Nano Republic Award Winners

The results of Larta's 2003 Nano Republic Awards contest were announced July 10 at the 2003 Nano Republic Conference in Pasadena, California. The 2003 Nano Republic Awards recognized today's most important products and services in Nanotechnology.

The Nano Republic Award for Most Promising Innovation went to Quantum Dot Corporation (QDC), which develops and sells novel solutions to accelerate life science research. QDC's products and services employ quantum dot (Qdot™) particles, tiny semiconductor crystals developed at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Melbourne, and Indiana University. These nanometer-sized Qdot™ particles have unique, highly desirable properties that make them a superior detection platform for nucleic acids and proteins. Qdot™ particles provide massively parallel, yet simple and inexpensive solutions for a plethora of problems in drug discovery and development. These problems include the need for more biologically relevant information and better sensitivity, as well as easy-to-use, high-throughput, low-cost assays.

The Nano Republic Award for Most Promising Application was shared by Hybrid Plastics and Shea Technology Group, Inc. (STG). Hybrid Plastics manufactures the first-ever Nanostructured™ hybrid inorganic-organic chemical feedstock technology. The technology is based on a class of chemicals called Polyhedral Oligomeric Silsesquioxanes or (POSS®). POSS®-materials are termed hybrid due to their combined inorganic (silicon based) and organic (carbon based) nature and can be viewed as discrete, chemically-modified particles of silica having dimensions at the nanometer scale. Incorporation of POSS® into traditional plastics results in polymeric nanocomposites which show increased heat resistance and hardness, as well as decreased flammability and heat evolution, among the many other advantages relative to traditional plastics. POSS® technology has numerous applications in biological systems, pharmaceuticals, electronics, medical plastics, consumer products, and in construction and transportation markets.

Shea Technology Group is and has been the leading consulting firm in wireless and telecom integrated MCM technology and form factor, and ASIC integration. STG focuses on DECT, cellular, PDA, LAN, WLAN, Bluetooth, pager. STG execution of the wireless/telecom product MCM and ASIC integration supports for semiconductor firms, end system firms, MCM foundries (NOTE: MCM is wireless technology integrator), hardware emulation, virtual prototyping, and ATE. STG has a long history in supporting EDA firms in focusing on wireless technology market penetration and closing P.O. for tools sales and consulting service, along with hardware emulation and virtual prototyping.

Companies in the following nano technology industries were encouraged to apply: Coatings and Thin Films, Consumer Goods, Drug Delivery, Electronics or Semiconductor Technology, Fabrication, Instrumentation, Materials, Medical Devices, Other Devices, Other Life Science Applications, Quantum Computing, and Sensors. For the Nano Republic Awards, Nanotechnology was defined within the classic NSF definition of Nanotechnology, but also included Nano in more than one dimension (i.e., thin films) as well as fabrication processes that fall below 100 nm (i.e., 90 NM interconnects).

Larta would like to thank all those who participated in the Nano Republic Awards and looks forward to making the Nano Republic Awards an annual event.

Coming soon from Larta Research, Nanotechnology Industry white paper.

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