Tuesday
Feb
18
2025
12:00 EST
Contact Info

Michael Filler

Rebecca Grieco

Location
Marcus Nanotechnology Building 1116-1118
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Systems Matter Seminar | Environmental Nanotechnology: A Case Study in Sustainability by Design

The Systems Matter Seminar Series brings experts in the areas of materials, devices, and processes together once a month to share innovative research in those areas. The seminar series meets during the academic year at noon in the Marcus Nanotechnology Building conference rooms (1116-1118).

Abstract: An early concern, expressed some 25 years ago, was that the novel properties associated with size might also translate into previously un-recognized modes of toxicity to organisms and ecosystems that might be generalized to the entire class of “nanomaterials.” The premise of this presentation is that experience developed in proactively evaluating possible risks presented by nanomaterials serves as a template for the more general case of evaluating the risks presented by a continually evolving landscape of new or “novel” materials, as well as legacy materials such as plastics  Key discoveries obtained through major research efforts in the Center for the Environmental Implications of Nanotechnology (CEINT) over the last two decades are summarized in the context of lessons-learned that might be applied in the future when considering the sustainability of new materials. Specific examples include methods for studying particle toxicity and determining dose-response relationships, the potential for bioüptake, bioaccumulation, translocation, trophic transfer and intergenerational effects of particulate contaminants, extrapolations from laboratory experiments to complex systems, the use of “functional assays” to predict the impacts of materials the need for  data platforms and curation methods. 

 

Mark R. Wiesner holds the James B. Duke Chair in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Duke University. His considers applications of nanomaterials to membrane science and water treatment and an examination of the environmental impacts of materials. Professor Wiesner initiated some of the earliest work in the US on low-pressure membranes for water treatment. He pioneered the area of environmental nanotechnology and served as the Director of the Center for the Environmental Implications of Nanotechnology (CEINT). Dr. Wiesner holds a B.A. in Mathematics and Biology from Coe College, an M.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Iowa, a Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from the Johns Hopkins University, and did post-doctoral work in Chemical Engineering at ENSIC, Nancy, France. Professor Wiesner is a 2004 de Fermat Laureate (France), the 2011 recipient of the Clarke Water Prize and was elected to the U.S. National Academy of Engineering in 2015.