4th DISTINGUISHED LECTURE «Stelios Orphanoudakis»

08 OCTOBER 2012, HERAKLION, CRETE, GREECE

 

On Monday 8th of October 2012, at the amphitheatre of FORTH "Georgios Lianis" in Heraklion (Crete), Paras N. Prasad will give the 4th lecture in the context of «Stelios Orphanoudakis» Distinguished Lectures series. This year, the Lecture is focused on the area of Materials Science and is entitled "Impact of Future Nanotechnology on Energy and Healthcare".

Abstract of Dr. Paras N. Prasad Lecture:
Nanotechnology holds tremendous potential for meeting 21st Century technical challenges in many areas of top global priority. These areas range from alternative energy, to healthcare, to environmental monitoring, to information technology, to world security. Nanomaterials that provide multiple functional attributes will play a vital role in addressing the needs of this diverse range of applications. These multifunctionalities can be based upon electronic, photonic, magnetic, thermal and structural properties, that can be judiciously manipulated by nanostructure design and nanocomposite formulation. This lecture will provide illustrations of applications of multifunctional nanomaterials in the fields of energy and healthcare1-3.

As the world faces a major challenge in sustainably meeting future energy needs, nanotechnology will provide new approaches for solar energy conversion, hydrogen energy, biofuels, oil and gas recovery and utilization, and energy storage1. In the area of solar energy conversion, we are developing new nanomaterial-based approaches for efficient harvesting of solar photons over the entire solar spectrum and their efficient conversion to electrical energy. Our emphasis is to enhance ultraviolet photon utilization, as well as to harvest IR photons that are unutilized currently. Another area of our research on energy conversion and storage using nanomaterials is in hydrogen energy.

Fusion of nanotechnology with fundamental sciences, engineering, and medicine has created a new research field of nanomedicine, which provides a global vision to produce breakthrough approaches for meeting our current and future healthcare challenges such as cancer, neurological disorder, infectious diseases, age-related diseases, addiction, chronic pain, depression and obesity1-3. Nanomedicine employs specifically engineered nanoplatforms to carry various payloads for new, minimally invasive diagnosis, targeted delivery of therapeutics, enhanced efficacy of existing treatments, and real-time monitoring of disease treatment. It is an excellent example of how yesterday's fiction (1966 fiction "Fantastic Voyage by Isaac Asimov"), transforms into today's reality (our 2002 patented "nanoclinics"). The Nanoclinic, our revolutionary technology involving the use of nanoparticles as carriers for on-site diagnosis and needed therapy, was licensed by a France based company, Nanobiotix, and is now in clinical trials.

This lecture provides a global perspective and outlook for nanomedicine. Our research in optical technologies applied to bioimaging, sensing, high throughout flow diagnostics and light-activated therapy will be highlighted. It will present nanotechnology-based and light-guided gene therapy, and stem cell therapy for repairing or replacing malfunctioning cells and tissues in the aging population. It will also present a thought provoking revolutionary concept of rejuvenation therapy that may allow a human to live for 1,000 years or more.

This talk will conclude with a discussion of future outlook and new opportunities in these fields.

  • 1. P. N. Prasad "Nanophotonics" John Wiley & Sons, (2004).
  • 2. P. N. Prasad "Introduction to Biophotonics" John Wiley & Sons, (2003).
  • 3. P. N. Prasad "Introduction to Nanomedicine and Nanobioengineering" John Wiley & Sons, (2012)

PARAS N PRASAD, Ph.D. is a SUNY Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, Physics, Electrical Engineering and Medicine; the Samuel P. Capen Chair of Chemistry; and the Executive Director of the Institute for Lasers, Photonics and Biophotonics at the University at Buffalo. He was named among the top 50 science and technology leaders in the world by Scientific American in 2005. He has published 700 scientific and technical papers in high-impact journals; four monographs that practically defined the fields of Organic nonlinear optics, Biophotonics, Nanophotonics, and Nanomedicine and Nanobioengineering; eight edited books; and holds numerous patents. He is the recipient of many scientific awards and honors (Morley Medal; Schoellkopf Medal; Guggenheim Fellowship, Sloan Fellowship; Western New York Health Care Industries Technology/Discovery Award; Fellow of the APS, OSA, and SPIE) He is a pioneer in Photonics, Biophotonics, Nanomedicine and Nanobioengineering , and has been giving plenary, opening and keynote lectures worldwide in these fields.

Photographs

See the invitation (pdf format)

Stelios Orphanoudakis (pdf format)

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