Information station: IOP Publishing booth 114

Next week, TMR+ will be reporting from the MRS Fall meeting in Boston, US, so do bookmark the blog and check back from Monday (2 Dec) evening for daily highlights from the show.

Topics on the radar include – synthesis and energy storage properties of 2D materials; nanomaterials design for advanced rechargeable batteries; bio-inspired synthesis and assembly of functional materials; efficient, high-speed roll-to-roll CVD of graphene; and skutterudite materials (and modules) for automotive waste heat recovery.

But that’s just a taster, you can find the full programme at www.mrs.org/fall2013

Unlocking materials innovation
Organized by John Busbee (Xerion Advanced Battery Corporation), Alan Brown (ICStrategies), Jeffrey T. Glass (Duke University) and Patti Glaza (Arsenal Venture Partners) – Technology Innovation Forum VI is all about the art of translating materials science innovations into successful businesses.

The day-long event, which takes place on Wednesday (4 Dec), brings together industry leaders, venture capitalists (VCs) and developers to examine what it really takes to get ideas out of the lab and into the market.

Here, Matthew Nordan of VC firm Venrock will start the session by looking at ways to short-cut the long adoption cycles and high-capital requirements that can make the materials science sector a tough environment for start-ups.

Partnerships are one way of navigating around some of these obstacles, and Nordan’s opening talk is followed by a panel discussion looking at the ways that large and small companies can work together.

Production know-how
Another session not to be missed is – Transitioning new materials from lab to manufacturing – which explores how researchers can develop and find the expertise to scale-up their concepts to market volumes in a cost-effective manner. On hand with ideas and know-how will be Travis Earles (Lockheed Martin), Robert Kumpf (Plextronics), Susan Babinec (ARPA-E) and Manish Mehta (National center for manufacturing sciences).

Other highlights in the technology innovation forum programme include – “Perks and pitfalls”, “Resources and support”, “Roadmaps for early-stage entrepreneurship”, and an unvarnished look at the “Life and times of a serial entrepreneur”.

See you there.

And if you can’t make it to Boston, don’t forget that you can watch the live stream via MRS OnDemand.