Birmingham and the International Convention Centre (ICC) have
won a lucrative bid to host a leading international conference on
nanotechnology.
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Nanotechnology Conference (IEEE NANO 2012), one of the biggest of
its kind in the world, will be held at the ICC from 20-23 August,
bringing 500 delegates to Birmingham to exchange information on
their latest research progress. It will feature speeches from world
renowned scientists and engineers in nanotechnology, including
Nobel Prize Laureate Professor Konstantin Novoselov, and will also
provide companies with the opportunity to promote equipment and
technology.
Professor Kyle Jiang, Professor of Nanotechnology and Research
Co-ordinator at the University of Birmingham's School of Mechanical
Engineering and Catherine Newhall-Caiger, Business Development
Director at the ICC bid for the event with support from Marketing
Birmingham. The collaborative bid was undertaken as part of the
Birmingham Ambassadors programme - an initiative which aims to
bring the city's leading academic figures together with the private
sector to showcase Birmingham's wealth of available expertise.
Newhall-Caiger said:
"As part of our business development programme we work closely
with organisers and with our partners in the city to ensure
prestigious conferences of this type are held in Birmingham. As a
venue and a city we are highly experienced when it comes to
supporting organisations who wish to bid for international
conferences and winning this conference serves to highlight how a
team approach can bring real benefits to associations seeking to
host high-profile conferences. We look forward to welcoming
delegates from across the world to our award-winning venue and
Birmingham."
Nanotechnology is a key theme of the Science City Research
Alliance (SCRA), a Birmingham Science City initiative which unites
the Universities of Birmingham and Warwick in research projects
across three core themes. Professor Jiang will chair the 2012
conference which is also supported by The Institute of
Physics.
Professor Jiang said:
"We are very pleased to be hosting this important conference in
Birmingham and at the ICC in particular. By focusing research at
nanometre scale, nanotechnology enables us to understand our world
in more detail and provides us with more opportunities to improve
the living conditions of mankind.
"The coming IEEE NANO 2012 conference will bring top scientists
and engineers of the field to Birmingham and West Midlands to
exchange the latest research findings and to visit the area where
the Industrial Revolution started and Shakespeare's literature was
born. The conference and its industrial exhibitions will provide
new ideas and technology to the region. We are looking forward to
showcasing this great city and the world-class facilities at the
ICC to delegates from across the world."
Ian Taylor, Commercial Director at Marketing Birmingham, the
city's strategic marketing partnership which operates Birmingham's
business tourism programme Meet Birmingham, said:
"Birmingham's reputation as the UK's meeting place and a global
events city has been further enhanced by the opportunity to stage
such a prestigious international conference this summer, which will
see leaders in nanotechnology travel here from all over the
world.
"With the conference expected to attract 500 delegates to the
ICC, the win demonstrates the importance of our Birmingham
Ambassadors programme and its role in bringing events to the
city."
More details can be found by visiting
http://www.ieee.org/conferences_events.