Organic Semiconductor Consulting - Mangosee Narrows the Interdisciplinary Divide
Mangosee today announced the launch of what may well be the world's first global independent consultancy dedicated to the science, technology, industry and people of the field of organic semiconductors and molecular electronics, Mangosee Organic Semiconductor Consultancy.
GRONINGEN, THE NETHERLANDS (PRWEB) May 20, 2004 -- Mangosee today announced
the launch of what may well be the world's first global independent consultancy
dedicated to the science, technology, industry and people of the field of
organic semiconductors and molecular electronics, Mangosee Organic Semiconductor
Consultancy (Mangosee OSC).
This new advisory practice will focus on
providing assistance to individuals and organizations working in this
tremendously promising cutting-edge branch of electronics. From equipment
suppliers and instrument manufacturers to researchers and students in companies
and research institutions the world over, Mangosee OSC aims to work together
with clients from all corners of the community to aid productivity, ensure
efficiency and encourage the development of all aspects of this
multidisciplinary field.
Pronounced man-go-see and named after the male
of the species and two short English verbs, rather than a derivation on the
delectable tropical fruit, Mangosee OSC has been created in order to address the
recent explosion of interest in molecular electronics and nanotechnology. The
consultancy's priorities will revolve around making sure that all parties
involved are equipped with the relevant information, personnel and laboratory
resources to carry out their work and projects, and achieve their intended
objectives as efficiently and cost-effectively as any project leader could hope
for.
How is it that Mangosee OSC proposes to make a significant
contribution to a field full of highly trained, expert professionals and
specialists? Like all of science this field too has its specialists. That said,
few of the organic semiconductor community could be called experts in more than
one of the many disciplines and subdisciplines it encompasses. It's no word of a
lie to say that when it comes to this multidisciplinary field and
interdisciplinary overlap between making the materials (let's call that the
chemistry) and measuring their semiconductor properties (and that's the physics
and material science), knowledge of one, and ignorance of the other is the rule
rather than the exception. Not a lot of synthetically-minded small molecule or
polymer chemists are too clued up when it comes to hooking up the cables and
connectors of a four wire measurement set-up or any other complex box of
electronic trickery. Similarly, there aren't so many physicists out there that
are too willing to dig and delve much further into the chemistry of their
materials than their spatula goes into a freshly purchased bottle of pristine
powder or colourful crystals. Mangosee OSC is of the belief that in many
respects, the relationship between a physicist and his materials is not so
dissimilar to that of a hungry diner and a cut-price chicken breast -- he'll
consume it as fast as you can put it in front of him, but he certainly isn't
interested in any of details of what it took to get it there. Or for that
matter, what it's really made of -- for food additives, substitute chemical
impurities; consumed just as readily, and surely containing nothing to concern
himself about?
You simply can't know it all in science, and certainly
not in more than one discipline, there's just no time for that.
Mangosee
OSC doesn't expect its clients to know more than their own specialty, that's
simply not realistic. But they do expect all parties working in the field of
organic semiconductors to be aware of the critical relationships of the other
disciplines to their own likelihood of success. Yes, those secondary, those
minor, those boring disciplines that you've never really cared for, that you've
stayed away from for all this time -- well, if your company or research
institution are head and shoulders into projects in the arena of molecular
electronics then those disciplines really matter to what you are trying to
achieve right now! And if you still don't care, if you're still not paying
attention, then Mangosee OSC believes that it's definitely time to wake up and
learn that not knowing how to effectively communicate with colleagues,
collaborators or customers that possess those complementary skills might be
costing you time, money and a whole lot of wasted energy.
General
awareness and access to the right resources are what Mangosee OSC stands for as
it seeks to help all of those in the field work more effectively, be they fresh
from the chemistry lab, long-established in traditional inorganic semiconductor
work or instrument salesmen to the world, the strategy is one and the same.
"It's all about discovering what might be lacking from their arsenal of
resources, and introducing them to it", says Mangosee OSC's Founder and Managing
Director Anthony F. England, Ph.D., "discover what's missing, fill the gap, and
then help clients move on with previously unimaginable ideas and concepts borne
out of multidisciplinary thinking that a unilateral approach simply will not
allow. If Mangosee OSC can help all of our clients in just this small way, we
can do much to achieve our objectives and pull all of the disparate limbs
towards one another -- as well as helping point the community as a whole in the
right direction".
England continues, "there's a lot of excellent work
going on in the field of molecular electronics at the moment. It's an emerging
field, but a truly exciting one, with the prospect of cheaper and more efficient
LEDs, displays, transistors, sensors and the likes, all through organic
compounds. Then there's my particular passion, the extraordinary promise of
low-cost organic solar energy materials which are just around the corner. Cheap
electricity from organics, it's truly powerful stuff. You just can't beat that
for a sublime application of comparatively simple organic molecules. If only a
few more of the world's outstanding synthetic chemists were more conversant with
this field, there would be a whole lot more advanced materials laying around for
the material scientists to work their magic on."
"There's a lot of good
work going on, but there's also a lot of mediocre work too, there are a lot of
things happening via age-old approaches which could be moving along so much more
effectively. There's an awful lot of time and talent being wasted at the moment
due to what I think of as the 'interdisciplinary divide', and poor
communications generally. No matter how you look at it, semiconductor research,
and molecular electronics in particular, is interdisciplinary/multidisciplinary
in the truest sense -- there's no avoiding that. But in my experience, many do
exactly that, they try and avoid it! There are an awful lot of physicists and
materials scientists out there paying very little attention to the chemistry
underlying their work, using chemicals on a daily basis, yet not bothering to
talk things over with their neighbours in the chemistry department/division.
Likewise there are an awful lot of synthetically-minded chemists that may not
think there is much of a role for them in a field that has traditionally been
the domain of the hard-core physicist; well not beyond making and delivering the
materials to whoever demands them, that is. A little encouragement would go a
long way here."
"At Mangosee OSC we aim to debunk a few myths, and do
everything possible to encourage improved relationships between all of the
essential groups involved in such a wide and varied field. Extend
communications, yes, reduce over-reliance, yes, and certainly do away with any
feelings of dependence on colleagues from other disciplines. We aim to
demonstrate that there is any number of ways of getting a foothold in this
field. Without a doubt determined chemists are extremely capable of making a
significant contribution without going too much into the depth of the theory or
the physics. That depth is indeed very deep for many chemist's, but equally,
it's not something for the uninitiated to be overly concerned with. It's
interesting new materials that form much of what this field is about, so if
you're in the business of designing and synthesizing novel organic and
organometallic species - monomeric, oligomeric or polymeric - and would like to
test their potential as semiconductor candidates, that's entirely possible with
a few fundamentals in hand. Mangosee OSC will be only too happy to cut to the
chase and provide quick, cost-effective assistance to help any group get off to
a hassle-free start. Those coming from a physics background too will surely
progress just a little more effectively if only they take the time to pick up
some of the fundamentals of molecular design and engineering. That's where we
are determined that Mangosee OSC can help, as we work with clients from all
backgrounds to narrow the 'interdisciplinary divide'. It's a divide, it's a
barrier to progress which needs to be knocked down to get the best out of all of
those that are committed to the development of this and many other fields in
science", England concludes.
ORGANIC SEMICONDUCTOR ASSISTANCE -WHEREVER
YOU ARE, WHATEVER YOUR LANGUAGE
Founded in Spring 2004, Mangosee OSC's HQ
is in Groningen in the north of The Netherlands. Although based in Western
Europe, Mangosee OSC like science recognizes neither international borders nor
language barriers. The consultancy will act worldwide and is committed to
serving the entire global organic semiconductor community, wherever interests
may lie. If there is little in the way of organic semiconductor work happening
where you are, then Mangosee OSC wants to hear from you to help you promote your
local academic or industrial initiatives. Conversely, if you are in a hotbed of
activity, there's no reason to believe that there isn't room for your ideas. If
you need inspiration in this respect, Mangosee OSC invites you to get in touch
to see if they can help you and your organization get involved.
Moreover, if you are reading this in English, but would prefer to
contact Mangosee OSC in a language other than English, Mangosee insist that you
are welcome to do so, guaranteeing that they will translate your inquiry to read
it. Please don't hold your breath for a reply in your native language, be
advised that return mail is likely to be written in English. However, if you
happen to speak more Japanese than English, you are in luck, since the founder
will also be able to converse with you in Japanese on the telephone, if that is
your medium of choice.
ABOUT MANGOSEE OSC
Mangosee Organic
Semiconductor Consultancy Founder Anthony F. England, Ph.D. is an experienced
research chemist, having obtained with his doctoral degree from Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA when working in the
field of synthetic organometallic chemistry. Having followed this with a period
of postdoctoral research in homogeneous catalysis with chemistry Nobel Laureate
Ryoji Noyori in Nagoya, Japan, his focus of late has been organic photovoltaics,
specifically 'plastic' polymer-fullerene solar cells, in which field he has
until recently been working with the Dutch Polymer Solar Energy Initiative at
the University of Groningen, The Netherlands, with activities ranging from lab
design and implementation to new areas of research.
CONTACT MANGOSEE
OSC
Contact: Anthony F. England, Ph.D.
E-mail: e-mail protected from
spam bots
Internet URL: http://consult.mangosee.com
Phone/Fax: +31-(0)50 313
0292
Mailing Address:
Grote Rozenstraat 76B
9712 TJ
Groningen
The Netherlands
# # #
Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/5/prweb127335.htm