This year, the conference will focus in cross-cutting way on different topics, not necessarily related to micro-and nanotechnologies. The impact of technologies and innovations broadly speaking on science and production will revolutionise many sectors such as security, food safety and environmental technology. NanoInnovation 2021 will place special emphasis on different fields and topics: from nanomaterials and nano-devices to nano-biotechnology, from health and environmental/energy safety to smart textiles, quantum technology and 3D manufacturing.

In this page, you can discover all the topics that will be deepened during the conference and the related thematic symposia, workshops and special events.

Multi-track sessions with parallel thematic symposia are scheduled on September 22 - 23 - 24. Each of the twelve multi-track sessions will include at least 4 parallel thematic symposia, each of them of 90 minutes. Some thematic symposia are part of workshops and special events while others are organized independently.

Environment is a cross-cutting and interdisciplinary topic, related and depending to population growth, patterns of production, international trade and rapid technological progress. In this context, technology and green technology are playing an increasingly central role at European and global level. Green tech refers to a type of technology that is considered environmentally friendly based on its production process or its supply chain. The developments of this new way of seeing and conceiving technology offer significant opportunities for economic growth and societal well-being but nevertheless pose challenges and uncertainties. Furthermore, materials science plays a key role also in the development of energy applications and technologies, rising from generation to storage, conversion and distribution. Among this field, nanomaterials are extremely promising: their high aspect ratio and short diffusion pathways, combined with their compatibility with advanced manufacturing techniques, allow the design and production of highly efficient and easy to use energy devices. However, in order to have a real impact on everyday life, it is crucial to scale-up the synthetic processes, joining the laboratory issues with the market demand. During the conference, the following issues will be discussed:

With the world’s population expected to exceed nine billion by 2050, scientists are working to develop new ways to meet rising global demand for food, energy and water without increasing the strain on natural resources and the environmental pressure. Organizations including the World Bank, and the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, as well as the EU F2F and Green Deal strategies are calling for more innovation to address the challenges of the agri-food sector. The development of AgriNanoTechniques has been started very recently; they will be implemented within the evolving science of precision agriculture, in which farmers use technology to target their use of water, fertilizer, plant protection products and other inputs. A second, broad potential application concerns the issues of reduction and valorization of agri-food wastes. The introduction of nanotechnologies in agriculture still need deepen basic and applied knowledge, however several promising results were achieved, so far. A huge development is taking place in this sector, therefore nanotech applications currently under development will soon be overtaken by other ideas that are expected to contribute to solve several issues in the field of sustainable agriculture. NanoInnovation 2021 hosts the 5th edition of the workshop “AgriNanoTechniques” co-organized by the Universities of Parma, Tuscia, Udine and the Italian National Institute of Health (ISS). The workshop will be the forum for discussing the perspective of nanotechnologies in the primary sector among the stakeholders and scientific research.

Health is a very wide field. The link between health and technology is very complex and is evolving rapidly and continuously due to numerous discoveries in both fields. This can depend on the application of organized knowledge and skills in the form of devices, medicines, procedures and systems developed to solve a health problem and improve quality of lives. During NanoInnovation 2021, we will focus on the most recent advances in these fields ranging from biomedical engineering, diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, monitoring devices and much more.

Developing, designing, producing and using micro- and nano electronics technologies is an enabling factor for any company willing to exploit the opportunities offered by the digital transformation. The conference will present an overview of the current state of the art of micro- and nanoelectronics, covering the field from fundamental science and material properties to novel ways of making nanodevices. As one of the key enabling technologies (KET), micro– nanoelectronics are one of the most interesting topic in the field of nanotechnology.

Quantum technology is an emerging field of physics and engineering, which relies on the principles of quantum physics. Nanofabrication and material engineering on the nanoscale plays a crucial role in many of the emerging fields in quantum technology like secure communication, biomedical imaging, ultrasensitive sensors or quantum computing. Bringing these technologies out of the research laboratories to real world applications requires still a tremendous effort also in the fields of material engineering and optimisation of devices and components applied. Many quantum technologies are based on the generation, manipulation and measurements of few or even single photons with well-defined and engineered optical properties. During the conference we will deepen all the following themes:

The exponential growth of nanotechnologies in recent years has required rapid development of nanoscience and in particular of microscopy and characterization techniques. Understanding these topics has become a fascinating field of research in continuous evolution. Moreover, a remarkable feature of these issues lies in its multidisciplinary nature as it finds application in physics, chemistry and biology. During the conference we will deepen all the following themes:

The textiles industry is a significant sector in the global economy, operating in an almost completely linear way: large amounts of non-renewable resources are extracted to produce or finish materials that are often used for only a short time. This leads to numerous negative environmental and societal impacts. Approaching natural-source chemicals and material circularity through minimising waste is an essential component of strategies to secure the sustainability of the planetary environment. Smart textiles and their link with LCA will be examined in the following symposia:

3D printing is the construction of a three-dimensional object from a CAD model or a digital 3D model. The term "3D printing" can refer to a variety of processes in which material is deposited, joined or solidified under computer control to create a three-dimensional object, with material being added together (such as plastics, liquids or powder grains being fused together), typically layer by layer. This year, this topic will receive a wide attention during the conference, as it has become increasingly innovative.

The application of nanosciences and nanotechnologies and the preparation of new nanostructured or monofunctional materials and molecular, supramolecular or nanometric devices for diagnostics, conservation, monitoring and maintenance of cultural heritage with different types of matter (paintings on canvas / table, paintings murals, glass, ceramics, stone material, etc.) have been the subject of an intense scientific study by many universities and research centres. During the conference we will deepen the following themes:

Aerospace is definitely one of the field where the impact of the innovation is the most important. This is the direct consequence of the need for excellence related to the extreme conditions of operation, the very demanding specifications, the complexity of the equipment and the need for high level of reliability (very low rates of failure).

Innovative technologies, including nanotechnologies, represent, in recent decades, an important opportunity to improve human living conditions especially in healthy fields (pharmaceutical, cosmetic and food) and materials sciences. The focus of this special event is to evaluate the current status of the research. In particular, we’ll analyze both very innovative aspects, i.e. regenerative medicine by means of steam cells and 3D Print Technologies, and traditional routes of administration revaluated thanks to the most modern approaches.

An interesting aspect of the special event “YoungInnovation the state of research” presented by those who daily works in laboratory to produce innovation.

Technology transfer (TT), is the process of transferring (disseminating) technology from one organisation to another or from one purpose to another. It refers to the process of conveying results from scientific and technological research to the market place, as it is an intrinsic part of the technological innovation process. Technology transfer ensures that scientific and technological developments will be available to a wider range of users who can then develop or exploit it. It can occur horizontally across different areas or vertically by moving technologies from research centres and universities to research and development teams. It can involve also non-scientific and non-technological factors, and many different stakeholders. Today, technology transfer is a fast-growing activity in the global research and development system, and it will be examined during the conference in the following symposia: