Dr. Ajit D. Kelkar is professor and chair of the Nanoengineering Department at the Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering. He also serves as associate director for the Center for Advanced Materials and Smart Structures at North Carolina A&T State University and is a member of NIA, ASME, SAMPE, AIAA, ASM, and ASEE. Currently he is involved in the development of nanoengineered multifunctional materials using carbon nanotubes (CNTs), boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs), electrospun nanofiber materials, and alumina nanoparticles. He also is working on atomistic modeling of polymers embedded with CNTs, BNNTs, and alumina nanoparticles; is involved in high-velocity impact modeling of ceramic matrix composites and polymeric matrix composites embedded with electrospun nanofibers; has published over 200 papers in these areas; and has edited a book on nanoengineered materials.Dr. Daniel Herr is professor and chair of the Nanoscience Department at the Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering. Previously he served as director of nanomanufacturing sciences for Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC). His research is focused on designed nanoengineered materials, advanced patterning and directed self-assembly, nanomanufacturing, formulation, process qualification and optimization, sustainable technologies, and advanced device design. Recently he was elected SPIE fellow and the AAAS Industrial Science and Technology section’s member-at-large. He is the inventor of several foundational patents and disclosures on defect tolerant patterning, controlled nanotube synthesis and placement, deterministic semiconductor doping, and ultimate CMOS devices. He serves as senior editor for IEEE Transactions in Nanotechnology and coordinating editor for the Journal of Nanoparticle Research. In 2005, he received the National Medal of Technology from SRC.Dr. James G. Ryan is the founding dean of the Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering. He previously served as associate vice president of technology and professor of nanoscience for the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) at the University at Albany, where he managed the cleanrooms and numerous consortia involving IBM, TEL, AMAT, and ASML. Prior to CNSE, he worked for IBM as distinguished engineer and director of advanced materials and process technology development; manager of interconnect technology groups in research, development, and manufacturing engineering areas; and site executive at Albany Nanotech. An author of over 100 publications, he is the recipient of numerous awards and holds 52 U.S. patents. His research interests include thin film deposition, interconnect technology, semiconductor manufacturing technology, and radiation hardened nanoelectronics.
