Molecular engineering is an emerging field of study concerned with the design and testing of molecular properties, behavior and interactions in order to assemble better materials, systems, and processes for specific functions. This approach, in which observable properties of a macroscopic system are influenced by direct alteration of a molecular structure, falls into the broader category of “bottom-up” design.
Naomi J. Halas is the Stanley C. Moore Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Professor of biomedical engineering, chemistry and physics at Rice University. She is also the founding director of Rice University Laboratory for Nanophotonics, and the Smalley-Curl Institute. She invented the first nanoparticle with tunable plasmonic resonances, which are controlled by their shape and structure, and has won numerous awards for her pioneering work in the field of nanophotonics and plasmonics. She was also part of a team that developed the first dark pulse soliton in 1987 while working for IBM.
Nanobiotechnology, bionanotechnology, and nanobiology are terms that refer to the intersection of nanotechnology and biology. Given that the subject is one that has only emerged very recently, bionanotechnology and nanobiotechnology serve as blanket terms for various related technologies.
As the world's energy demand continues to grow, the development of more efficient and sustainable technologies for generating and storing energy is becoming increasingly important. According to Dr. Wade Adams from Rice University, energy will be the most pressing problem facing humanity in the next 50 years and nanotechnology has potential to solve this issue. Nanotechnology, a relatively new field of science and engineering, has shown promise to have a significant impact on the energy industry. Nanotechnology is defined as any technology that contains particles with one dimension under 100 nanometers in length. For scale, a single virus particle is about 100 nanometers wide.
Thalappil Pradeep is an institute professor and professor of chemistry in the Department of Chemistry at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras. He is also the Deepak Parekh Chair Professor. In 2020 he received the Padma Shri award for his distinguished work in the field of Science and Technology. He has received the Nikkei Asia Prize (2020), The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) prize (2018), and the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology in 2008 by Council of Scientific and Industrial Research.
Green nanotechnology refers to the use of nanotechnology to enhance the environmental sustainability of processes producing negative externalities. It also refers to the use of the products of nanotechnology to enhance sustainability. It includes making green nano-products and using nano-products in support of sustainability.
Membrane distillation (MD) is a thermally driven separation process in which separation is driven by phase change. A hydrophobic membrane presents a barrier for the liquid phase, allowing the vapour phase to pass through the membrane's pores. The driving force of the process is a partial vapour pressure difference commonly triggered by a temperature difference.
Rakesh Agrawal is a chemical engineer known for contributions to separations, cryogenic gas separation and liquefaction, and for contributions to renewable energy including the conversion of biomass to chemicals and fuels, inorganic solar cell fabrication, and the synergistic use of solar energy. He is the Winthrop E. Stone Distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering at Purdue University.
Nanoremediation is the use of nanoparticles for environmental remediation. It is being explored to treat ground water, wastewater, soil, sediment, or other contaminated environmental materials. Nanoremediation is an emerging industry; by 2009, nanoremediation technologies had been documented in at least 44 cleanup sites around the world, predominantly in the United States. In Europe, nanoremediation is being investigated by the EC funded NanoRem Project. A report produced by the NanoRem consortium has identified around 70 nanoremediation projects worldwide at pilot or full scale. During nanoremediation, a nanoparticle agent must be brought into contact with the target contaminant under conditions that allow a detoxifying or immobilizing reaction. This process typically involves a pump-and-treat process or in situ application.
Irshad Hussain is a Pakistani Scientist in the field of chemistry and among the few pioneers to initiate nanomaterials research in Pakistan. He is among the founding members of SBA School of Science & Engineering (SBASSE) and has played a key role to lead the development of Chemistry Department at LUMS. He is a Tenured Professor at the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, SBA School of Science & Engineering, Lahore University of Management Sciences, and has previously also served as a Professor of Renewable Energy Engineering at the US–Pakistan Center for Advanced Studies in Energy at the University of Engineering and Technology, Peshawar, while on sabbatical leave from LUMS in 2017. Hussain has also served as the Chair of National Nanotech Experts Panel at Pakistan Council for Science & Technology in 2015 and was awarded Gold Medals in Chemistry by Pakistan Academy of Sciences (PAS) in 2007 and 2014 .. Currently, he is also leading National Core Group of Nanotechnology under Prime Minister Task Force on Science & Technology, Govt. of Pakistan.
There are many water purifiers available in the market which use different techniques like boiling, filtration, distillation, chlorination, sedimentation and oxidation. Currently nanotechnology plays a vital role in water purification techniques. Nanotechnology is the process of manipulating atoms on a nanoscale. In nanotechnology, nano membranes are used with the purpose of softening the water and removal of contaminants such as physical, biological and chemical contaminants. There are variety of techniques in nanotechnology which uses nano particles for providing safe drinking water with a high level of effectiveness. Some techniques have become commercialized.
The liquid entry pressure (LEP) of a hydrophobic membrane is the pressure that must be applied to a dry membrane so that the liquid penetrates inside the membrane. LEP with the application in membrane distillation or pervaporation can be calculated as a first parameter to indicate how wettable a membrane is toward different liquid solutions.
Ashok M. Raichur is an Indian materials scientist, nanotechnologist and a professor at the Department of Materials Engineering of the Indian Institute of Science. Known for his studies on the use of nanotechnology for biomedical and environmental applications, Raichur is a former Alexander von Humboldt Fellow and a life member of the National Academy of Sciences, India. The Department of Biotechnology of the Government of India awarded him the National Bioscience Award for Career Development, one of the highest Indian science awards, for his contributions to biosciences, in 2009.
Isabel C. Escobar is a professor in the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Kentucky. She is also Associate Director of the Center of Membrane Sciences and Co-Director of the College of Engineering Undergraduate Research Scholars Program, both at the University of Kentucky.
Andrew R. Barron is a British chemist, academic, and entrepreneur. He is the Sêr Cymru Chair of Low Carbon Energy and Environment at Swansea University, and the Charles W. Duncan Jr.-Welch Foundation Chair in Chemistry at Rice University. He is the founder and director of Energy Safety Research Institute (ESRI) at Swansea University, which consolidates the energy research at the University with a focus on environmental impact and future security. At Rice University, he leads a Research Group and has served as Associate Dean for Industry Interactions and Technology Transfer.
Vicki Leigh Colvin is a Professor of Engineering and Molecular Pharmacology at Brown University. She is the Director of the Centre for Biomedical Engineering. Her work focuses on the synthesis and characterisation of nanomaterials. She is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering.
Lianzhou Wang is a Chinese Australian materials scientist and professor in the School of Chemical Engineering at the University of Queensland. He is director of the Nanomaterials Centre (Nanomac) and a senior group member at the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology at the University of Queensland, as well as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry.
Shaily Mahendra is an Indian-American civil and environmental engineer. She is an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
Pascal Elias Saikaly is a Lebanese Professor of Environmental Science and Engineering. He is best known for the use of omics for applied studies of microbiology in engineered and natural wastewater treatment systems, including bioelectrochemistry, membrane bioreactors, and granular sludge.
Jennifer L. West is an American bioengineer. She is the Fitzpatrick University Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Duke University. In 2000, West cofounded Nanospectra Biosciences in Houston to develop a cancer therapy based on gold nanoparticles that destroy tumor cells and has been listed by MIT Technology Review as one of the 100 most innovative young scientists and engineers world wide.
