6^th Annual Nanotechnology Venture Forum
The Business of Nanotechnology – Showcasing the Most Promising Nanotechnology Companies
Thursday, January 25, 2007, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management (McNair Hall), Rice University

Register Online: click here
Advanced registration deadline is Tuesday, January 23rd at noon.  The first 400 registrants will receive a free copy of the book, Nanotechnology for Dummies!  (Note: last year, the book “sold out” well in advance of the event.)

The Rice Alliance, in conjunction with the Smalley Institute, is proud to host its 6^th Annual Nanotechnology Venture Forum on January 25, 2007 at the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management at Rice University. 

The forum will showcase twenty of the most promising nanotechnology start-up companies. Speakers will include leading venture capitalists, investors, and the world’s foremost experts in nanotechnology research and commercialization. Attendees will learn how nanotechnology will change our lives and shape the future of business.

Agenda
Thursday, January 25
8:00 – 9:00 AM              Registration, Breakfast & Networking

9:00 – 11:00 AM            Opening Speakers: “Nanotechnology 101: An Overview of Nanotechnology for the Rest of Us”

                                          - Dr. Jim Tour, Rice University
11:00 – Noon                 Presentations from Leading Nanotech Companies – Session I                    

NOON                           Lunch and Book Signing by Richard Booker, Co-author of Nanotechnology for Dummies

1:00 – 1:45 PM              Keynote Speaker: Thomas B. (“Tom”) Pickens, Texas Nanotech Ventures           

1:45 – 2:45 PM              Venture Capital / Investor Panel

2:45 – 3:15 PM              Networking Break

3:15 – 4:00 PM              Dr. Mauro Ferrari, UTHSC-Houston, & President, Alliance for NanoHealth                

4:00 – 5:00 PM              Presentations from Leading Nanotech Companies – Session II                    

5:00 – 6:30 PM              Networking Reception and Company Showcase

Keynote Speaker:
Thomas B. (“Tom”) Pickens III
Managing Director,
Texas Nanotech Ventures

Tom Pickens, son of oil legend T. Boone Pickens, is the Founder and Managing Director of Texas Nanotech Ventures. Texas Nanotech Ventures will be a $100 million fund, focusing on investing in promising nanotechnology companies.   

Pickens is also the Managing Partner and founder of Tactic Advisors, Inc. (“Tactic”) a company that specializes in corporate turnarounds on behalf of creditors and investors aggregating over $20 billion in value. Mr. Pickens has founded and served as Chairman and CEO for dozens of companies during the startup, growth and turnaround phases of a company’s lifecycle specializing in “value creation” that others have failed to identify and execute.

Other Speakers:
Dr. James M. Tour, Rice University
“Nanotechnology: An Overview of the Potential Impact and Opportunities”
Dr. Tour is one of the world’s leading authorities in the field of nanotechnology.  He holds 34 patents and has published over 300 articles.  His work has resulted in the formation of several nanotechnology start-up companies.  Earlier this fall, Tour was selected as the Innovator of the Year in Small Times magazine's Best of Small Tech Research Award competition.  He is the co-founder of NanoComposites.

Dr. Tour is Chao Professor of Chemistry, professor of mechanical engineering and materials science, professor of computer science and director of the Carbon Nanotechnology Laboratory in Rice's Richard E. Smalley Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology.


Dr. Mauro Ferrari
University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
“Nanomedicine: How Nanotechnology will Revolutionize Medicine”
Dr. Ferrari is a founder and leading authority of the field of biomedical nanotechnology, especially as it pertains to drug delivery, cell transplantation, implantable bioreactors, and other innovative therapeutic modalities. In these fields, he has published more than 100 papers and 2 books. Dr. Ferrari is the inventor of more than 20 issued patents, with about 30 more pending in the United States and internationally.  His work has resulted in four biomedical start-up companies.

Currently, Dr. Ferrari serves as: Professor, Brown Institute of Molecular Medicine, Chairman, Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Professor of Experimental Therapeutics, University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston TX., Professor of Bioengineering, Rice University, Houston TX., Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston TX. and President, the Texas Alliance for NanoHealth, Houston TX.

Nanotechnology Company Presenters include:
 - Applied Nanofluorescence

 - Armorsmith

 - BetaBatt

 - Carbon Nanotechnologies, Inc.

 - Composite Ceramic Technologies

 - LabNow                                    

 - Nano Science Diagnostics

 - NanoBioMagnetics
 - Nanomix

 - NanoRidge Materials

 - Nanospectra Biosciences                           

 - NanoTox

 - NatCore                                                     

 - Oxane Materials                                         

 - Smart Imaging Technologies

 - Xitronix                                                      

 - SWNT Fuel Cell Electrodes

Cost:
General Public: $50 in advance (must register online by noon on January 23^rd) / $60 at the door.
This event is free for current Rice Alliance members, full-time Rice faculty, staff, and students, and free for full-time students from an academic institution in the Texas Medical Center.
The first 400 online registrants will receive a copy of the book: Nanotechnology for Dummies

Register Online: click here

Membership:
To support the Rice Alliance and become a member, please click here or call us at 713-348-3443.  Members can attend the Nanotechnology Venture Forum and other events at no cost.

More Information:  713-348-3443 or email: alliance@rice.edu or www.alliance.rice.edu

Thanks to our sponsors for making the Nanotechnology Venture Forum possible!

Event Underwriter:  Winstead

Event Co-hosts:  Rice University Smalley Institute and CBEN

Supported by: National Science Foundation

Supporting Organizations:
    Alliance for NanoHealth
    Greater Houston Partnership
    Houston Technology Center
    Houston Angel Network
    Nanotechnology Foundation of Texas
    Texas Nanotechnology Initiative


Media Sponsors:
    Houston Business Journal
    Nanotechnology Law & Business
    Small Times Magazine

Lunch and Company Showcase Sponsor:  Fish and Richardson