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JAPAN NANONET BULLETIN
-- 72nd Issue -- June 8, 2006
Nanotechnology Researchers Network Center of Japan
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT)
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IN THIS ISSUE
Nanonet Special Interview:
"Nanotechnology world network
-- Interview with Prof. Robert P.H. CHANG -- "
Robert P.H. CHANG, Professor, Materials Science and Engineering,
and Director, Materials Research Institute, Northwestern University
Young Researchers' Introduction:
"Nano-structure and magnetic properties for FePt ordered alloy films
with high coercivity"
Toshiyuki SHIMA, Associate Professor, Faculty of Engineering, Tohoku-
Gakuin University
-- NANO CALENDAR --
For information on nanotechnology related symposiums and conferences
held in the world,
http://www.nanonet.go.jp/english/calendar/
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NANONET SPECIAL INTERVIEW
Nanotechnology world network
-- Interview with Prof. Robert P.H. CHANG --
(Issued in Japanese: May 24, 2006)
Robert P.H. CHANG, Professor, Materials Science and Engineering,
and Director, Materials Research Institute, Northwestern University
Prof. Robert P.H. Chang is a professor of materials science and
engineering at Northwestern University and the director of the school's
year-old Center for Learning and Teaching in Nanoscale Science and
Engineering (NCLT), which is the first of its kind in the United States.
Many researchers pay attention to Global Nanotechnology Network (GNN)
and Prof. Chang has played an important role in establishing GNN.
During his visit to National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) in
Japan, Dr. Naoki Kishimoto, NIMS, and Dr. Masahiro Takemura, nanonet,
interviewed him.
Q: Prof. Chang, thank you very much for taking the time to be
interviewed. How long have you worked in nanotechnology?
Prof. Chang: I've been working in nanomaterials research for about 20
years. I worked on fullerenes, carbon nanotubes, and zinc oxide
nanowires. More recently I've been working on nanowire-based sensors
and we are establishing a research program in new applications for
photonic crystals to integrate light sources, detectors and switches.
At the NCLT we train science teachers to teach nanoscience to
students from middle school through college, and we are also developing
nanoscience content for precollege and college students.
Q: Exactly what type of programs have you developed at the National
Center to teach nanotechnology to students?
Prof. Chang: Our center has an integrated program consisting of:
science education research, nano science concept development for
students, professional development for science teachers, degree
programs, new learning tools development, and evaluation and assessment.
The components of our integrated program work together to train and
educate future leaders in nano science and technology. To build
capacity, we are developing web-based simulation and visualization. We
tele-video and web cast lectures and seminars. We are reaching as many
learners as we can. We want to encourage high school students to learn
enough nano concepts, so they're prepared to study them in more detail
when they get to university. You can link to our webcasts from Japan.
If you go to our website (http://www.nclt.us), you'll see a list of webcasts.
There are many challenges in our Center. For example, one is
trying to fit nanoscience content into already crowded high-school
curricula. One way we are doing this is to ask teachers to insert
nano concepts into existing courses they are teaching. Our nano
concepts are designed to increase relevance in science classrooms. We
also have a design project to encourage innovation, discovery and
invention in young people. We do extensive field-testing to make sure
that our nano concepts are the best they can be.
Q: In a big country like the United States, how do you train high
school teachers?
Prof. Chang: We hold regional professional development workshops and do
videoconferences. Everything is web-based. The teachers download the
text, but we send the kits, which we produce. We also get
nanoresearchers involved in our training program. In another 15 to 20
years, we'll need about one million nano researchers in the U.S. and
one million each in Europe and Asia. So we need to start training now.
Q: And what about at the college level?
Prof. Chang: Right now young people from all corners of the world come
to the U.S. to get degrees in science, then they go back to their own
countries, China and India for example. So we're losing students that
we train. We need to attract more American high school students to
science and engineering, mainly by offering more federal fellowships.
Even with that, we need to look at the big picture-international
collaboration. I don't think any country can live independently anymore
because of the cost of global energy, environmental and health issues.
For example, if developed countries don't help developing countries,
there will be more global crises such as hunger, security, health,
pollution, etc. And because of limited global resources, developing
countries need to learn how to preserve and effectively use their
resources and develop new technology in their regions. Nanoscience
education and training will play a key role in their development.
Q: I understand you are trying to establish a global network to help
solve these problems.
Prof. Chang: Yes, the GNN - Global Nanotechnology Network - is part of
the Materials World Network, which has been supported by the National
Science Foundation and its counterpart agencies around the world. The
network just celebrated its 10th anniversary. Through the GNN,
collaboration can happen among all regions and countries of the world.
In May 2005 the GNN group met in Germany to identify four parallel
strands of the network: a database, research, large-scale facilities
and education.
Developing the database is the basis for getting the GNN
launched. The database will include nanoresearchers' names and
affiliations, as well as participating institutions, which will tell us
what kinds of facilities are available for common research. Linking
large-scale facilities allows nanoresearchers to carry out research
programs that otherwise would not be possible.
In the area of education, the GNN virtual library will contain
files of lectures, seminars, text information and educational modules.
If we get the GNN on its feet, we'll get to know each other better. And
as trust starts to build, we can develop programs that allow further
expansion and growth.
To that end, we are planning the establishment of a Global
School of Advanced Studies, where teams of young international
researchers would come together to study and do research. We have
already written a proposal to the National Science Foundation to help
establish such a school. We need participation from around the world,
so one of the purposes of this trip is to talk about all strands of the
GNN, especially the Global School of Advanced Studies which will serve
as an integrated project of the GNN. We are recruiting people from
throughout the world to buy into what we are trying to do, which is to
offer courses and perform team research in energy, environment and
health. By offering these topics simultaneously, we can also quickly
develop a database and locate facilities. My approach is to do it
without a lot of bureaucracy and get it going right away.
Q: That sounds like a terrific idea. How would you organize
participants and help them do experiments? Is it a kind of membership?
Prof. Chang: We would have a membership, but one without a fee. Then
we'd invite young members from throughout the world to attend sessions
of the Global School for Advanced Studies, where they can hear
international experts talk about the topics I mentioned: energy,
environment and health. These experts would serve as mentors to answer
questions such as "What are the global issues we can collectively
research?" and "What facilities can we use?" In about two weeks' time
we anticipate roughly 30 new research projects planned by teams of
young researchers from all parts of the world. Then, an executive
committee and advisory board would narrow down the topics to the best
two or three for cutting-edge research projects to be funded by hosting
institutions. They will also be able to send proposals to joint
government-funding programs. The new paradigm for the 21st century is
to find opportunities to carry out research together in a harmonious
and mutually beneficial way. **
Q: What we should ask you is what you wish for our Nanotechnology
Researchers Network Center of Japan. We have just uploaded our database
of nanotechnology research organization, Nano Tech Map. I hope that
meets your expectations.
Prof. Chang: I think your Center is doing an excellent job providing
the leadership in database for the GNN. We need to work together to
standardize our data files, so they will be compatible from different
regions of the world. Again, we thank you for doing such a great job.
We will follow your leadership in the years to come.
Q: Thank you very much.
** Since this interview, Prof. Chang has already gotten funding from
Taiwan National Science Council and the National Science Funding to
launch the first GSAS in Taiwan, September 19-29, 2006 on the topic
of "Advanced Solar Cell Research".
(Interviewers: Naoki Kishimoto, NIMS and Masahiro Takemura, nanonet)
For more information including figures,
http://www.nanonet.go.jp/english/mailmag/2006/072a.html
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YOUNG RESEARCHERS' INTRODUCTION
Nano-structure and magnetic properties for FePt ordered alloy films
with high coercivity
(Issued in Japanese: February 9, 2005)
Toshiyuki SHIMA, Associate Professor, Faculty of Engineering, Tohoku-
Gakuin University
The magnetization processes for assemblies of ferromagnetic nano-
particles with a large uniaxial magnetocrystalline anisotropy is of
great scientific and technological interest, since they can be used in
future magnetic devices, such as high-density perpendicular magnetic
recording media, artificial patterned media and nano-scale high
performance magnets. Recently, a lot of work have been made to process
FePt films and particles by conventional thin film preparation
techniques and a chemical synthesis technique, because the L10 ordered
FePt phase possesses a large uniaxial magnetocrystalline anisotropy.
However, high coercivity together with highly aligned crystal
orientation has been realized in only a few studies.
We have found that huge coercivities exceeding 70 kOe at room
temperature and 100 kOe at 4.5 K can be obtained in defect-free
perfectly aligned single domain FePt particles ( Fig.1). The difference
between the magnetization processes for single-domain particles and
multi-domain particles is demonstrated clearly by the initial
magnetization curves (Fig. 2). Nominal film thicknesses are 3 nm (a), 5
nm (b), 8 nm (c), 10nm (d), 12 nm (e), 15 nm (f), 18 nm (g), 20 nm (h),
25 nm (i), 30 nm (j) and 40nm (k). The films with single domain
particles are very difficult to be magnetized (Fig. 2 (a) and (b)).
Hence, the magnetization progresses only by magnetization rotation in
the particles. However, with increasing film thickness, the volume
fraction of multi-domain particles increases and consequently, the
fraction of the magnetization that is magnetized at a low magnetic
field, which corresponds to the magnetic domain wall displacement,
increases. These results provide valuable information not only for
theoretical analysis of magnetization processes in nano-meter scale
magnets but also for future possible magnetic applications.
For more information including figures,
http://www.nanonet.go.jp/english/mailmag/2006/072b.html
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