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Volume 6, Issue 17
May 12, 2006
Circulation 20,096

Friday FYI

Newsletter from the Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development- U. T. Dallas

Upcoming Events

Society of Women Engineers Banquet and Forum (May 16)

The Society of Women Engineers is having a banquet and open forum at 6:15pm on May 16 at Nedley's Restaurant located at 1801 North Plano Road. This event is the final event of the spring. The forum will discuss organization improvements, new activities and speaker ideas. For more information, contact Jennifer Ray at 214-226-6967 or email jray@ppoinc.net.

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Negative Bias Temperature Instability in ULSI CMOS Technology (May 16)

The IEEE Reliability Society is hosting a presentation by Dr. Anand T. Krishnan of Texas Instruments at 6:30pm on May 16 in Room 3.503 of the UTD Engineering and Computer Science Building. Dr. Krishnan's presentation will be on Negative Bias Temperature Instability (NBTI) and its impact to the Reliability of Integrated Circuits. Today's smaller geometries have made NBTI one of the most significant reliability concerns in recent years. NBTI manifests itself as a threshold voltage increase and consequently, a drive current reduction. This mechanism is difficult to work-around through transistor design modification, because it affects PMOS transistors in CMOS circuits that are biased in inversion, even when the circuit is not switching.

Krishnan received his Bachelor of Technology degree in Metallurgical Engineering from the Institute of Technology, BHU, Varanasi, India in 1994, and M.S. and Ph.D degrees in Materials from Pennsylvania State University in 1997 and 2000, respectively. In 2000, he joined the silicon technology development group at Texas Instruments, where he is currently working as a Reliability Engineer.

For more information, contact Michael Aranibar at 972-952-4562 or michael_aranibar@raytheon.com.

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BioHouston BioTech 101 (May 17)

BioHouston's Biotech 101 course is being held from 9am to 4pm on May 17 at Houston Technology Center - Midtown Facility located at 410 Pierce St. in Houston.

The course provides an overview of the science of biotechnology and its applications, the regulatory and business issues associated with new-product development, and the international, domestic, and regional biotech industry.

Five broad biotechnology-related topics will be covered in this one-day workshop:

Those who will benefit from this course include:

There is a $95 to attend.

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The Neurotech Industry Investing and Business Conference (May 18)

NeuroInsights is hosting a Investing and Business Conference on May 18 at the Westin San Francisco Airport in Millbrae, California. The conference is a global forum where investors, executives, entrepreneurs, scientists and others involved in the development of new treatments and diagnostics for the brain and nervous system come together to shape the future of their organization and the industry.

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BioDFW Breakfast Series: MedTrials Incorporated (May 18)

The May meeting of the BioDFW Breakfast Series will be held at 7:30am on May 18 at the UNT Health Science Center at Fort Worth, Center for BioHealth, Room 200 located 3500 Camp Bowie Blvd in Fort Worth. Robin Newman, chief scientific officer of MedTrials Incorporated will be speaking.

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The Science of Keeping 'A' Performers (May 18)

The Richardson Chamber of Commerce (RCC) is presenting a talk by Pieter van Meeteren, the principle coach of Performance Dynamics International at 7:30am on May 18 at the Holiday Inn Select located at 1655 North Central Expressway in Richardson. There is a $15 charge for RCC members and a $20 charge for non-members. There is a $10 surcharge for reservations made after May 15.

Most companies will use the phrase "Employees are our greatest asset," yet many of these same companies do not know how to retain their human assets. Often they are not fully aware of the escalating costs of employee turnover.

In this seminar participants explore some of the most common myths about "hire and fire," real employee satisfaction, and the impact of managers and leaders on emplo yee stability. Participants also will get a glimpse of how smart performance management can save companies a bundle. For more information, call 972-792-2800.

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Management Conference Honoring UTD Faculty Member Will Feature Nobel Laureate in Economics (May 20-22)

The School of Management at The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) will host the International Conference of Management Sciences: Optimization Models & Applications May 20-22, in honor of professor Suresh Sethi and to recognize his contributions to the field of management sciences.  A highlight of the event will be a May 22 keynote speech by the Nobel laureate in economics, Dr. Harry M. Markowitz.

Markowitz is a 1990 winner of the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for his theory of portfolio choice.  His talk, titled "A Detailed, Asynchronous Stock Market Simulator," is free and open to the public and begins at 9:30 a.m. in the School of Management Auditorium.

Scholars from around the world are scheduled to deliver papers at the conference on a range of topics that include supply chain management, control and game models in marketing, economics and financial engineering, flexible manufacturing systems and optimal control theory and applications.

Friends, colleagues, classmates, students, postdoctoral fellows and teachers of Sethi, who is UTD's Ashbel Smith Professor of Operations Management and director of the university's Center for Intelligent Supply Networks, arranged the conference.  Organizers said they wanted to recognize his profound influence on the field of operations research and optimal control communities as well as his service to their professions.  Sethi has made fundamental contributions to operations management, marketing, industrial engineering, finance and economics, conference organizers noted.

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Medical Devices: Today and Tomorrow (May 23)

The Medical Device Action Alliance is hosting a conference, Medical Devices: Today and Tomorrow, on the present and future of medical devices beginning at 8:30am on May 23 at the Westin Hotel DFW Airport at 4545 W John Carpenter Freeway in Irving. Speakers include Paul Rudisell and UTD's Ray Baughman.

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21st Century Governance for Early Stage Companies Conference (May 25)

The iC2 Institute, The University of Texas at Austin and the University of Texas School of Law are hosting a conference, 21st Century Governance for Early Companies, at 8:30am on Thursday, May 25 at The Houstonian Hotel, Club & Spa, located at 111 North Post Oak Lane in Houston.

What are Wall Street analysts and shareholders looking for when they evaluate a company?  Today, the list includes good corporate governance.  This conference is designed to provide critical, practical, nuts and bolts information on corporate governance for the directors and CEOs of early stage companies - pre-IPO and post-IPO companies, as well as privately held companies that plan to go public, or that simply want better governance.

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UT Southwestern Infectious-disease Specialists to Discuss Bird Flu at Public Forum (May 25)

Southwestern Medical Foundation will host a May 25 public forum at UT Southwestern Medical Center designed to educate the public about avian influenza, commonly known as bird flu.

Three infectious disease experts from UT Southwestern will cover all aspects of influenza, from a history of pandemics to vaccination programs and the management of such diseases. The event entitled, " Bird Flu: How Concerned Should I Be?" is free and open to the public.

Sponsored by the Southwestern Medical Foundation, the one hour forum, which will include a question-and-answer session following the experts' presentations, begins at 6 p.m. in the Tom and Lula Gooch Auditorium on the UT Southwestern main campus, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd.

Dr. Robert Haley, chief of epidemiology at UT Southwestern, will moderate the discussion. Forum panelists will include Drs. Robert Munford, Beth Levine and James Luby. 

Dr. Haley started his career in the study of disease epidemiology at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and founded UT Southwestern's division of epidemiology in 1983. He is director of the division and holder of the U.S. Armed Forces Veterans Distinguished Chair for Medical Research, Honoring America's Gulf War Veterans.

Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 is capable of causing illness in many species, including humans. A strain of this virus has spread rapidly almost worldwide among domesticated and wild birds. A number of countries have supported mass culling programs for sick birds in an attempt to control the spread of bird flu.

There is no evidence that suggests human-to-human transmission of the virus currently exists. However, there have been more than 180 cases of humans contracting the flu through extensive close contact with infected birds.

The incidence of influenza outbreaks have been documented throughout the course of human history. Dr. Munford, professor of internal medicine and microbiology and holder of the Jan and Henri Bromberg Chair in Internal Medicine, has a great interest in the epidemiology of disease outbreaks and the human body's immune response to such diseases. He will discuss the history of influenza.

Dr. Levine, professor of internal medicine and microbiology, holder of the Jay P. Sanford Professorship in Infectious Diseases and chief of the division of infectious diseases, is an internationally recognized specialist in the study of RNA viruses. She will discuss how influenza virus can mutate within the body and spread.

Dr. Luby, professor of internal medicine, has had an interest in influenza virus, influenza vaccines and antiviral chemotherapy throughout his career at UT Southwestern. He will discuss vaccines and antiviral drugs.

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Leadership in the Global Economy (June 15)

The Greater Dallas Chamber of Commerce is hosting a luncheon featuring former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani on June 15. He will present "Leadership in the Global Economy." Mayor Giuliani is best known for his leadership in the days following September 11 as well as for his time as a federal prosecutor. In 2005, he returned to the legal profession by joining Bracewell & Giuliani as a name partner and bringing his international reputation to its newly established New York office. If you have questions or need additional information, please contact Sharon Venable, Vice President of International Business Development at 214-712-1933 or Patti Clapp, Vice President of Talent, Workforce and Education at 214-746-6725.

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The Sixth Annual Emerging Information Technology Conference (EITC-06) (August 10-12)

Besides discussing the cutting-edge topics that will dominate the Global intellectual and economic landscapes will be the theme of this conference for Tech-Titans, the sixth annual Emerging Information Technology Conference (EITC-06) will also feature Mark Ellison from Texas Governor Rick Perry's office of economic development and presidents from some outstanding research universities in the Pacific Rim.

The conference will be held from August 10-12 on The University of Texas at Dallas campus.

Mark Ellison is the Director of the $300 Million Texas Emerging Technology Fund, which was recently approved by Governor Perry and the Texas Legislature to assist the development and commercialization of technologies important to the future of Texas. The Emerging Technology Fund aims to improve university research, expedite the launch of technology firms, and speed transition of inventions from the lab into the hands of consumers.

This year is also the first time for EITC to host a research university presidents forum.  For the past two decades, with significant economic growth, research universities in Asia are also seeing unprecedented growth, both in student population as well as research quality and output. The participants so far are from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Paul C. W. Chu), National Taiwan University (S. C. Lee), National Tsinghua University (W. T. Chen) and National Chiao-Tung University (Vice President W. Hwang).  Topics that will be discussed include responsibilities of research universities in the landscape of globalization, recruiting world class scholars, educating versus training the best young minds, and last but not least, promotion and interactions with the corporate worlds and commercialization. Dr. Da Hsuan Feng, Vice President of Research and Economic Development of University of Texas at Dallas will moderate the forum.

The conference will include programs on

  1. Nanotechnology,
  2. MEMS,
  3. SoC (Systems-on-Chip),
  4. Bioinformatics,
  5. C4I (Content, Computer, Communications, Consumer Electronics, and Integration),
  6. EET (Emerging Energy Technology), and
  7. VC (Venture Capital).

For more conference details, please contact the Executive Secretary Office of the EITC team at: 713-963-9433.

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Ross Perot to Open Major Nanotechnology Event in Dallas (Sept. 27)

H. Ross Perot of Dallas, internationally renowned business leader and two time Presidential candidate, will deliver the opening remarks at nanoTX'06 September 27, a world scale nanotechnology conference and expo held at the Dallas Convention Center. Chosen in 2004 as one of history's 10 greatest entrepreneurs, Mr. Perot is known to have followed advances in nanotechnology since 1999. Today Perot is heavily invested in nanotechnology firms with undervalued intellectual property rights, including trademarks, trade secrets, patents and copyrightable material. His opening message on the business of nanotechnology will be riveting, bringing new insights in his most quotable style.

nanoTX'06 will be held on September 27-28 at the Dallas Convention Center.

Perot has a history of betting on promising technology and made the bulk of his $3.7 billion fortune by starting the data-processing company Electronic Data Systems (EDS)

Over the years Perot has received numerous awards for his business success and community service, including the Eisenhower Award for support of the nation's Armed Forces, the Winston Churchill Award, the Horatio Alger Award, the National Business Hall of Fame Award, the Smithsonian Computerworld Award (first recipient; given for contributions to the computer industry), the Sarnoff Award (for contributions to the electronics industry), Medal for Distinguished Public Service (highest civilian award presented by the Department of Defense; given for his efforts supporting U.S. prisoners of war), the Raoul Wallenberg Award (first recipient; given for lifetime service reminiscent of the Swedish diplomat), the Jefferson Award for Public Service, the Patrick Henry Award (first recipient; given to a U.S. citizen for outstanding service to his country). As a noted author, his several books include Preparing Our Country for the 21st Century.

In the evening of the 27th sponsors, exhibitors, and chosen guests will gather in the atrium of the Business Hall for the Exhibitor's Cocktail Reception where the Foresight Institute's Feynman Award winners will be announced. The following day two winners will present their work as the conference continues.

The Foresight Institute Feynman Prizes of $10,000 are given in two categories, one for experimental and the other for theory advances in nanotechnology. The prize is named after Dr. Richard Feynman, a Nobel Prize winner in Physics, whose original goal for nanotechnology — systems of molecular machines building with atomic precision, is the guiding vision of long-term nanotechnology.

Established in 1993, the Foresight Feynman Prizes in nanotechnology are given to researchers whose recent work have most advanced the achievement of Feynman's goal for nanotechnology: the construction of atomically-precise products through the use of molecular machine systems.

Presented by the Texas Nanotechnology Initiative, the event carries the theme: The Promise of Tomorrow—The Business of Nanotechnology. Sponsors include Lockheed Martin, Applied Materials, Texas Instruments, the Japanese Consulate, Winstead, Zyvex, BioForce Nanosciences, Raymor Industries of Quebec, among other big firms and organizations in nanotechnology.

Also expected at nanoTX'06 are Madam Congressman Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-30th Dist.) on the House Science Committee and Madam Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) who, as chairman of the Department of Defense Appropriations Committee, included $15 million in new funding for Research in Nanotechnology (SPRING). The program is a consortium comprised of the University of Texas (UT) at Arlington, UT- Austin, UT-Brownsville, UT-Dallas, UT-Pan American, Rice University and University of Houston, that are participating in nanoTX'06, September 27-28, 2006. Also part of the event is Texas State Technical College.

This funding will build on that effort and continue the consortium's work to establish a collaborative network of well-equipped research centers to rapidly develop and promote
nanotechnology.

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