Mark S. Spector
Program Officer, Ships and Engineering Systems Division, Office of Naval Research

Presentation: "U.S. Navy Nanotechnology Research Initiatives in Energy and Power"

The Office of Naval Research (ONR) coordinates, executes, and promotes the science and technology programs of the United States Navy and Marine Corps through universities, government laboratories, and nonprofit and for-profit organizations. The Advanced Naval Power focus area supports innovative research and development in power generation, energy storage, power conditioning and distribution. This talk will give an overview of ONR's Energy and Power programs with particular emphasis on the role of nanotechnology and thermal management. I will also discuss the Department of Defense's Energy and Power Technology Initiative (EPTI) whose goal is to develop power and energy devices which reduce the logistics burden and dependence on fossil fuels, while significantly expanding its capabilities.

Mauricio Terrones
Advanced Materials Department, IPICyT

Presentation: "Recent Advances on N-doped Carbon Nanotubes and their Applications"

Mauricio Terrones, born in Mexico City in 1968, obtained his B.Sc. degree in Engineering Physics with first class honours at Universidad Iberoamericana, and was distinguished as the Best Student of Mexico in Engineering Physics in 1992. In 1994 he started his doctorate degree with Sir Prof. Harold W. Kroto (Nobel Laureate, FRS) and David R. M. Walton (FRSC), and received his D.Phil. degree from University of Sussex in 1998. He has co-authored more than 175 publications in international journals, and counts with more than 3500 independent citations to his work. For example, he has published 3 papers in Nature, 3 in Science, 7 in Physical Review Letters, 16 in Nano Letters, etc. In 1999, he was awarded the Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship, and carried out research at the Max-Planck Institut für Metallforschung (Stuttgart, Germany). In 2000, he was recipient of the Mexican National Prize for Chemistry. He also received the Javed Husain Prize and the Albert Einstein medal from UNESCO in 2001, for his contributions to Carbon Nanoscience and Nanotechnology. In 2005, he was awarded the TWAS Prize in Engineering Science for his numerous contributions in doped-nanotubes and applications; he is the youngest scientist ever to be distinguished by the TWAS. In 2005, he also received the "Jose Antonio Villaseñor y Sánchez" Prize that is given by the government of the State of San Luis Potosí for his contributions in nanotechnology. He is member of the Mexican Academy of Sciences since 2002, and was elected member of the Academy of Sciences for the Developing world (TWAS) in 2006. He is a National Researcher level 3 (the maximum level in the Mexican Research System). Aged 38, he is currently full Professor at the Instituto Potosino de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica (IPICYT-Mexico), and is leader of the National Centre for Nanoscience and Nanotechnoogy based at IPICYT. His research now concentrates on the theory, synthesis and characterization of novel layered nanomaterials.

Patricia Plunket
Universidad de las Américas in Cholula, Puebla, Mexico

Presentation: "Under the Volcano: Archaeology In and Around Cholula"

Patricia Plunket is a University Professor at the Universidad de las Américas in Cholula, Puebla, Mexico. After completing her doctoral dissertation at Tulane University on the Mixteca Alta of Oaxaca, she has focused her research on the archaeology of the state of Puebla in central Mexico. She is currently chair of the Anthropology Department and co-director of a project designed to study the impact of the Popocatépetl volcano on the communities surrounding Cholula in prehispanic times.