Basic Principles of Theory, Experiment and Application
Dear
Participants:
Welcome to
the Diffusion Fundamentals IV
International Conference!
We hope that you
will enjoy this multidisciplinary scientific conference, held for the first
time outside Europe, after exciting meetings in Leipzig, Germany (2005),
L’Aquila, Italy (2007) and Athens, Greece (2009). It all started with the memorable
celebration in Leipzig organized by Jörg Kärger, Farida Grinberg and Paul Heitjans for the 150th anniversary of Adolf
Fick’s Über Diffusion (1855) and the 100th
anniversary of Albert Einstein’s Über die von der molekularkinetischen Theorie der Wärme geforderten Bewegung von in ruhenden Flüssigkeiten suspendierten Teilchen (1905).
The program
once more testifies of the breadth and importance of diffusion as a physical
phenomenon, with ramifications to fields as seemingly distant as medicine and
the geosciences, but with common roots in physics, and strong connections to
chemical engineering and materials science. For a phenomenon that has been
investigated for so long, and is associated to the names of legendary
scientists, it is remarkable how much fundamental
progress has still been made over these past few years. This is in part driven
by applications, in part thanks to
the ability to synthesize nanoporous materials of well-controlled
structure, and, crucially, thanks to rapid advances in experimental
characterization and computational methods that are responsible for fundamental
insights and applications that were unthinkable only a few years ago. Diffusion
is once again “hot”, and moving quickly in all directions!
Oral
presentations, by leading scientists in the field, will highlight recent developments,
linked by their underlying physics, albeit not in a trivial manner and with
distinctive flavors. They are grouped under seven themes:
-
Diffusion in the Brain (Sunday afternoon)
-
Diffusion in Physiology and Medicine (Monday morning)
-
Transport Phenomena in
Nano-Biotechnology (Monday
morning)
-
Membrane Diffusion Fundamentals -
Experiments and Theory
(Monday afternoon)
-
Diffusion in Nanomaterials
- Synthesis, Characterization and Applications (Monday afternoon and Wednesday
morning)
-
Theoretical Fundamentals of
Confinement Effects on Diffusion
(Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning)
-
Transport in the Geosciences (Tuesday morning)
No less
important are the poster sessions, which can be enjoyed over lunch or coffee, and
will remain on view from Monday until Wednesday. Excellent abstracts promise to
show us the newest directions in the field.
During your
time here, we also hope that you will enjoy the beautiful campus of Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute, founded in 1824 and the oldest engineering school in the
English-speaking world, as well as some of its nearby world-class
natural and cultural attractions. While our scientific program will keep you
engaged, we wanted to ensure that you have an opportunity to relax and enjoy
some of the sights, during the excursion to the Berkshires on Tuesday
afternoon, and the Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media
and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC) at Rensselaer on Monday evening.
Last but not
least, we are very grateful to our distinguished speakers and chairmen to
accept our invitation, and our poster presenters for showing their newest
research.
A conference
like this would not be possible without generous support – in funds, time and
effort. Our heartfelt thanks go to the US National Science Foundation
(NSF-CBET) and the Rensselaer Vollmer Fries Distinguished Lectures for
exceptional financial support. Air Products, ExxonMobil Research and
Engineering, Fonds der Chemischen
Industrie, Praxair, Quantachrome
Instruments, Schlumberger, and Süd-Chemie are most gratefully
acknowledged for their sponsorship, even during economically challenging times.
Without them, this event would be impossible.
Rensselaer’s
Provost, Dr. Robert Palazzo, and his office have been especially supportive and
effective in organizational aspects, engaging the university’s Division of
Strategic Communications and External Relations – we are very grateful to Trish
Galvin, Cheryl McGlothlyn, and Michael Mullaney for devoting considerable time and effort. It has
been a great pleasure working with them. We thank the Office of the Rensselaer
Vice President for Research (Wolf von Maltzahn, Jack
Huang) for guidance and support. All of you have been in contact with Elaine Belokopitsky, who has been of great help in all matters
related to financial administration. Our gratitude also goes to Sharon Sorell and Phylis Federici. A special word of thanks goes to Rose Primett, an administrator in the Department of Chemical and
Biological Engineering, who made countless phone calls and arrangements for
catering, accommodation, and events.
Overall, we
trust that the multidisciplinary character of the meeting, its scientific and
social events, will stimulate novel ideas and random walks to beautiful and unexpected
collaborations.
We wish you
an exciting conference!
Marc-Olivier
Coppens, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Alex Neimark, Rutgers
University
Douglas
Ruthven, University of Maine
Matthias Thommes, Quantachrome
Instruments