The 2nd International Conference on NanoTechnology and Advanced Materials was organized by the Federation of Hong Kong Machinery and Metal Industries (FMM), Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), and the Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC). The event was also supported by Asia Nano Forum (ANF), Institute of Textile and Clothing (PolyU), and Innovation and Technology Commission (ITC). The event this year has been very well attended, doubling the participant number of last year reaching over 600 attendants for the total 3 day event. Among them, 60% of participants are from local industries.
There where 42 speakers from 15 countries. There were many more invited speakers from the Asia Pacific region including Australia, China, Korea, and Japan as well as from Hong Kong giving Keynote Lectures on Day One. In addition to the first day Keynote talks, the event this year addressed six key industry application areas for nanotechnology and advanced materials, namely Smart Coatings and Nanopowders & Composite Materials which are full day sessions; Electronics & Photonics, Automobile & Components, Textiles and Environmental & Energy Storage which are half day sessions. The automobile & Components session is new this year.
The main Sponsoring industries include SAE Magnetics (electronics), ChenHsong (machinery), Jing Mei Industries (automotive parts), RAM-CHEM-Rambo Chemicals (chemical process technology), and Bayer MaterialScience and other organizations including HK French Consulate, various foundations and publishing companies such as Adsale Group (Textile, Plastics, Metals etc).
The conference this year did not receive direct government sponsorship although the HKUST contributed substantial funding to the event. The strong participation from local industries indicated an industry driven effort in promoting nanotechnology.
In particular the FMM is seen as a leader in promoting nanotechnology and its applications to HK and Pearl River Delta industries (the Greater Hong Kong Region). The example of the USA nanotech venture leader Zyvex Corporation is opening Zyvex Asia end of this year indicates that Hong Kong provides attractive business environment for nanotech business.
The event involved and was supported by a large community of industry network including H.K. Electro-Plating Trade Merchants Association,Hong Kong Automotive Parts Industry Association,Hong Kong Metal Manufacturers Association, Hong Kong Plastic Machinery Association, Hong Kong Metal Finishing Association, , Hong Kong Diecasting Association, Hong Kong Metal Merchants Association, and Society of Automotive Engineers - Hong Kong, Hong Kong Screw & Fastener Council and Hong Kong Foundry Association. It was also supported by the local German, British and French Consulate as well as the Canada Natural Resources which is also a co-organizer.
Details of the conference program can be viewed at the event site www.hkpc.org/ianc.
Like events elsewhere, the R & D participants have the largest percentage among all (about 20%), and surface finishing related industries, chemical industry and textile industries are the majority. See Fig.1 for more details.
Different from events elsewhere, the industry participants has very strong and focused interest in how nanotechnology can be applied to their related industry. Clearly coating technologies, composite materials, and textiles are very popular areas for nanotechnology applications. This year the electronics & photonics area has shown much strong interest than last year. On the other hand, environmental application was not terribly popular, it might be due to the fact that it was placed in the last session of the conference.
|