Have you ever wondered about how the world looks and works on the level of atoms and molecules? Do you know how a transistor works and why the cheapest smartphone of today has 100’000 times more computation power than the computers that helped NASA during the moon landing? How do drugs find their way to their destination? How close can we get to zero kelvin (-273.15 degrees Celsius)? And how is Nanotechnology helping us fight the current Coronavirus pandemic?
These questions, though seemingly disparate, are all addressable through the study of objects on the nanoscale. The field of nanotechnology operates at the interface of Physics, Chemistry and Biology. Often inspired by nature, we are nowadays able to directly manipulate and engineer nanometer-sized structures and molecules to explore new possibilities in medicine, electronics, diagnostics, metrology, optics and many other fields. The research in this field is often application-oriented and close to industry. It has led to numerous innovations and successful products that assist us in our everyday lives in more ways than we might think.
In this seminar we will provide a comprehensive introduction to current research activities in the fields of molecular medicine and nanoscale physics – both on the academic and industry level. In addition to a broad introduction into the world of nanoscience, we have also invited several guest speakers to dive deeper into specific questions the field of nanotechnology is trying to answer right now: How can we optimally bridge the gap between the lab and the clinic? What are the specific challenges faced by nanotech entrepreneurs when making this transition? What will the nanotechnology of tomorrow look like? Why is it that many people still have a negative bias when hearing the word “Nanotechnology” and how can we optimally balance the risks and benefits of this field?
We are looking forward to interesting discussions!
Direction:
Rafael Eggli (MSc student in physics, University of Basel) and Patrick Weber (PhD student in tissue-engineering and biofabrication, ETH Zurich), both students of the Swiss study foundation
Speakers:
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- Prof. Dr. Barbara Rothen-Rutishauser, Professor of BioNanomaterials at the Adolphe Merkle Institute in Fribourg
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- Dr. Marija Poldinec, CEO and Co-founder of Artidis (tbc)
- Dominik Brücher, PhD student,
- Prof. Dr. Andreas Plückthun Group, Department of Biochemistry at the University of Zurich
Location: Basel
Schedule: Saturday 19th June 09:30am to Sunday 20th June 2021 4:30pm
Working language: English
Coordination: Dr. Sarah Beyeler, Dr. Barbara Dankwa
Administration: Nathalie Ellington
Number of participants: max. 20
Reader: Introductory readings and supplementary materials will be provided before the seminar.
Target audience: Students of all fields with an interest in nanoscale sciences and their application. We especially encourage students without a background in natural sciences to join since interdisciplinary viewpoints will greatly benefit our discussions. While technical talks will be part of the seminar, we want to provide enough room for the ethical, entrepreneurial and societal implications of nanosciences.
