2013 Nanotech Commercialization Conference Announces Keynote Lineup

RESEARCH TRIANGLE, NC, March 01, 2013 (Press-News.org) Global technology leaders will descend upon North Carolina for the 5th Annual Nanotech Commercialization Conference (NCC), hosted by the Center of Innovation for Nanobiotechnology (COIN), the NanoBusiness Commercialization Association (NanoBCA) and the North Carolina Office of Science & Technology on April 9-10, 2013. Corporate, investor, start-up and academic leaders will all be in attendance at this cutting edge event. The early registration rate of $150 ($75 for students) is available now at: http://nanoevent.org/node/35/.

Nanotechnology is rapidly transforming a variety of industries, from medicine and manufacturing, to filtration and energy. Since the passage by the U.S. Congress of the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research & Development Act in 2003, the U.S. has spent over $24 billion on developing the science of nanotechnology. This science is rapidly becoming the business of nanotechnology, creating thousands of new start-ups and jobs, bolstering nearly every industry around the globe, and bringing life-changing innovations to market.

"We're honored to co-host an event of this caliber in NC. This event, in its 5th year, has consistently attracted top nanotech commercialization minds from around the globe. The strong interest in this event reflects a growing awareness of and interest in North Carolina's world-class nanotech cluster," said Griffith Kundahl, Executive Director of COIN.

Vincent Caprio, Executive Director of the NanoBCA, has tracked nanotech companies for fifteen years. "The impact nanotechnologies have already made to improving our daily lives is awe-inspiring, particularly in the medical device and drug delivery sectors. I can't wait to see what the next ten years holds now that the sector is firmly established. There is no doubt that the nanotechnology community will be a major contributor to American job growth," said Mr. Caprio.

The full Nanotech Commercialization Conference agenda can be viewed at: http://www.nanoevent.org/node/57

The Nanotech Commercialization Conference is designed to be a venue for networking with fellow professionals and keeping up with the cutting edge developments of nano. The conference will feature a dynamic lineup of Keynote Speakers, including:

- Dr. Mihail C. Roco, Senior Advisor for Nanotechnology, National Science Foundation. Dr. Roco, the architect and leading voice over the past twenty years of the U.S. Federal Government's National Nanotechnology Initiative, will give a forward-looking presentation entitled, "New Generations of Nanotechnology Products."

- Anthony Atala, M.D., Director of the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine is world-renowned in the field of regenerative medicine. His work, focused on growing new human cells, tissues and organs, has earned him numerous honors including: Scientific American, Medical Treatments Leader of the Year; Time Magazine's top 10 medical breakthroughs of the year; Discover Magazine's Number 1 Top Science Story of the Year in the field of medicine; Dr. Atala was featured in U.S. News & World Report as one of 14 Pioneers of Medical Progress in the 21st Century; and his was listed by Smithsonian Magazine as one of 40 things to know about the next 40 years; and his work was also listed by Time Magazine as one of the top 5 medical breakthroughs of the year.

- Scott E. Rickert, Ph.D., is President, Co-Founder & CEO of NanoFilm, a California-based company that is the world-class manufacturer of nanocoatings and other products. In addition to the U.S., NanoFilm has operations in Europe and China.

- Scott Livingston is Chairman & CEO of Livingston Securities. Livingston, a veteran of two decades of work in emerging technology investment, is Wall Street's expert on nanotechnology. Livingston Securities is based in New York City and provides emerging technology investment banking, advisory and brokerage services to a wide variety of clients, including public and private corporations, institutional and high net worth investors, governments and universities.

- Dr. Sally Tinkle is Deputy Director, National Nanotechnology Coordination Office ("NNCO"). The NNCO coordinates approximately $1.8 billion a year of federal funding on nanotech research and development, which involves over 25 separate federal agencies.

- Prof. David L. Carroll, Ph.D., is one of the world's preeminent nanotech researchers and innovators. He is based in Winston-Salem, NC where he serves as Director, Nanotechnology & Molecular Materials, Wake Forest University.

- Douglas W. Jamison is Chairman of the Board, CEO & Managing Director of New York City based Harris & Harris Group, Inc. Formed in 1981, Harris and Harris Group has grown into a publicly traded venture capital firm that, since 2002, has invested over $140 million in over 50 nanotechnology-enabled companies with technology originating at some of the world's leading research institutions. This investment has been leveraged with over $1 billion in additional venture financing from some of the world's leading venture investors.

- Jim Phillips, Chairman/CEO of Arkansas based NanoMech, is a seasoned and extremely successful emerging technology executive who is internationally credited with being instrumental in launching instant messaging, the PDA, Cable Modem, PCS, Fixed Cellular, Time Magazine's Medical Invention of the Year - the VeinViewer, and iPix, at the time, the world's largest provider of digital imaging infrastructure for the internet, in such areas as online real estate, auction listings, and classified ads.

The conference will be held at Wake Forest Biotech Place in the Piedmont Triad Research Park, located at 575 N. Patterson Avenue, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, 27101.

Sponsors for the Nanotech Commercialization Conference include:

CytoViva, Inc., Senn Dunn Insurance, The Joint School of Nanoscience & Nanoengineering (JSNN), Gateway University Research Park, Womble Carlyle, Foley & Lardner LLP, nanoTox, Inc., and Xemerge.

This is a partial list of Sponsors. Click here www.nanoevent.org for a complete list.

About the NanoBCA www.nanobca.org: The NanoBusiness Commercialization Association was founded in 2001 as the "NanoBusiness Alliance," the first nonprofit association focused on the commercialization of nanotechnologies. Through its extensive network of leading start-ups, Fortune 500 companies, research institutions, non-governmental organizations and public-private partnerships, the Association shapes national nanotechnology policy and helps accelerate the commercialization of nanotechnology innovations. The NanoBusiness Commercialization Association is based in Washington, D.C. and Shelton, CT.

About COIN www.nanobiotech.org: Established in 2009, COIN is a nonprofit, virtual center of innovation for nanobiotechnology and nanotechnology based in North Carolina. COIN supports those organizations that are most-impacted by the convergence of nano (advanced materials) and bio (life sciences) by ensuring that they have immediate structured access to all relevant resources and a conduit to key regulatory agencies impacting the field. COIN is a premier source of networking opportunities, information, and tailored innovation services that address client needs and catalyze and advance commercialization of nanobiotechnology. Through a network of academic and emerging company researchers, COIN provides access to a myriad of nano-biotechnologies that may be applied across a range of life science sectors. COIN provides a single point of entry to the nanobiotechnology community, connecting key players at the intersection of advanced materials and life sciences.

About the North Carolina Office of Science and Technology: The North Carolina Office of Science and Technology, a division of the North Carolina Department of Commerce, encourages, promotes, and supports scientific, engineering, and industrial research applications in North Carolina. The mission of the Office is to improve the economic well-being and quality of life of all North Carolinians through advancing science, technology, and innovation. The Office is focused on accelerating North Carolina's next generation of technology and technology companies. The Office investigates new areas of emerging science and technology and studies the competitiveness of North Carolina industry and research institutions in these fields. The Office also works with the North Carolina General Assembly and the Governor to put into place the infrastructure that keeps North Carolina on the cutting edge of science and technology.

For more information on the Nanotech Commercialization Conference, see: www.nanoevent.org. For those interested in speaking at this groundbreaking event, please contact Vincent Caprio at Vincent@nanobca.org. For sponsorship inquiries, please contact Griffith Kundahl at griff@nanobiotech.org.