: Imaging of screened potential and superconductivity in nanoscale spatial resolution by low-temperature STM/S
By using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), we can make images of various physical properties in nanometer-scale spatial resolutions. Here, I demonstrate imaging of electrostatic potential and superconductivity by STM. The electrostatic potential around a charge is described with the Coulomb potential. If the charge is located in a metal, the potential is modified because of the electrons in the host. The potential modification, called screening, is one of the fundamental phenomena in the condensed matter physics. Using low-temperature STM we have developed a method to measure electrostatic potential in high spatial and energy resolutions, and observed the potential around external charges screened by two-dimensional surface electronic states. Characteristic potential decay and the Friedel oscillation were clearly observed around the charges. Superconductivity of nano-size materials, whose dimensions are comparable with the coherent length, is quite different from their bulk. We investigated superconductivity of ultra thin Pb islands by directly measuring the superconducting gaps using STM. The obtained tunneling spectra exhibit a variation of zero bias conductance (ZBC) with a magnetic field, and spatial mappings of ZBC revealed the vortex formation. Details of the imagings will be discussed at the presentation.
Yukio Hasegawa , Dr./Associate Professor/The Institute for Solid State Physics, The University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Japan, hasegawa@issp.u-tokyo.ac.jp.
Bldg. 217, Rm. H107. (NIST Contact: Joseph Stroscio, 301-975-3716, joseph.stroscio@nist.gov)


3/20 -- THURSDAY

10:30 AM - POLYMERS DIVISION FLEXIBLE ELECTRONICS INDUSTRIAL LECTURE SERIES: OLEDs for Lighting
In this talk I will describe efforts underway at GE aimed at enabling OLED Lighting. These include developing new materials and device designs to increase intrinsic device performance and to enable large area devices, developing ultra-high barrier coatings, and developing low cost roll-to-roll manufacturing technologies.
Anil Duggal , GE Global Research, Niskayuna, NY.
221 Bldg, Rm. B145. (NIST Contact: Lee Richter, 301-975-4152, lee.richter@nist.gov)

10:45 AM - NIST CENTER FOR NEUTRON RESEARCH SEMINAR: Polarized Neutrons on Multi-detector Spectrometers at the ILL
New developments in neutron polarization devices have lead to a recent surge of interest in equipping multi-detector neutron spectrometers at the ILL with a neutron polarization analysis option. This has most recently been installed on the diffuse scattering spectrometer D7 (supermirror arrays), the reflectometer D17 and the SANS diffractometer D22 (both 3He spin-filters). An overview of these projects and their scientific impact will be presented. In addition the talk will be about the ILL PASTIS project, which seeks to equip an inealstic TOF spectrometer, and the new "Flatcone" option on the 3-axis spectrometer, IN20, with neutron polarization analysis capability.
Ross Stewart , Institut Laue Langevin, France. ,.
235 Bldg, Rm. E100. (NIST Contact: Jason Gardner, 301-975-8391, jason.gardner@nist.gov)

11:00 AM - BIOCHEMICAL SCIENCE DIVISION SEMINAR: Rapid Characterization of the Size and Concentration of Biomaterials
Sizing techniques are integral to the preparation, purification, and characterization of biological materials with applications ranging from cancer treatment and gene therapy to the development of new vaccines against bird flu and other pathogens. In pursuit of NIST's mission to advance measurement science, we have refined electrospray-differential mobility analysis (ES-DMA) to achieve multimodal size distributions of these materials and their aggregation states. In this technique, particles suspended in aqueous solution are electrosprayed, separated by their charge-to-size ratio in a differential mobility analyzer, and then enumerated with a condensation particle counter. A key advantage of this system is its ability to determine the concentration of viral particles. Other advantages of ES-DMA are that it can sample from aqueous solution, requires no labeling, provides a direct read-out of particle size distributions, rapidly measures statistically significant populations, and detects changes as small as 0.2 nm. This talk will describe the theory of operation of ES-DMA and its use to measure functionalized gold nanoparticles, antibody aggregates, bacteriophage for viral filtration studies with the FDA, and virus-like particles.
Leonard Pease , National Institute of Standards and Technology.
ACSL Bld #227 Bldg, Rm. A202. (NIST Contact: Kenneth Cole, 301-975-2169, Kenneth.Cole@nist.gov)

1:30 PM - STATISTICAL ENGINEERING DIVISION SEMINAR: Local Smoothing Segmentation Of Spotted Microarray Images
Gene microarray data are used in a large variety of applications, including pharmaceutical and clinical research. By comparing gene expression in normal and abnormal cells, microarrays can be used for identifying genes involved in particular diseases, and then these genes can be targeted by therapeutic drugs. Most gene expression data are produced from spotted microarray images. A spotted microarray image consists of thousands of spots, with individual DNA sequences first printed at each spot and then equal amounts of probes (e.g., cDNA samples) from treatment and control cells mixed and hybridized with the printed DNA sequences. To obtain gene expression data, the image needs to be segmented first to separate foregrounds from backgrounds for individual spots, and then averages of foreground pixels are used for computing the gene expression data. So, image segmentation of microarray images is related directly to thereliability of gene expression data. Several image segmentation procedures have been suggested and included in some software packages handling gene microarray data. In this talk, we discuss a new image segmentation methodology proposed recently by Qiu and Sun (2007, JASA, December issue, 1129-1144), and a post-processing procedure, both of which are based on local linear kernel smoothing. Theoretical arguments and numerical studies show that they work well inapplications. This is a joint work with Dr. Jingran Sun.
Peihua Qiu , Department of Statistics, University of Minnesota.
Building 222, Rm. A264. (NIST Contact: Charles Hagwood, 301-975-2846, hagwood@nist.gov)

3:15 PM - BIOPHYSICS SEMINAR: Biomimetic Assemblies of Peptide Nanowires, Their Controlled Mineralization at Room Temperature, and Their Applications in New Pathogen Detection Platform
Non-lithographic fabrications of devices such as electronics and sensor have been studied extensively by assembling nanometer-sized building blocks into the device configurations. While various nanowires and nanoparticles with superior physical properties have been synthesized as the building blocks, more reproducible methods to assemble them onto precise positions are desirable to construct nanodevices. We developed triple helix peptide nanowires as multifunctional smart building blocks, and we used recombinant technology to design them in uniform length and diameter. The quantity of peptide nanowire was amplified by E. coli expression system. We designed these nanowires to incorporate biomolecular recognition components (antibody), and our strategy is to use those functionalized peptide nanowires, which can recognize and selectively bind a well-defined region on antigen-patterned substrates, as building blocks to assemble nanoscale architectures at uniquely defined positions. In order for the application in electric device fabrications, after configuring device geometries with these nanotubes by the biomolecular recognition, we turned on the biomineralization function of peptides on the nanotube sidewall to develop various material coatings such as metals and semiconductors for electronics and sensor applications. It should be noted that the coating morphology such as particle-domain size and inter-particle distance on the nanotubes could be tuned by peptide sequences and conformations. Due to these peptides' catalytic function, some semiconductor coatings could be developed at room temperature on the nanotube. If time is allowed, I would also like to introduce briefly our recent outcome on a new pathogen detection platform, which detects and identifies the stains of viruses by AC capacitance. As viruses were trapped between electrodes, the capacitance change was observed and these capacitance values were characteristic to the types of viruses. The control experiments indicate that dielectric properties of capsid proteins and envelope glycoproteins significantly influence overall dielectric constants of viruses. Because those capsid proteins and glycoproteins are characteristic of the virus strain, this technique could be applied to detect and identify viruses at the single virion level using their distinct capacitance spectra as fingerprints without labeling.
Hiroshi Matsui , Department of Chemistry, City University of New York, Hunter College.
221 Bldg, Rm. A366. (NIST Contact: Jeeseong Hwang, 301-975-4580, jch@nist.gov)


3/21 -- FRIDAY

No Scheduled Events

ADVANCE NOTICE

3/24/08 10:30 AM - CNST ELECTRON PHYSICS GROUP SEMINAR: Slow-moving atoms and fast-moving particles: Recent results in erbium laser cooling and particle-tracking microscopy
In this talk, I will present the latest results from two research projects in CNST. In the first part, I will discuss new methods for bringing erbium atoms to ultracold temperatures by exploiting the unique laser-cooling properties of this strongly magnetic rare-earth element. The capability to cool, trap and manipulate erbium has applications for developing nanoscale optical devices and may provide access to new regimes in the study of magnetically interacting quantum gases. In the second part, I will discuss a recent breakthrough in tracking the motion of freely diffusing (solution-phase) particles using optical microscopy. A major stumbling block in achieving real-time control of individual molecules or nanoparticles is the difficulty of quickly and accurately extracting accurate position information from a CCD image. We recently developed a new computational method for extracting such information, capable of localizing particles to a few nanometers through a fast and flexible algorithm.
Andrew Berglund , Dr./Physicist., Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology, andrew.berglund@nist.gov.
Bldg.217, Rm. H107. (NIST Contact: Jabez McClelland, 301-975-3721, jabez.mcclelland@nist.gov)

3/24/08 1:30 PM - CNST NANOFABRICATION RESEARCH GROUP SEMINAR: Vision-Based Control via A Lyapunov-Based Approach
Recent advances in visual sensing hardware, image processing/interpretation technology, and computational capability generate a golden opportunity to do real-time vision-based feedback control. This talk will describe research work on vision-based control that is obtained by exploiting a combination of multi-image photogrammetry, homography techniques, a quaternion parameterization, and Lyapunov-based nonlinear and adaptive control methods. Multi-image photogrammetry will be described as it relates to developing a measurable translation and rotation error system (via a homography decomposition) in both Euclidean and quaternion representations. New visual servo tracking control results will be described for a camera system moving with unconstrained motion. The desired trajectory to be tracked is represented by a sequence of images (e.g., a video), which can be taken online or offline by a camera. This control scheme is singularity-free and can compensate for the unknown depth information in visual feedback while achieving the asymptotic tracking results. The proposed method has been verified in a hardware-in-the-loop experimental system for simulation and test of autonomous vehicles. Vision-based control methods motivated by some open issues will also be briefly presented.
Guoqiang Hu , Postdoctoral Research Associate - University of Florida, , gqhu@ufl.edu.
217 Bldg., H107 Rm.. (NIST Contact: J. Alexander Liddle, 301-975-6050, james.liddle@nist.gov)

3/25/08 10:30 AM - ATOMIC PHYSICS DIVISION SEMINAR: Vibrational dependence of collisional and field-induced interactions of cold molecules
Controllable dipole-dipole interaction between polar molecules in an optical trap lies at the heart of many proposals to exploit entanglement as an essential resource for strongly correlated many-body states and quantum information processing. Even though polar molecules interact at large separations via dipole-dipole interaction, at shorter distances Van der Waals forces will prevail. I study both vibrationally dependent collisional and dipole-dipole interaction between cold polar molecules and with their constituent atoms. The collisional interaction coefficients are obtained by integrating the product of the dynamic polarizabilities over imaginary frequencies. This data can be used to estimate limits on the collisional lifetime of molecules in optical traps and find microscopic mechanisms by which the losses occur. The ultimate goal is to find optimal experimental conditions to diminish these collisional losses. Holding molecules in an optical lattice can prevent them from collisions. It will be helpful to understand how lattice fields and geometry will influence molecular motion, what are the ac Stark shifts of various vibrational levels due to an optical lattice. I will analyze the vibrational dependence of the ac Stark shifts of the polar RbCs and KRb and homonuclear Sr2 molecules in optical lattices.
Svetlana Kotochigova , Physics Department of Temple University, NIST.
Building 221, Rm. B145. (NIST Contact: Mary Talbot, 301-975-3206, mary.talbot@nist.gov)

3/25/08 7:00 PM - ASQ SOFTWARE SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP, SOCIETY FOR SOFTWARE QUALITY (SSQ), AND IEEE COMPUTER SOCIETY: SQA Sojourn: Lessons Learned from Six Appraisals
David Letterman has his Top Tens, but so does Lenny with his "Lenny-isms." Based on 6 successful assessments/appraisals, he gleaned his lessons learned from 3 distinct industries: telecommunications, financial and the military. Though these organizations are totally different in culture, when it comes to process improvements, there are quite a lot of similarities. Lenny takes a light-hearted approach in turning a rather dry topic into something that one would find more entertaining but also more memorable. Lessons learned should not be lessons forgotten! Lenny Eng is a graduate of Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn with a Math degree and Sacred Heart University with a MBA, Lenny retired from Bell Labs after 20 years with AT&T. During those years, most of his career was invested in the IT field, spanning from Project Management to deployment. In his last two years, he was heading the first SQA group in the Labs that successfully passed CMM/CMMI Level 2 and 3. In total, he and his groups have passed 6 of 6 assessments/appraisals among telecommunications, financial and military industries. Companies he worked for and consulted with are: AT&T, Citi, DoD, Lucent, Pershing and Wolters Kluwer. He has trained and mentored over 100 SQA engineers. Currently he is consulting with Ft. Monmouth in their pursuit to CMMI Level 3. He was a member of the ASQ from 2000 – 2006, and is currently the Program Co-chair of the NJ SPIN Chapter. He is a video and audiophile and an avid investor. There is no cost to attend, but please register on-line at http://www.asq509.org/ht/d/DoSurvey/i/26913 by noon Friday, March 21st, 2008. Pizza and soda will be served at 6:30 PM.
Lenny Eng , Consultant,.
Administration Bldg, Lecture Rm. C. (NIST Contact: Paul E. Black, 301-975-4794, paul.black@nist.gov)

3/28/08 10:30 AM - NIST COLLOQUIUM SERIES: From Flapping Birds to Space Telescopes: The Modern Science of Origami
The last decade of this past century has been witness to a revolution in the development of mathematical techniques to origami, the centuries-old Japanese art of paper-folding. Geometric concepts have led to the solution of a broad class of origami folding problems – specifically, the problem of efficiently folding a shape with an arbitrary number and arrangement of flaps. This has enabled origami designs of mind-blowing complexity and realism, some of which you'll see. As often happens, theory developed for its own sake has led to some surprising practical applications. The algorithms and theorems of origami design have shed light on long-standing mathematical questions and have solved practical engineering problems, e.g. safer airbags, Brobdingnagian space telescopes, and more.
Robert Lang , Author, Artist and Editor-in-Chief, IEEE Journal of Quantum Electronics.
Administration Building, Red Auditorium. (NIST Contact: Kum Ham, 301-975-4203, kham@nist.gov)
Special Assistance Available

5/1/08 10:30 AM - CNST NANOTECHNOLOGY SEMINAR SERIES: The bright future of nanophotonics: recent advances and challenges
Nanophotonics in which light is manipulated at subwavelength scales is emerging as one the most exciting and potentially useful areas of physical optics. I will highlight recent research in my group aimed at a new class of light-sources in which the near field and the far-field properties are fundamentally altered by means of plasmonic nanostructures and metamaterials monolithically integrated on the laser facets. As a platform to demonstrate these new beam shaping concepts, such as reduction of beam divergence, nanospot light concentration, super-focusing and polarization control, we have used mid-infrared and near-IR lasers but these techniques are broadly applicable to all solid-state lasers. I will also discuss a novel technique called nanoskiving that combines photolithography, thin-film metal deposition, and thin-film sectioning, and demonstrate its capabilities in the realization of metallic nanowires with engineered plasmon resonances and frequency selective surfaces.
Federico Capasso , Professor-Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, mullaney@seas.harvard.edu.
215 Bldg, C103- C106 Rm.. (NIST Contact: Nikolai Zhitenev, 301-975-6039, nikolai.zhitenev@nist.gov)

5/16/08 1:30 PM - CENTER FOR NANOSCALE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY SEMINAR: Spin Wave Beams, Precessing Vortices, and Localized Standing Waves in Single Layer Nanocontacts
The recently discovered spin transfer effect enables the application of localized torques in magnetic thin film nanostructures. In the point contact geometry, this effect can result in large amplitude spin wave generation. The well studied Slonczewski model of spin torque in trilayer nanostructures is the Landau-Lifshitz equation modified with a local spin torque term. In this talk, a non-local model of point contacts in single layer thin magnetic films is presented and studied numerically in two spatial dimensions. Here, the spin torque term in the Landau-Lifshitz equation is non-local and is due to spin diffusion effects. A variety of quasi-periodic mode solutions to this equation are found including localized standing waves, vortex spiral waves, and a weakly diffracting collimated beam of spin waves, the direction of which can be steered by changing the direction of an applied magnetic field. The spin wave beam appears to be the nonlinear hybridization of the vortex spiral waves and the localized standing wave. Mode selection is explained using linear spin wave theory.
Dr. Mark Hoefer , Magnetics Group, National Institute of Standards and Technology.
Building 217, Room H107. (NIST Contact: Mark Stiles, 301-975-3745, mark.stiles@nist.gov)

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MEETINGS ELSEWHERE


3/17 -- MONDAY

11:00 AM - CARNEGIE INSTITUTION OF WASHINGTON/GEOPHYSICAL LAB. SEMINAR: WHAT GOVERNS THE DYNAMICS OF VITRIFYING LIQUIDS AND POLYMERS
M. Rolland , Naval Research Lab..
Bldg, Rm..
Greenewalt Bldg., GL-DTM Grounds, Carnegie Institution of Washington, DC. (NIST Contact: P.-E. Janolin, 202-478-8900, seminar@lists.ciw.edu)



3/18 -- TUESDAY

No Scheduled Events

3/19 -- WEDNESDAY

No Scheduled Events

3/20 -- THURSDAY

No Scheduled Events

3/21 -- FRIDAY

No Scheduled Events

ADVANCE NOTICE

No Scheduled Events

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TALKS BY NIST PERSONNEL

EPPLEDAUER, G. : LOW NEP PYROELECTRIC RADIOMETER STANDARDS.
SPIE- International Society of Photonics Engineers, Orlando World Center Marriott Resort and Convention Center, Orlando, FL, 3/20.

WALKER, M. : CHARACTERIZATION OF SELF-ASSEMBLED MONOLAYERS THAT RESIST PROTEIN ADSORPTION USING SPECTROSCOPIC ELLIPSOMETRY.
National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers Annual Meeting, Philadelphia Marriott Downtown, Philadelphia, PA, 3/20.

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

NIST LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM ANNOUNCEMENT
The NIST Leadership & Employee Development Program (LED) will launch Class V of the Building the Next Generation Program (BTNG) on April 28, and Class VII of the New Leader Program (NLP) on June 23. New Leader Program (NLP) NLP: The NLP is a one-year program designed to provide new leaders with the necessary knowledge and skills to be successful in leadership positions at NIST. The program designed for individuals who have served in a leadership positions (e.g., group leader, project leader, program manager) for three years or less, and/or who have had little leadership training. The NLP consist of a 360-degree assessment, the weeklong New Leader Course, monthly cohort meetings, leadership coaching, and a capstone project. Building the Next Generation Program BTNG: The BTNG is a yearlong program dedicated to developing leadership competencies and preparing individuals to move into leadership positions at NIST. The BTNG consists of a one-week fundamental leadership course, 360-degree assessment, and monthly seminars. The BTNG also includes several elective options: mentoring, developmental assignments, special study group, and "in lieu of course(s)" option. See the Administrative Calendar for details on registration, informational briefings, and dates for the weeklong courses that kick-off both programs. Questions? Please call Mike Martin, x3890.
NIST Contact: Mike Martin, 301-975-3890, michael.martin@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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