BECON MEETING MINUTES

BECON MEETING – JANUARY 16, 2002

Minutes

The NIH Bioengineering Consortium (BECON) met from 3 to 5 PM on Wednesday, January 16, 2002, in Room 151 of Building l on the NIH Main Campus. The meeting was an entirely closed (members only) session. The following text provides the minutes of this meeting.

NIBIB Task Force to Review FY2000 Bioengineering and Imaging Grants – In response to a Congressional request, a task force has been assembled to evaluate bioengineering and imaging grants for all NIH institutes with regard to applicability to the mission of the NIBIB. A status report on the effort was presented including the Congressional basis, a history of recent IH activities with regard to NIBIB grant transfers, and plans of the task force.

BRP Letters of Intent – A total of 55 letters of intent have been received for the January 24, 2002, deadline for BRP applications. Discussion was also held concerning assignment of BRP applications of interest to specific institutes/centers.

BRP Grantee Meeting - The second BRP Grantee Meeting is scheduled for March 25-26 at the Bethesda Hyatt Hotel. Current plans are to have a l l/2 day interactive meeting with a format similar to the March 2001 Grantee Meeting with grantee presentations, NIH presentations on topics of interest, focused breakout sessions, and discussion opportunities. A BECON subcommittee is coordinating planning for this meeting.

BECON 2002 Sensor Symposium – Planning is proceeding for the BECON 2002 Symposium on Sensors which is scheduled for June 24-25 at the Natcher Conference Center. Several conference calls have been held with the extramural co-chairs, and a draft meeting agenda has been developed. The Symposium Web site is expected to be released by mid-January.

NIH Nanotechnology Opportunities – A list of applications of nanoscience and nanotechnology in future NIH biological and medical research was developed and discussed at the meeting.

NSF Conference on Converging Technology for Improving Human Performance – In mid-December 2001, the National Science Foundation held a conference on technologies to improve human performance. A brief description of the conference was provided at the meeting. Particular areas addressed included nanotechnology, information technology, biology, and cognition.

Future BECON Symposia - Discussion was held concerning future BECON symposia. The discussion primarily focused on (l) the value of the meetings and whether they should be continued, (2) periodicity of the conferences (which have traditionally been annual) and (3) potential topics for the next symposium. The consensus of the members was that the symposia were very valuable from the standpoints of NIH planning, fostering scientific and trans-disciplinary communication, dealing with topics of emerging national interest, and maintaining BECON visibility and relevance; and that they should be continued. With regard to periodicity, the consensus was to have the 2003 conference in June 2003 if possible and to evaluate the timing of the 2004conference in the summer of 2002. Several items were discussed as possible topics for the 2003 symposium.

Nanoscience Conference – A conference titled “Small Wonder: Exploring the Vast Potential of Nanoscience” is scheduled for March 19, 2002, at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, DC. A program, speakers, and exhibitors list was distributed at the meeting.

Next BECON Meeting - The next BECON Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, February 20, from 3 to 5 PM in Room 151 of Building l on the NIH Main Campus. A preliminary agenda will be available about a week before the meeting.