Cornell University graduate student Ricky K. Soong has been selected by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to attend the 51st convention of Nobel laureates in Lindau, Germany, June 25-29.

Soong was among 31 researchers working on DOE-funded research projects at U.S. universities, national laboratories and other federal facilities selected to attend the meeting, which will focus on physics.

Since 1951, Nobel laureates in chemistry, physics, physiology and medicine have met annually in Lindau to have open and informal meetings with more than 200 students and young researchers from around the world. The meetings rotate by discipline every year.

The trip for the U.S. contingent will be administered by the DOE's Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education. The institute undertakes national and international programs in education, health surveillance and the environment.

Soong is a Keck fellow and receives major research grants from the Keck Foundation, the DOE OfÞce of Science and the National Science Foundation. His research focuses on engineering hybrid organic-inorganic nanoscale devices powered by biomolecular motors. The project is led by Carlo Montemagno, an associate professor in Cornell's Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department and leader of the molecular-motor mechanics group.

The group's recent research accomplishments involve biophysical characterizations of the drag-force torque, rotational rates and efficiency of an F1-ATPase biomolecular motor loaded with nanopropellers. Substrates and interfacing structures were fabricated at the Cornell Nanofabrication Facility. Montemagno credits Soong with the successful assembly of the molecular-motor powered nano-rod system. Future research initiatives include development of advanced nanodevices powered by molecular motors for biomedical applications.