Liquid crystal science and technology has truly transcended the boundaries of many fundamental disciplines, and now is deeply penetrating into many other fields and application areas. Some example disciplines include the bioscience, biotechnology, and health science fields, as well as the areas of photonics, sensors and nanotechnology. Composed of anisotropic organic molecules, liquid crystals interact with external fields and surfaces, which strongly influence their structure and properties. From a basic perspective, the fundamental theories and models of liquid crystals have gained great acceptance in many scientific communities; the concept of orientational order and collective molecular behavior penetrates the contemporary knowledge base of the bio-sciences community, contributing to the fundamental understanding of cell membranes, functioning muscles, division of cells, and morphogenesis. Because of their useful electro-optical properties, they are ideal for many applications; the most ubiquitous being the information display. Due to their success in information displays, researchers and technologists are pushing the frontiers of applied research to find other uses for these unique materials. The Gordon Research Conference on Liquid Crystals has historically brought together an eclectic set researchers and technologists to discuss and debate the synthesis, underlying physical phenomena, and potential application of liquid crystals. The Gordon Research Conference on Liquid Crystals will provide a venue for discussion and debate of the ideas at the forefront of liquid crystal science and technology through oral and poster presentations, and social events. Discussion topics include synthesis and characterization of new liquid crystal compounds including low molar mass, elastomeric, and reactive mesogen materials; liquid crystal systems of biological significance; bio-inspired materials; the modification of liquid crystals with nano-particles; self-assembly and new liquid crystal phases; state-of-the-art simulation and modeling; and modern uses of liquid crystals in biomedical imaging, photonics, lasing, electro-optic, and biosensor applications. Liquid crystals have already had a profound impact on society, through their success in flat panel display devices on our laptops, desktops and television sets, and are currently poised to find new and exciting applications in biology, medicine and human health. The NSF funds will be used to fund young researchers to attend the conference and become further integrated and trained in this highly interdisciplinary field.
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At first glance, the connection between laptops and life is not readily apparent. However, the commonality involves a unique material known as a liquid crystal. Liquid crystals offer scientists and engineers many unique features because of their ability to flow like liquids, but possess many of the same properties of crystals. These properties make them useful for applications involving an electrical input and an optical output; the most ubiquitous being the information display, which is used in laptops, desktops and more recently the television market. Today, the liquid crystal display, or LCD market is maturing. However, due to the successes in information display, liquid crystal researchers and technologists are pushing the frontiers of applied research to find other uses of these materials for environmental sensors, bedside diagnostic devices for rapid screening of infectious disease, drug delivery platforms to improve the efficacy of drugs, actuators that can detect and monitor heat and humidity, and inexpensive spectrometers for medical applications, all of which have the potential to have a profound impact on new engineering applications and products in the future. Because of their simplicity, liquid crystal materials provide researchers with basic systems to test and validate a number of theories and models on the molecular and nanoscale, for example. The Gordon Research Conference on Liquid Crystals will provide a balanced venue for a discussion and debate of ideas at the forefront of liquid crystal science and technology through oral and poster presentations, and social events. In terms of applications, the conference will focus on the fundamentals of liquid crystal science and the next generation of liquid crystal devices. By any objective account, liquid crystals have enabled portable computing and transformed the way we share and transfer information. Now the field is on the verge of many new scientific discoveries that may enable exciting new biomedical devices to improve health and human welfare for societal good. At the heart of this potential are the young researchers actively investigating the liquid crystal sciences; the NSF funds will go towards funding these individuals to attend the conference and become more fully trained and integrated into this highly interdisciplinary field.
