In 1999, in anticipation of the college's 125th anniversary, a group of faculty and students recognized the need for ways to celebrate the contributions of the natural sciences and mathematics to St. Olaf, the study of the liberal arts, and to society. Out of that grew the vision for this symposium, which has three principle goals: to highlight undergraduate research in biology, chemistry, mathematics, physics, psychology, and related subjects; to provide the greater community with an opportunity to explore a topic in contemporary research; and to enable the St. Olaf community and the public to interact with invited guests working at the forefront of their fields. On Honors Day each year, people gather to celebrate science, engage in fellow-ship, and learn from one another.

Major funding for the symposium is provided by the Paul & Mildred Hardy Distinguished Professorship in the Sciences. Additional funding is provided by gifts from: Ms. Madeleine Jacobs, Editor-in-Chief, Chemical and Engineering News.

This Year's Theme: Nanoscience

"Big Questions, Small-Scale Solutions. New Frontiers in Nanoscience."

Nanoscience, an exciting, emerging, highly interdisciplinary, broad area of natural science and mathematics, studies materials and systems whose structures or components exhibit novel and significantly improved physical, chemical, and biological properties, phenomena, and processes due to their nanoscale size. The diameter of a single human hair easily dwarfs the dimension of objects examined; the nanoworld ranges from 10-9 to 10-7 meters (1 to 100 nanometers). Individual atoms and molecules compose the lower end of this range and the collective behavior of trillions of atoms frame the bulk properties of materials at the upper end. Each significant advance in understanding the physical/chemical/biological properties and fabrication principles of these materials, as well as in the development of predictive methods to control them, is likely to lead to major advances in the ability to design, fabricate and assemble the nanostructures and nanodevices into a working system. Nanoscale research and development is motivated by the impressive potential for economic return and social benefit, including continued improvement in electronics/electrooptics for information technology; higher-performance, lower-maintenance materials for manufacturing, defense, space, and environmental applications; and accelerated biotechnology advances in medical, health care, and agriculture. Nanoscience may make it possible to:

• Shrink the entire contents of the Library of Congress into a device the size of a sugar cube through a thousand-fold increase in memory storage per unit surface area;
• Make materials and products from the bottom-up by taking advantage of atom and molecule self-organization and self-assembly. Bottom-up manufacturing should require less material and decrease pollution;
• Develop materials that are 10 times stronger than steel, but at a fraction of the weight making all kinds of land, sea, air and space vehicles lighter and more fuel efficient;
• Improve the computer speed and efficiency of minuscule transistors and memory chips by factors of millions making Pentium IIIs and 4s seem slow;
• Use gene and drug delivery to detect cancerous cells by nanoengineered imaging contrast agents or target organs in the human body;
• Develop analytical tools capable of characterizing the chemical and mechanical properties of cells (including processes such as cell division and locomotion) and to measure properties of single molecules;
• Construct remote or in-vivo sensor/repair systems that detect and correct emerging disease in the body, ultimately shifting the focus of patient care from disease treatment to early detection and prevention;
• Remove the finest contaminants from water and air and to promote a cleaner environment and potable water;
• Double the energy efficiency of solar cells.

For more information on the National Nanotechnology Initiative, click on www.nni.gov.

Speakers

NAOMI J. HALAS (Rice University) will describe nanoparticle systems involved in manipulating, trapping, or generating light, and the pitfalls and possible applications of these materials.

CHRISTOPHER MONROE (University of Michigan) will share with us his insights about how a future generation of computers will store and process information using individual atoms or ions, thus leading to an exponential increase in speed over today's computers.

J. MICHAEL RAMSEY (Oak Ridge National Laboratory) will explore the transport of fluids through fabricated nanoconduits — the means by which our bodies move fluid and accompanying molecules to specific locations — in terms of how these systems function on this small scale.

ST. OLAF STUDENT SCIENTISTS will present their work at a Poster Session. Projects cover a wide range of areas including molecular biology, the basis of perception, surface chemistry, atomic structure, paleo-ecology and applied mathematics.

Download a brochure!

Download a conference brochure (PDF) for printing and sharing.

Past Symposia Themes

2001: Neuroscience: Exploring the Brain, from Molecules to Behavior
2000: New Science for the New Century: Challenges for the Future

St. Olaf College

The Symposium takes place at St. Olaf College, a private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minn., approximately 30-45 minutes south of the Twin Cities. Many of the events will take place in the college's state of the art student union, the Buntrock Commons.

Driving directions:

From Interstate 35, exit at Minnesota Highway 19 (exit 69) and go east toward Northfield. The main entrance to the campus is five miles east of the interstate, on your left as you near the Northfield city limits.

From US 52, exit at Cannon Falls to Minnesota Highway 19. Follow Highway 19 through Northfield. The college entrance is on your right.

For more information ....

Contact members of the Science Symposium committee at scisymp@stolaf.edu.