Nano Science and Technology

Convenor's Message

Dear Delegates and Participants,

The preparations for the organization of ICONSAT-2008 at Chennai is going on in full swing. The response to our Conference announcement has been overwhelming with over 370 contributed papers and 40 invited speakers drawn from all over the World. A large number of young researchers have submitted papers to ICONSAT-2008, that points to the enthusiasm generated by the field of Nano Science and Technology. We are in the process of finalizing the technical programme. Through this letter, I wish to communicate with you on various aspects of the organization of ICONSAT-2008.

Please note that any accepted contributed paper that is to be presented at ICONSAT-2008 has to have at least one registered participant. Subsidized registration fee of Rs 2000/ is for one student participant per paper only. Other registrants for the same accepted paper are to pay the full registration fee. In case, you have not registered so far, please send in the registration form by January 15, even if you intend to pay the Registration fee at the time of the Conference.

Please send in the accommodation form, if you have not done so far, as it would help us to make various allotments, based on your requests. We are making arrangements to accommodate the plenary and invited speakers in hotels and guest houses. We will make arrangements to pick up foreign delegates and dignitaries from the airport.

Senior researchers presenting contributed papers will be provided accommodation in guest houses/ hotels, and as for the research scholars, we will accommodate them in hostels. The individual allotments will be posted in the website by Feb. 15, and also communicated by email, so that you can make arrangements to reach the place of your accommodation. The necessary route maps will be posted in the Website.

As you are aware, the structure of the Conference will comprise Plenary and invited talks, to be delivered by eminent researchers, and all the contributed papers presented as POSTERS. While a two hour poster session is scheduled for each day, we are making arrangements for the display of posters throughout the day, to facilitate in-depth discussions on results. A 1m x 1m poster area will be available for each poster.

I am happy to convey that the organizers of ICONSAT-2008 have instituted BEST POSTER awards for various categories of topics to be deliberated at the Conference. These will be selected by a panel of eminent judges, and the prize distribution will take place during the concluding session. I urge all the contributors, in particular the young researchers, to make an impressive display of their posters. The poster number of your contributed paper will be communicated in due course of time, and also posted in the Website.

As indicated earlier, the contributions to ICONSAT-2008, after a peer-review process, will be published in Journal of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (JNN). American Scientific Publishers has agreed to publish a single volume of JNN of about 500 printed pages containing 100-125 articles. Each accepted article will be of 5 printed pages maximum. Since only a limited number of the submitted contributed papers will get accepted for publication in JNN, adequate care needs to be taken in the preparation of the manuscript. The instructions for the preparation of the manuscript have been posted in the Website. Please note that the manuscript needs to be submitted by Feb.15, 2008. In case you are not able to meet this deadline, kindly bring it along with you and submit to the Registration desk at the Conference venue. We will initiate the refereeing process during ICONSAT-2008 itself, and hence will not be in a position to accept submissions after the Conference. The reviewing process will be co-ordinated by the Guest Editors of the proceedings. To ensure the originality and quality of submitted research papers, all the submitted manuscripts will be reviewed by 2-3 external referees

There have been some requests for the waiver of registration fee, in particular from young researchers. We will try to accommodate these requests based on the financial resources, and a decision will be communicated after January 15.

As a part of ICONSAT-2008, we are also organising two other important events: On February 26th, a day prior to the Conference, we are conducting a Satellite Workshop on “Nano Science & Technology for Health Care : Medical Diagnosis, Imaging and Drug Delivery”, which will be for the benefit of Research scholars and professionals from medical and pharmaceutical fraternity. This is being organized at IC&SR auditorium, IIT Madras. The brochure for this satellite Workshop is posted in the Website. On Februray 28th, the National Science Day, Prof. C.N.R. Rao will conduct a programme entitled “Nano World”. About 250 students from various schools and Colleges in the Chennai region will participate in this interactive session.

If you need any specific help, please do not hesitate to write to me. We will make all attempts to make your stay at Chennai, pleasant and scientifically enriching. I take this opportunity to wish you and your family a HAPPY & PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR, and look forward to meeting you in Chennai.

Yours sincerely,



Baldev Raj

Convener, ICONSAT-2008)