NIT >> News August 2, 2001 Nortel Institute for Telecommunications at the University of Toronto Sponsors Canada-France Conference on Molecular Photonics and Plastic Electronics to Take Place in October 2001 The first annual Canada-France Conference on Molecular Photonics and Plastic Electronics will take place October 15-17, 2001, at Château Montebello in Canada. The conference is co-organized by researchers at the Nortel Institute for Telecommunications at the University of Toronto; the National Research Council of Canada; the Laboratoire de photonique quantique et moléculaire Ecole Normale Superieure de Cachan, France; and Ecole Normale Superieure de Lyon, France. Invited speakers at the event will include: Dr. Zhenan Bao of the Polymer and Organic Materials Department, Bell Laboratories, Lucent Technologies, who will present “Organic and Polymeric Electronic Materials and Devices.” Prof. Jimmy Xu, Engineering & Physics, Brown University, who will present “Conductivity and Applications of Molecularly Engineered DNA.” Prof. Harold Fetterman, Electrical Engineering, UCLA, who will present “Polymer Optical Intensity Modulators - 100 GHz and beyond.” Prof. Mark Reed, Electrical Engineering and Applied Physics, Yale University, who will present “Atomic and Molecular Scale Electronic Transport.” Further details are available at http://www.nrc.ca/confserv/molecularphotonics2001/ Backgrounder on Molecular Photonics and Plastic Electronics Inorganic materials and structures lie at the foundations of the global electronics and photonics revolutions of the mid- and late-20th century. Their purity, order, and structural sophistication have been optimized to maximize performance and power - often measured in speed, complexity, and cost per function. Molecular materials have emerged as a complement to the high-performance of inorganics. Polymers and organics have been demonstrated to emit light, conduct electricity, and facilitate interaction among photonic signals. Molecular materials offer unprecedented freedom in custom bottom-up design for needed function. Researchers in France and Canada have led many key aspects of progress in this exciting field. In October 2001, they will present their latest research breakthroughs. Leaders in the field from around the world will present their results and visions and debate the future of the field. Backgrounder on the Nortel Institute for Telecommunications at the University of Toronto The Nortel Institute for Telecommunications is a cross-faculty unit of the University of Toronto charged with the mission of providing global leadership in advanced information technology and telecommunications research, innovation, education, and training. This mission is carried out through a wide range of programs involving over 100 University of Toronto professors and researchers and a growing number of government, industry, and university partners. More information is available at the Nortel Institute for Telecommunications website http://www.nit.utoronto.ca Contact H. Lasthiotakis    Tel: (416) 946-5176, e-mail: hl.ni@utoronto.ca