Rice University Engineer to Discuss Environmental Implications of Nanotechnology April 16 at UMass Amherst

March 19, 2008

Contact:

Richard Newton 413/545-2516

AMHERST, Mass. – The Environmental Institute at the University of Massachusetts Amherst will begin its spring lecture series, titled, “Emerging Technologies and the Environment,” on Wednesday, April 16 at 3:30 p.m. in the Cape Cod Lounge of the Student Union Building. Pedro J. Alvarez of Rice University will present, “Nanotechnology: Environmental Implications and Applications.” The talks are free and open to the public.

This year’s guest speakers draw from backgrounds in computer and biological sciences and civil and environmental engineering to address the effect new technologies are having on the environment.

Alvarez is the George R. Brown professor of engineering at Rice University in Houston. His research is related to the applications and implications of biological processes in natural and engineered systems. Alvarez previously taught at the University of Iowa, where he also served as associate director for the Center for Biocatalysis and Bioprocessing and as honorary consul for Nicaragua. Alverez currently serves on the editorial boards of Environmental Science and Technology, Biodegradation and the European Journal of Soil Biology.

The series will also feature John A. Stankovic, professor of computer science at the University of Virginia, who will talk on “Wireless Sensor Networks: Global Scale Environmental Monitoring from Arctic to Zebra,” on Wednesday, April 30. James K. Fredrickson, laboratory fellow and chief scientist in the biological sciences division of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s fundamental science directorate, will speak on “The Role of the Genome Science in Bioenergy, Carbon Cycling, and Environmental Remediation,” on Monday, May 5.

The Environmental Institute is guided by an advisory council from the College of Natural Resources and the Environment, the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, the College of Engineering and the School of Public Health and Health Sciences. For information, go to:
http://www.umass.edu/tei/TEI_2005/emergingtechlectures.html

#233-08

E-mail story to a friend Printer-friendly version