The objective of this proposal is to request travel and subsistence funds from NSF to enable students and junior faculty to participate in the ?Workshop on Opportunities for Magnetism in MEMS/NEMS? to be held April 16-17, 2010 at Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL. The workshop is co-sponsored by Argonne National Laboratory and the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
Intellectual Merit: The transition from microelectromechanical (MEMS) to nanoelectromechanical (NEMS) will require reconsideration of the basic assumptions regarding how best to transfer forces and torques in these systems. In particular, there are indications that magnetic actuation may be more effective than conventional electrostatic actuation at the nanoscale. The purpose of this workshop is to gather together experts in the nascent field of magnetic microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) in order to explore new paradigms and promote the exchange of ideas and methods. The experts will be gathered from academia, industry, and government to review recent breakthroughs, consider the merits of magnetic NEMS and discuss limitations and open research questions in magnetic MEMS/NEMS. It is anticipated that the workshop will generate new insights, research projects and collaborative opportunities.
Broader Impact: The workshop will coalesce a new community of researchers in this nascent field. By encouraging the participation of young faculty and students, it is ensured that workshop will have a long-term impact on science and technology. A CD containing all of the invited presentations and posters will be distributed to each of the participants following the meeting. The same files will also be made available on the workshop web page for free access. The organizers of the workshop will seek to diversify the demographic composition of the attendees by inviting researchers from traditionally underrepresented groups.
This grant provided funds for US graduate students and young faculty members to attend a workshop on "Opportunities for Magnetism in MEMS/NEMS at Argonne National Laboratory" in April 2010. The workshop was organized jointly by The Argonne National Laboratory together with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Boulder and Oregon State University and was held on the campus of Argonne National Laboratories. Microscopic machines no bigger than a grain of rice have recently been the subject of much academic and industry research. Some micromachines such as accelerometers (used to deploy automobile airbags and now ubiquitous in smart phones to determine the orientation of the screen) are already commercially successful. Such micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) are typically operated using electric forces. However, when such systems are made even smaller, approaching the nanometer scale, or so-called nano-electromechanical systems (NEMS), the electrical forces become difficult to control and leakage of electric charge becomes a problem. This workshop brought together experts in a new field of magnetically actuated NEMS to discuss new approaches and opportunities to use magnetic forces instead of electric forces to control NEMS devices. The workshop was attended by 32 participants (from 10 different universities, 2 national labs, and 1 company). The workshop consisted of 11 invited talks (each 30 minutes in duration) and 6 posters, which were presented during 1.5 hour long poster session. NSF funding provided support for five young scientists (graduate students and early-career faculty) to attend the meeting.
