Intellectual merit is based on the fundamental property common to many biological structures ? that they frequently display hierarchical organization on length-scales ranging from the nanometer to the macroscopic level. Such organization provides the foundation for many of the material properties, including for example the remarkable mechanical properties of bone, the dazzling optical effects of butterfly wings, the self-cleaning ability of the lotus leaf, and the dry adhesion in gecko foot hairs. Although there have been a few very successful symposia held at ACS, MRS meetings and Gordon Research Conferences, none has been dedicated to the exploration of hierarchical materials. With rapidly growing interest in soft matter and organic-inorganic hybrids, a symposium that both emphasizes novel synthetic and assembly strategies, and which explores the structure-property relationships of both biological and synthetic materials is extremely timely and likely to be interest to a large number of researchers working in a wide range of fields.
The broader impact of the proposed support lies in recruiting a larger number of graduate students, post-doctoral researchers and young faculty members to attend the conference. Through discussion of the design, synthesis, assembly and characterization of both biological and synthetic materials at the symposium, we aim to bring the latest developments in the field of hierarchical materials to abroad audience. A total of 22 internationally-renown speakers, most of whom are young researchers, have been invited and confirmed to present their research findings at the MRS meeting. Many young researchers, including graduate students, post-doctoral researchers and young faculty are unable to attend national conferences due to the associated registration and travel costs. Therefore, funding support from NSF will be critical to the success of the symposium. Specifically, it will be used to provide 10 travel awards at ~ $400 each to support young researchers to attend the proposed symposium. Priority will be given to graduate students who will attend their first national meeting, young faculty who will give oral presentations, and those who belong to the underrepresented groups. Two co-organizers of this symposium are female professors and have proven track-records in recruiting and promoting women and minority students to attend national and international meetings.
