Small tech is about to become big news in Edmonton.
The city, home to an emerging nanotechnology cluster, will play host to an international conference later this month on the commercialization aspects of micro and nanotechnologies.
Industry leaders, including Meyya Meyyappan, director of the Center for Nanotechnology and senior scientist at the NASA Ames Research Center, will provide insight into market trends.
Those attending the International Commercial- ization of Micro and Nano Systems Conference (COMS) will also have opportunities to connect with global small-tech leaders representing all segments of the micro-nano value chain, said Chris Lumb, co-chair of NanoMEMS Edmonton, the Greater Edmonton region’s small-tech cluster organization.
“We are confident the program we have developed will provide attendees with the best opportunity this year to get ahead of the market curve and learn first-hand where our multibillion industry is today, where it’s going, and how to apply this knowledge to gain their own competitive advantages,” said Lumb.
“This year’s program also places an increased emphasis on nanotechnology, an emerging industry area where Greater Edmonton is building a critical mass of private and public R&D and infrastructure.”
A record 400 local, national and international delegates are expected to attend COMS 2004, a program that will feature more than 100 industry speakers and panelists at the Shaw Conference Centre beginning August 29.
Attendees will participate in more than 20 business-oriented plenary and breakout sessions, discussions and workshops – all geared to helping the industry seize market potential.
“Despite the great oppor-tunities that lie ahead for human and economic advancement with micro and nano technological developments, many barriers still exist to the successful commercialization of many of these technologies,” said Kees Eijkel, president of the Micro and Nanotechnology Commercialization Education Foundation (MANCEF).
“The program aims to give attendees the strategies to overcome those barriers and build successful businesses that excel in this rapidly advancing industry. MANCEF is dedicated to the education of the micro and nano community around the world and the COMS conferences have been our prime vehicle for doing this.”
For conference manager Leigh Hill, attracting the event to Edmonton means a chance to showcase the region’s newfound sector strength, which includes higher profile companies such as BigBangwidth and Micralyne, along with the National Institute of Nanotechnology (NINT), now under construction at the University of Alberta, in addition to a host of other small-tech players active locally.
Hill points to an almost A-to-Z of small tech capabilities locally, from initial conceptualization to production and sales.
“We have some pieces, we’re very good at manufacturing and fabrication, we’re good on biotech, lab-on-a-chip and micro sensors but we’re not as strong on the commercialization side,” he said.
COMS represents an opportunity for Edmonton to move forward in the worldwide horse race as regions battle to become small tech leaders, added Hill.
NANOTECH FACTS
* Nanotechnology is the application of science and engineering at the atomic scale. It facilitates the construction of new materials and devices by manipulating individual atoms and molecules, the building blocks of nature.
* Nanotechnology is an extension of the discoveries and applications of quantum mechanics, which last century led to a detailed understanding of matter on the atomic scale, and to innovations such as transistors, lasers and molecular biology.
* The rich diversity of invention enabled by nanotechnology may allow revolutionary developments in medicine, materials, pharmaceuticals and electronics. The economic and social impact of nanotechnology may be profound: Discoveries and applications of nanotechnology could lead to a new industrial revolution in the coming century and to commercial markets as large as $1.5 trillion per year within 10 to 15 years.
Source: National Research Council of Canada
