REMINDER: Today at 12pm in BRK 2001, lunch provided. Dear all, The next Future BNC Meeting will be this Thursday, 3/28 @ 12pm (lunch provided) in BRK 2001. Mohit Verma<https://www.vermalab.com/>, Assistant Professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering will present an overview of Microbiome for the first half then the remainder will be open for high-level discussion of collaboration opportunities that can lead to future center of excellence and/or also brainstorm about a shared vision for Birck. Microbiome We are surrounded by microbes with intriguing functions—they are in the oceans (where they produce 50% of the oxygen we breathe), in the skies (where they can act as seeds for cloud formation and influence climate globally), in the mammalian gut (where they not only help with digestion but also influence inflammation, appetite, circadian rhythm, and behaviors), and in the soil (where they can be as diverse as 40,000 species per gram and determine which crops survive)—but studying and engineering these complex microbial communities (microbiomes) is challenging. Physical-organic chemistry—i.e. the science of establishing links between the molecular structure and function of a compound in a physical system—provides one simple approach to engineering of microbiomes. I will share two examples of this physical-organic approach: the first one studies the biological activity of a short-chain fatty acid (butyrate) and the second starts to explore the impact of carbohydrates (glucose, fructose, galactose) on the microbiome. Another approach for understanding microbiomes is the use of in vitro models with embedded biosensors. I will highlight how we can learn from soft robotics to build these in vitro models. Below is the schedule of future BNC strategic thinking discussion meetings, please mark your calendars to attend if possible. Date Faculty Topic 1/17/19 David Warsinger Water Purification 2/7/19 Mahdi Hosseini Exploring Quantum Regime of Atom-Photon Dynamics for Applications in Sensing, Communication and Computations 2/14/19 Ali Shakouri Birck Strategic Planning 2/21/19 Steve Wereley Rapid Electrokinetic Patterning 2/28/19 Yong Chen Purdue Quantum Science and Engineering Institute (PQSEI)​ 3/7/19 Dana Weinstein Birck Operations 3/21/19 Liang Pan Laser / e-beam nano manufacturing 3/28/19 Mohit Verma Microbiome 4/11/19 Rahim Rahimi Nano Manufacturing 4/18/19 SPS Panel (Tracy Hudson) Industrial contracting models panel discussion: Budgets and IP contracting issues 4/25/19 Daniel Suter Neuronal mechanics: an example of nano-bio research​ Thank you! Jaime Turner Administrative Assistant to the Director Birck Nanotechnology Center | Room 1027 | W. Lafayette, IN Office: 765.494.3509 | Fax: 765.496.8383 | Email: jjturner@purdue.edu<mailto:jjturner@purdue.edu> ______________________________________________________________ [https://www.purdue.edu/brand/images/Purdue_University-150_Years_of_Giant_Lea...] www.purdue.edu/giantleaps<http://www.purdue.edu/giantleaps>