In the past few years, progress has been achieved in the synthesis as well as structural, physical, and chemical characterization of materials with structural scales in the range of 1-100nm that exhibit size-dependent properties. Among the newly developed materials, nanobelts, nanowires, and nanorings of metal oxides, hybrid inorganic-organic composites and biodoped materials have been tested as gas-sensing devices. These materials are the focus of this symposium. Leading experts from the fields of nanomaterials, chemical, and biochemical sensors will get together to discuss the state of the art and to define future research directions.

The proposed symposium will cover the following areas:

• Synthesis and characterization of gas-sensing materials
• Gas-nanophase interactions
• Interaction of inorganic and biological materials in composites
• Nanostructures
• Sensor devices, and electronic noses and tongues
• DNA detection
• Immunosensors
• Biochemical sensors

Invited speakers (partial list) include: B.S. Dunn (Univ. of California-Los Angeles), C.A. Grimes (Pennsylvania State Univ.), C.G. Granqvist (Uppsala University, Sweden), A. Kolmakov (Carbondale Univ.), J.R. Morante (Univ. of Barcelona, Italy), K.S. Suslick (Univ. of Illinois-Urbana), and Z.L. Wang (Georgia Inst. of Technology).

Elisabetta Comini
INFM Unita de ricerca di Brescia
Dept. of Chemistry & Physics, via Valotti 9
Brescia, I-25133
Brescia, Italy
Tel 39-3-371-5706
Fax 39-3-209-1271
comini@tflab.ing.unibs.it

Pelagia Irene Gouma
State University of New York-Stony Brook
Dept. of Materials Science & Engineering
314 Old Engineering Bldg.
Stony Brook, NY 11794-2275
Tel 631-632-4537
Fax 631-632-8052
pgouma@notes.cc.sunysb.edu

Vincenzo Guidi
University of Ferrara
Dept. of Physics, via Paradiso 12
I-44100 Ferrara, Italy
Tel 39-532-974-284
Fax 39-532-974-210
guidi@fe.infn.it

David Kubinski
Ford Motor Company
SRL MD 3028
P.O. Box 3028 (20000 Rotunda Dr.)
Dearborn, MI 48124
Tel 313-322-3810
Fax 313-845-5328
dkubinsk@ford.com