WEEKLY MEMO, February 25, 2008 **************** 1. Announcements **************** 1.1: TOUR TRAINING: A make-up tour training session has been scheduled for Wednesday March 5th, 2008 from 10:00 a.m. 12:00 p.m. If you could not make the first training session, this is your next opportunity to attend. The session will be held in MRGN 121. Please RSVP to Valerie Lawless, lawlessv@purdue.edu. In addition, all training materials have been posted: <http://www.purdue.edu/dp/trainingGuide.php>. Check out this site for lots of information regarding visits: they¹ve even included an events calendar. Feel free to join any of the posted tours. Lastly, a Discovery Park video made available during the training session is posted on the Discovery Park homepage: <http://www.purdue.edu/dp/index.php> 1.2: CLEANROOM AND LAB PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE SCHEDULE: MONDAY, 03.31.08 TO FRIDAY, 04.04.08 Monday, 03.31.08, 10:00 AM: All materials must be removed from cleanroom solvent hoods. Monday, 03.31.08, 4:00 PM: All materials must be removed from the remaining cleanroom hoods. CLEANROOM CLOSED. Tuesday, 04.01.08 7:30 AM: No ultrapure water available. No acid processing in laboratories. No hazardous gases available. CLEANROOM CLOSED. Wednesday, 04.02.08, all day: No ultrapure water available. No acid processing in laboratories. No hazardous gases available. Wednesday, 04.02.08, 4:00 PM: All materials must be removed from laboratory hoods (including biosafety cabinets; all bio materials must be removed from exhausted enclosures). Thursday, 04.03.08, 8:00 AM: Cleanroom will re-open, barring unforeseen circumstances. All solvent hoods and processes will remain down for general exhaust upgrades. LABORATORIES CLOSED. Thursday, 04.03.08 Friday, 04.04.08, 8:00 AM: Laboratories will re-open and Cleanroom general exhaust should be operational, barring unforeseen circumstances. Questions or comments? Contact Mark Voorhis (mvoorhis@purdue.edu) ******************** 2. TOURS/VISITORS ******************** 2.1: Monday, 02.25.08, 8:15AM: 3M Corporation, will meet with Prof. Sands; this is a DP visitor. 2.2: Monday, 02.25.08, 1:30PM: Father Jenkins, President of Notre Dame University. 2.3: Monday, 02.25.08, 1:00-3:00: Purdue¹s for Me visitors admitted students and parents; please make them feel welcome. 2.4: Thursday, 02.28.08, 9:40AM: Dr. Yan Shao, faculty candidate, Chemical Engineering. 2.5: Thursday, 02.28.08, 1:30PM: Joe Rosenberger, facilitator, Nano Technology Focus; preliminary visit with subsequent visits to be scheduled. 2.6: Friday, 02.29.08, 4:15PM: Purdue University Life Science education [PULSe]. *********************** 3. SEMINARS/WORKSHOPS *********************** 3.1: 17th Biennial University Government Industry Micro/nano Symposium, Louisville, KY, July 13-16, 2008. Abstracts due March 10, 2008. For additional information, visit http://louisville.edu/conference/ugim2008 *********************** 4. KUDOS *********************** 4.1: John Weaver named Fellow of the Institute of Environmental Sciences and Technology for ³his numerous publications and significant technical contributions to the advancement of cleanroom design and construction, particularly in the emerging field of nanotechnology.² Formal announcement will be made in the late Spring. *********************** 5. DISCOVERY PARK NEWS *********************** 5.1: Fifth Annual Idea-to-Product Competition for Environmental and Social Entreneurship, March 1, 2008, Krannert Center; Lunch available to registered guests (http://innovate.ecn.purdue.edu/i2p08/src/preg_input.html). See their website for additional information. **************** 6. OPPORTUNITIES **************** 6.1: Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRCs): The Department¹s FY09 budget has been released. Undersecretary of Science Dr. Orbach¹s budget rollout presentation is available as well (http://www.science.doe.gov/Budget_and_Planning/Budget_Rollouts/RLO%20SC%20F Y%202009-2-04-08-v1%20final.pdf?ReleaseNumber=mr20080124-00 <http://www.science.doe.gov/Budget_and_Planning/Budget_Rollouts/RLO%20SC%20F Y%202009-2-04-08-v1%20final.pdf?ReleaseNumber=mr20080124-00> ). There are significant increases in the BES budget as compared to the FY08 appropriations, especially in high priority research areas identified in the series of Basic Research Needs workshops. As an implementation strategy, BES will institute the Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRCs), which will bring together the skills and talents of multiple investigators to enable research of a scope and complexity that would not be possible with the standard individual investigator or small group award. While such centers were under consideration in BES for a few years, it wasn't until the FY2009 request that we will have available sufficient new budget authority to solidify and execute an EFRC plan at the level of funding needed to do a proper job. You may find specific details of the EFRCs at the BES website, http://www.sc.doe.gov/bes/EFRC.html <http://www.sc.doe.gov/bes/EFRC.html> . In brief, the EFRC awards are expected to be in the $25 million range annually for an initial 5-year period. A Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) will be issued later in FY 2008 to request applications from the scientific community for the establishment of the initial suite of EFRCs. It is anticipated that approximately $100 million will be available for multiple EFRC awards starting in FY 2009. Please monitor the ERFC website for news/updates on the FOA. In addition, we plan on putting out web-announcements for single-PI and small group awards for the remaining research increases (~ $60 million) as part of the core research solicitation. Information provided by Dr. Aravinda (Arvind) M. Kini; Director (Acting); Division of Materials Sciences and Engineering; Team Lead, Materials Discovery, Design and Synthesis Team; Program Manager, Biomolecular Materials; Office of Basic Energy Sciences; U. S. Department of Energy; 301-903-3565; Fax301-903-9513; a.kini@science.doe.gov; http://www.science.doe.gov/bes/dms/Staff_Contacts/Kini.htm <http://www.science.doe.gov/bes/dms/Staff_Contacts/Kini.htm> .