October 22, 2002
For more information on these science news and feature
story tips, please contact the public information
officer at the end of each item at (703) 292-8070.
Editor: Roberta Hotinski
Contents of this News Tip:
National Science Foundation (NSF) staff member Andrew
Lovinger has been named to receive the American Physical
Society's 2003 Polymer Physics Prize, the highest
honor bestowed by the professional association for
this field.
Lovinger has worked at NSF since 1995 and now directs
the polymer materials research program. He received
the prize for advancing scientists' understanding
of the structure, morphology and properties of polymers
during more than 20 years of research at Bell Labs
(now part of Lucent Technologies).
He investigated materials that can be used as electromechanical
switches, high-temperature and high-strength polymers
and, more recently, polymers that can be used for
"plastic electronics" applications, such as flexible
plastic displays or electronic paper. Lovinger studied
the molecular-level properties of these materials
and helped design new materials with improved characteristics.
The prize will be presented at the American Physical
Society's March 2003 meeting in Austin, Tex. Lovinger
is in good company: three past winners of the polymers
prize were Nobel laureates. [Amber Jones]
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Bioengineering--the art of synthesizing molecules and
tissues to perform natural functions--promises a wave
of advances in clinical medicine, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals
and even agriculture. Bioinformatics will provide
complementary modeling and data analysis tools. But
two government agencies have identified a gap in the
training of skilled workers for these fields, and
they are joining forces to address it.
Dozens of academic departments and research centers
in bioengineering and bioinformatics have formed in
the last few years. To encourage students to enter
these fields, however, the National Science Foundation
(NSF) and National Institutes of Biomedical Imaging
and Bioengineering, National Institutes of Health
(NIH), identified a need to provide undergraduates
with hands-on research and training in multidisciplinary
teamwork. The agencies will provide $6 million over
four years for nine "summer institutes" to meet these
specialized needs.
"An important component of NSF and NIH investment is
development of the future work force," said NSF program
manager Sohi Rastegar. "We hope the summer schools
will encourage undergraduates majoring in biology,
computer science, mathematics, physics and chemistry
to consider careers in bioengineering and bioinformatics."
The funded projects include summer institutes at California
State, Clemson, Iowa State, Pennsylvania State and
Virginia Commonwealth Universities; Massachusetts
and New Jersey Institutes of Technology; and the Universities
of Minnesota and Pittsburgh. The institutes will include
classes on such subjects as biology and physiology
and research in computer modeling and gene function.
[Amber Jones]
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Two scientists who pioneered an ultrafast laser for
precision eye surgery have been selected to receive
the 2002 Berthold Leibinger Innovation Prize, a prestigious
international honor.
Physicist Tibor Juhasz and ophthalmologist Ron Kurtz
developed a femtosecond laser for high-precision corneal
surgery. The laser emits light in extremely fast pulses,
each about a billion times faster than an electronic
camera flash. The focused beam passes harmlessly through
the outer layers of the cornea until reaching the
central layer, where it creates clean incisions with
little risk of tissue damage in the surrounding area.
The laser has improved the popular LASIK eye surgery
by reducing complications caused by traditional manual
cutting techniques.
A multidisciplinary team at the National Science Foundation
(NSF) Center for Ultrafast Optical Science at the
University of Michigan and at the university's Kellogg
Eye Center collaborated to develop the laser technology
and surgical techniques. Juhasz and Kurtz developed
the first medical procedures using an ultrafast laser,
which has also been used for micro-machining materials.
The two founded IntraLaseTM Corporation
to commercialize the laser for medical use, with Small
Business Innovation Research grants from NSF and other
agencies.
The non-profit foundation Berthold Leibinger Stiftung,
based in Germany, furthers scientific research and
awards the innovation prize for applied laser technology
every two years. The jury for the prize includes laser
inventor and Nobel Laureate Charles H. Townes.
The prize was awarded October 18 in Stuttgart, Germany.
[Amber Jones]
For a prior press release and video (requires RealTM
Player) about the laser scalpel see:
http://www.nsf.gov/od/lpa/news/press/01/lasik_video.htm
Broadcast editors: For video, contact Dena Headlee,
NSF, at (703) 292-8070/dheadlee@nsf.gov.
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