Nanotechnology for Sustainable Development

The world is facing great challenges in meeting rising demands for basic commodities (e.g., food, water, and energy), finished goods (e.g., cell phones, cars and airplanes) and services (e.g., shelter, healthcare and employment) while reducing and minimizing the impact of human activities on Earth's global environment and climate. Nanotechnology has emerged as a versatile platform that could provide efficient, cost-effective, and environmentally acceptable solutions to the global sustainability challenges facing society. This volume is devoted to the utilization of nanotechnology to improve or achieve sustainable development. Recent advances are highlighted and opportunities of utilizing nanotechnology to address global challenges in water purification, clean energy, greenhouse gas management, materials supply/utilization and manufacturing are discussed. Also, societal perspectives are addressed and an outlook of the role of nanotechnology in the convergence of knowledge, technology and society for achieving sustainable development is provided. This book offers a thematic collection of papers previously published in the Journal of Nanoparticle Research.

Prof. Mamadou S. Diallo holds a joint faculty appointment between the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). At KAIST, Prof. Diallo serves as Associate Professor in the Graduate School of Energy, Environment, Water and Sustainability (EEWS). At Caltech, Prof. Diallo is a visiting Faculty Associate in the Environmental Science and Engineering Department of the Division of Engineering and Applied Science. During the last 10 years, Prof. Diallo and his collaborators have been pioneering the applications of dendrimer nanotechnology to challenging problems in environmental and industrial separations. His current research interests and activities focus on the development of advanced separations materials and systems for sustainable chemistry, engineering and materials (SusChEM) using dendritic macromolecules and polymeric micro/nanofibers as building blocks. Prof. Diallo is also the co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of AquaNano, LLC, a California spin-off company that is developing high performance media for water treatment and environmental remediation. In 2011, he became a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of Environmental Science and Technology. In 2012, Prof. Diallo was appointed as Associate Editor of the Journal of Nanoparticle Research.

Dr. Myung S. Jhon is a Professor of Chemical Engineering, a member of the Data Storage Systems Center (DSSC) and the Institute for Complex Engineered Systems at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA. Professor Jhon received his B.S. in Physics from Seoul National University, Korea, and his Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Chicago. He has served as visiting professor in several institutions, including the U.S. Department of Energy (National Energy Technology Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories); the Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley; IBM Almaden Research Center, San Jose; and the Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, D.C. He has also served as a consultant to the United Nations Industrial Development Organization. During his recent leave of absence from Carnegie Mellon, he served as the President and CEO of Doosan DND Co., Ltd. Professor Jhon is internationally known for his work in the fields of computational science, information storage systems, nanotechnology, organic light-emitting devices, and chemical mechanical polishing.

Professor Jhon's research focuses on the fundamentals in engineering science and their application to the state-of-the-art engineering problems. He is primarily involved with the mathematical modeling of complex engineering systems using finite element, Monte Carlo, and molecular dynamics simulations. In addition, lattice Boltzmann method is currently being implemented via parallel computing schemes to examine multi-scale and multi-phenomena complex engineering systems.

Dr. Neil Fromer is the Executive Director of the ResnickInstitute, Caltech’s endowed program for energy and sustainability. Neil works with the faculty, staff and students across the entire campus to develop new ideas and research technologies related to a clean energy future. Dr. Fromer received his PhD in semiconductor physics from UC Berkeley, and his BS in Engineering/Physics from Brown University. Neil’s scientific background is in the interactions of light and matter, and he has over a decade of experience working on solar energy technologies. However, lately he has also been very interested by energy storage, clean fuel generation and use, smarter energy distribution systems, and energy efficiency. Prior to his arrival at the Resnick Institute, Neil Fromer was the Director of Advanced Projects and the Director of Reliability and Testing for Soliant Energy, a concentrating photovoltaic company. While at Soliant, Neil directed the development, testing and certification of a new solar panel, designed specifically to generate the most energy on commercial rooftops. During this time, Neil was actively involved in defining the certification process of this new panel, and was responsible for Soliant receiving the first certification to the UL8703 safety certification for concentrating PV systems. Neil is still active on the technical review panel for UL8703. Previously, Neil worked at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, developing new low-cost solar cells from inorganic semiconductor nanoparticles, and also on the commercialization of energy efficient LED light bulbs and fixtures.