Symposium RR: Molecules to Materials–Multiscale Interfacial Phenomena in Biological and Bio-inspired Materials

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Molecules to Materials–Multiscale Interfacial Phenomena in Biological and Bio-inspired Materials

Buried interfaces, i.e., interfaces that are occluded within the final composite material or functional structure, are crucial to a variety of biological processes and applications, including: biological wet/dry adhesion from barnacles to geckos; biological control over mineral growth and functional properties in biominerals; tissue engineering; and biolubrication, for example, in joints.  Rational design of bio-inspired materials for applications from biomedicine to sensors and from catalysts to high-toughness composites depends on a detailed understanding of the structure, chemistry, routes of assembly, mechanical properties, and wear processes at these interfaces.  With typical length scales ranging from the subnanometer range to macroscopic dimensions, and the complexities arising from the hybrid (hard/soft, organic/inorganic, etc.) character of these materials, the synthesis, simulation, and in situ functional characterization of such buried interfaces is a significant challenge.

This symposium seeks to create a multidisciplinary forum for experts in various fields that are critical to buried interfaces, including materials science, chemistry, biochemistry, medicine, biotechnology, and state-of-the-art in situ characterization methodologies (e.g., x-ray, electron imaging and tomography, spectroscopy, and cryotechniques).  The symposium will seek to address fundamental questions as well as potential applications derived from the understanding of these important biological interfaces.

Topics to be addressed include:

  • Biological and bio-inspired adhesion
  • Structure and function of organic/inorganic interfaces in biominerals
  • Controlling organic/inorganic interfaces in bio-inspired materials
  • Biomaterials/tissue interfaces
  • Biotribology
  • Bio-nanomaterials
  • Advanced methods of characterization

Joint sessions with the following symposia are being considered : QQ: Mechanobiology of Cells and Materials; SS: Structure/Property Relationships in Biological and Biomimetic Materials at the Micro-, Nano-, and Atomic-Length Scales; and XX: Computational Materials Design in Heterogeneous Systems.

Invited speakers include:

Jim DeYoreo (Molecular Foundry, LBNL), Lara Estroff (Cornell Univ.), Peter Fratzl (Max Planck Inst. Potsdam, Germany), Ben Freund (Univ. of California, Urbana-Champaign), François Horreard (Cameca, France), Joshua Jacobs (Rush Univ.), Phillip Messersmith (Northwestern Univ.), Ty Prosa (Cameca, USA), Richard Reeder (SUNY, Stony Brook), Cyrus Safinya (Univ. of California, Santa Barbara), Kenneth Sandhage (Georgia Inst. of Technology), Russell Stewart (Univ. of Utah), Samuel Stupp (Northwestern Univ.), Krystyn Van Vliet (Massachusetts Inst. of Technology), Herbert Waite (Univ. of California, Santa Barbara).

Symposium Organizers

Derk Joester
Northwestern University
Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering
Cook Hall
2220 Campus Dr.
Evanston, IL 60208-3108
Tel 847-491-7443, Fax 847-491-7820
d-joester@northwestern.edu 

Thomas Kelly
Cameca Instruments, Inc.
Ste. 100
5500 Nobel Dr.,
Fitchburg, WI 53711-4951
Tel 608-274-6880 x-211, Fax 608-442-0622
thomas.kelly@ametek.com  

Eli Sone
University of Toronto
Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering
Faculty of Dentistry
Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering
164 College St.
Toronto, ON M5S 3G9, Canada
Tel 416-978-7422, Fax 416-978-4317
eli.sone@utoronto.ca 

Ronit Bitton
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Dept. of Chemical Engineering
Beer-Sheva 84105, Israel
Tel 972-8-646-1499, Fax 972-8-647-2916
rbitton@bgu.ac.il 

Erik Spoerke
Sandia National Laboratories
Electronic and Nanostructured Materials
MS 1411, P. O. Box 5800
Albuquerque, NM 87185-1411
Tel 505-284-1932, Fax 505-844-9781
edspoer@sandia.gov 

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