POSTPONED -

FORUM 2020 - Enhancing interactions between industry and academia

Please join us for the 2020 FORUM. This is where academia & industry converge to learn about new developments & opportunities, build relationships, and network. Learn about the different PME research themes and how it may help you and your company:

• Quantum Engineering
  
• Immuno-engineering
• Materials Systems for Sustainability & Health
  

and participate in our soft skills development workshops for everyone.

For Industry attendees - Talk to students about their research interests and answer their questions about life in industry!

For academic attendees - inquire about what industry life and culture is like and talk about complementary skill sets that will be important as you transition to an industrial career.

Is this event for me?

Postdocs, graduate students, staff, technicians, managers, undergraduate students from STEM fields including PME, BSD, PSD, MRSEC, etc.

Industrial scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs, executives who want to get a high level view of resources here on campus, managers, etc.

What will I come away with?

• You will leave with a better understanding of how the PME operates
• What research challenges are being addressed and who to contact to learn more about how these might align with your company priorities
  
• Awareness of the spectrum of resources available and who to contact
  
• An improvement in your awareness of soft skills through an interactive activity
  
• New/updated social and professional contacts
• A custom printed T-shirt and PME swag
• A free lunch (see dietary restrictions question in registration link)
  

Register Now! 

 

POSTPONED - tentatively to September 10th, 2020

Agenda

Thursday, May 14th, 2020

10 am        Registration and Networking

10:30 am   Opening statements and campus resources panel

11:30 am    Keynote talk #1 : Jay Schrankler

12:30 pm    Lunch and Networking

1:30   pm    Panel Discussion - Branding and Marketing yourself

2:00 pm      Parallel session (Critical Soft Skills workshops)

3:00 pm      BREAK

3:30 pm      Keynote Talk #2 : TBA

4:30 pm      PME themes overviews

5:30 pm      Posters/Judging/Networking and Food/drinks!

7:00 pm      FORUM ends

 

Friday, May 15th, 2020

9am Facility tours (give us rough headcount now on the registration page, sign up for them on Thursday for a final tally)

These include, but are not limited to:

• Argonne National Laboratory
   
• Pritzker Nanofabrication Facility 
• Electron microscopy labs,
  
• MRSEC/Spectrocopy/Materials characterization labs 
• Soft Matter Laboratory
  

PME Themes

Quantum Engineering -

While some of the most impactful technologies of the 20th century, such as the transistor and the laser, rely on quantum physics, they do not use the most extreme kinds of quantum phenomena. The ability to harness effects like quantum superposition and entanglement will usher in a new generation of transformative technologies. The Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (PME) stands at the forefront of this rapidly emerging field.

 

Immno-Engineering -

PME is bringing its expertise in engineering design and fabrication to contribute to this research. Several of our laboratories have created synthetic vaccines that have been shown to be effective in stimulating the immune system against certain types of cancers, such as lymphoma, and pathogenic bacteria strep. As these synthetic nanoparticle vaccines are non-biological and do not require additional chemicals to activate them, many of the complications associated with viral-based, or adjuvant-activated, vaccines are no longer an obstacle. PME researchers are extending this approach to research on other cancers and pathogen types, such as HIV, staph, and malaria.

Materials Systems for Health and Sustainability -

Working closely with Argonne National Laboratory and its Center for Molecular Engineering, students and faculty collaborate on creative projects that explore polymers, self-assembled and autonomous materials, dynamic covalent materials, nanoparticles, liquid crystals, and composite, hybrid materials. With a focus on engineering for sustainability, our research includes ways to extract useful (uranium, lithium) or polluting (phosphorus) elements from sea water or waste water. Our energy-related research projects include work on organic thermoelectric materials, and the organization and assembly of ion-containing polymers.

This theme also encompasses health-care applications, broadening our biomedical impact beyond our immuno-engineering theme. Drawing on deep expertise in self-assembly and ion-containing polymers, PME is understanding and engineering how to prevent protein misfolding, which could help prevent diseases like dementia and ALS. We’re also studying nanoparticles for the in vivo delivery of therapeutic nucleic acids and leading the way in understanding how liquid-liquid phase separation works, and its role in the formation of membrane-less intracellular compartments in biology.

Participating groups