28th Annual Meeting of the Adhesion Society, 2005

This proposal requests funding to support the attendance of plenary lecturers and invited speakers at the 28th Annual Technical Meeting of the Adhesion Society, February 13-16,2005, in Mobile, Alabama. This meeting is typically attended by approximately 280 people and is the premier U.S. meeting in the interdisciplinary field of adhesion science and engineering. The meeting addresses marine adhesion, biofouling, micro-electromechanical systems, biological implants, tissue engineering, moving parts that exhibit friction and wear, and adhesion in sensor systems, in addition to the traditional adhesive joints. Attendees are of all ages and levels of experience and come from industry, government institutions, and academe. The Society integrates Ph.D. candidates and other young people into the field by sponsoring student travel awards and best student paper and poster awards. The meeting opens with a plenary session in the form of a symposium honoring a major contributor (in 2005, Professor Manoj Chaudhury of Lehigh--University) to the field of adhesion. The objectives of the meeting are: (I) explore and present the latest developments in fundamental knowledge of adhesion from nano- to macrolength scales, (2) spark new directions by cross-fertilizing the different sub fields of adhesion to spark new directions, (3) integrate young scientists into the adhesion community, (4) facilitate interaction among government, industry, and academia.