Toussaint invited to attend National Academies conference on imaging

Kimani Toussaint

MechSE professor Kimani Toussaint is one of approximately 150 individuals who have been selected to participate in the 8th Annual National Academies Keck Futures Initiative (NAKFI): Seeing the Future with Imaging Science.

Toussaint conducts interdisciplinary research in the area of optics, particularly as it relates to nano and biophotonics. His current work includes the development of next-generation optical microscopy tools to enable quantitative, non-invasive imaging at the mesoscopic size scale.His research objectives hold promise for biomedical applications because optical light microscopy, unlike electron or atomic force microscopy, facilitates the study of living tissue in-situ with minimal perturbations.

NAKFI is a 15-year effort of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine to catalyze interdisciplinary inquiry and to enhance communication among researchers, funding organizations, universities, and the general public. The objective is to support the climate for conducting interdisciplinary research, and to break down related institutional and systemic barriers.

This year’s conference will bring together some of the nation’s best and brightest researchers from diverse backgrounds, including academic, industrial and governmental laboratories, in a “think-tank” style conference to explore current and future issues related to imaging science. NAKFI will also award $1 million in seed grants – on a competitive basis – to conference participants to enable further pursuit of bold, new ideas and connections stimulated by the conference.

The conference will take place in November 2010 at the Arnold and Mable Beckman Center in Irvine, California.