PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

15-Feb-2014

Contact: Megan Fellman fellman@northwestern.edu 847-491-3115 Northwestern University

In an age of specialization, building networks of outstanding scientists, engineers and clinicians is helping the development of creative solutions to complex societal needs. But how do you successfully surmount the barriers between disparate disciplines?

Northwestern University professor Chad Mirkin is no stranger to the challenges of building diverse teams. He is the founding director of the International Institute for Nanotechnology (IIN), a flourishing institute that brings together more than 190 faculty researchers from 25 different disciplines.

Mirkin will discuss the IIN from inception to realization in a presentation titled "University Convergence Institutes" at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) annual meeting in Chicago. His presentation is part of the symposium "Convergence Science: A Revolution for Health Solutions" to be held from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. CST Saturday, Feb. 15, in the Comiskey Room of the Hyatt Regency Chicago.

"The IIN provides the essential framework to overcome traditional divisions between university departments and schools," Mirkin said. "It has enabled us to attract researchers with deep expertise in their fields, support and enable creative synergy, enhance translational capabilities and build one of the largest and most productive nanotechnology institutes in the world."

Mirkin is the George B. Rathmann Professor of Chemistry in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering and Professor of Medicine.

Established in 2000, the IIN is home to the first federally funded nanotechnology facility in the nation. It currently represents and unites more than $600 million in nanotechnology research, education and infrastructure and has positioned Northwestern as a world leader in the field.

One nanometer is one billionth of a meter. To put that extremely small size in another context: A nanometer is to a meter what a marble is to the Earth. Materials with nano-sized particles have always existed, but it wasn't until relatively recently -- thanks to advances in scientific instrumentation -- that scientists could observe nanoparticles and manipulate them.

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University institutes are shaping future of research