Clarkson CAMP Director Founding Member of Indus Nanotechnology Association

Posted: December 5, 2007
Clarkson CAMP Director Founding Member of Indus Nanotechnology Association
(Nanowerk News) Indian Americans are increasingly contributing to new generation technologies, particularly in nanotechnology, which is expected to transform our lives in a significant way.
At a Nanotechnology and Nano-Bio Convergence conference organized in conjunction with the 2007 Chem Show at the Javits Convention Center in New York City earlier this fall, seven of the 14 invited speakers were Indian Americans from academic, research, government and industry.
The conference was organized by Dr. Thomas Abraham, President of Innovative Research and Products (iRAP), Inc., a Stamford, Conn., firm conducting industry and market analysis of new generation technologies.
S.V. Babu, Clarkson University Distinguished University Professor and Director of the University's New York State-supported Center for Advanced Materials Processing (CAMP), spoke at the meeting, where CAMP was also cosponsor of a symposium.
With large number of Indian American professionals in the nanotechnology industry, a group of U.S. "nanotechies" have decided to form The Indus Nanotechnology Association, which will have as members not only entrepreneurs and businessmen, but also researchers, technologists and investors. Since Nanotechnology, along with related fields such as Nanomaterials, Nano-Bio Convergence, Nanoelectronics, Nanomedicine and other areas are growing leaps and bound, the Indian American group assembled at the conference felt that there are opportunities to organize this area for mutual benefits of its members.
The group's initiators are Babu; Thomas Abraham, president of Innovative Research and Products (iRAP), Inc.; P. Somasundaran, LaVon Duddleson Krumb Professor of Mineral Engineering and director, NSF Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Novel Surfactants, Columbia University; Brij Moudgil, Distinguished Professor and Alumni Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, and director of Particle Engineering Research Center, University of Florida, Gainesville; Ganesh Skandan, CEO, NEI Corporation, Somerset, N.J.; and Challa Kumar, group leader, Nanofabrication, Center for Advanced Microstructures and Devices, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge.
The new group will provide a platform for Indian-origin nanotechnology researchers, technologists, entrepreneurs and investors to exchange ideas and provide networking opportunities among the nanotechnology professionals so as to advance the field and create new areas of business. It will also create interactive and cooperative efforts between nanotechnology professionals and entrepreneurs living outside India with their counterparts in India. The new group will organize international and regional meetings to promote new technologies and to provide opportunities for technology developers to meet with potential investors.
Nanotechnology is termed by many as the "next big thing" among the emerging technologies. Literally, "nano-" represents 0.000000001, or 10-9, an extremely small quantity with enormous implications for the miniaturization-driven technology of the 21st century. The National Science Foundation has estimated the nanotechnology enabled market to reach $1 trillion by 2015.
Babu has been at Clarkson University since 1981, also serving as the vice provost of research from 2001-2004. He graduated with a B.Tech. in chemical engineering from Andhra University and an M. Tech from IIT, Kharagpur, both in India. After attending Johns Hopkins University and completing his Ph.D. in physics from SUNY at Stony Brook, and (visiting) research appointments at the Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen, International Center for Theoretical Physics in Trieste and New York University, he was on the faculty in the chemical engineering department at IIT, Kanpur, in India till 1980.
His current research covers interdisciplinary areas spanning materials processing for microelectronic device fabrication. Utilizing the expertise in colloid and fine particle science, he started and led the internationally renowned research program in chemical-mechanical planarization (CMP), at Clarkson and CAMP, an enabling technology for fabricating multilevel metallization interconnect structures for advanced logic and memory devices. He has advised or co-advised 30 Ph.D. and 32 M.S. students, so far, with many of them occupying leadership positions in the semiconductor industry.
Babu has published more than 200 papers in reviewed journals and conference proceedings, is the co-author of 24 patents, some of which are producing royalties to the University, and co-edited three books. He has organized the annual International Lake Placid CMP conference for the last twelve years and was a keynote speaker at many international conferences. He received an IBM 2004 faculty award and other awards at CHEMCON 2003, India, and 2002 KSIEC Fall Meeting, Korea. Babu is also a member of the multimillion dollar club at Clarkson.
Clarkson University, located in Potsdam, New York, is a private, nationally ranked university with a reputation for developing innovative leaders in engineering, business, the sciences, health sciences and the humanities. Clarkson's 3, 000 high-ability students excel in an environment where learning is not only positive, friendly and supportive but spans the boundaries of traditional disciplines and knowledge. Faculty members achieve international recognition for their research and scholarship and connect students to their leadership potential in the marketplace through dynamic, real-world problem solving.

Source: Clarkson University