Oct 5, 2017   SOURCE: BusinessWire

National Graphene Association Director Presents at Graphene Week in Athens, Greece

Graphene Week in Athens, Greece, an international gathering of leading experts on graphene and two-dimensional materials, is often called Europe’s most influential graphene conference. Dr. Zina Jarrahi Cinker, executive director of the new U.S.-based National Graphene Association, was there to present on the organization’s efforts to bring stakeholders together to facilitate the material’s commercialization.

Organized by the Graphene Flagship, Graphene Week is designed to present the latest scientific results and provide networking opportunities among researchers and product developers. The conference is a main event of the Future & Emerging Technologies (FET) Flagship initiative of the European Commission, a new partnering model for long-term European collaborative research in the context of the European Research Area (ERA).

Dr. Jarrahi Cinker met with Nobel Laureate Kostya Novoselov, who together with Andre Geim won the Nobel Prize for their pioneering research on graphene.

“We talked about the barriers to graphene innovation, and how the NGA is poised to help bring the world together to define technology road maps and initiate global partnerships that will move the industry forward,” Dr. Jarrahi Cinker said. “We understand there are a lot of challenges, but we are encouraged by the sense of readiness that exists within this community for collaboration.”

Dr. Jarrahi Cinker presented at the innovation forum and attended a talk by Dr. Kari Hjelt, head of innovation for the Graphene Flagship, who highlighted ways in which product development knowledge can be harvested from research being done around the world. Hjelt will be the keynote speaker at the NGA Graphene Innovation Summit in Nashville October 29-31.

As the executive director of the National Graphene Association, Dr. Jarrahi Cinker aims to lead the charge on standardization for the industry. That effort received resounding support from the international graphene community at Graphene Week.

“The most effective way to do this is by forming close-knit global alliances and partnerships, so we can bring everyone to the table to address issues such as standards and the ambiguity in the graphene supply chain,” she said. “There are many suppliers of graphene and many products that are already in development and hitting the market soon, such as thermo-regulating wearables, electronic devices, enhanced composites and much more. Standardization efforts will pave the way for faster development of graphene based products.”

For more information on the National Graphene Association or the NGA’s Graphene Innovation Summit in Nashville October 29-31, please visit www.nationalgrapheneassociation.com.