Important Information
on Nanotechnology

The Future of Manufacturing is Nanotechnology!

-- If you have not yet heard about nanotechnology, you will, and you must read on. If you are a manufacturer and do not know about what is happening in nanofabrication, we advise you to learn about it and to track how fast developments are occurring. These techniques will revolutionize everything being done today to manufacture a product. If you thought the Internet created chaos in the business world, "you ain't seen nothin' yet."

This web site was created to provide information to manufacturers about nanotechnology through links to sites maintained by those working directly in nanotechnology research. Use these links to follow the progress of this revolutionary technology and think about the impact on your business. Following are some of the best links to follow developments in nanotechnology:

National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) by the U.S. Government

U.S. Provides $1 billion for NNI in FY2005

The Bush Administration's budget for FY 2005 for the U.S. federal government again increased research and development funding for nanotechnology-related programs, going up to $1 billion from the $847 million approved by Congress for FY 2004. The National Science Foundation, as the lead agency for the National Nanotechnology Initiative, has posted a brief summary of federal nanotechnology-related programs in this budget, broken out in ten federal departments and agencies. A summary document for NNI funding for FY 2005 is available at http://www.nano.gov/html/about/nnibudget.html.

In addition, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) R&D Budget and Policy Program has published an analysis of the budget at http://www.aaas.org/spp/dspp/rd/rdwwwpg.htm

To follow news events and announcements about nanotechnology, a terrific web site is Small Times at www.smalltimes.com. This site reports current information about nanobusiness as well as scientific and political information about MEMs, Microsystems and nanotechnologies.

 


Nanotechnology PowerPoint Presentation (Caution 4.2Mb)


Scientists and engineers have learned how to control materials down to the molecular level. Nanotechnology is the science of building or manufacturing by controlling the placement of molecules, one by one. These techniques give us thorough, and ultimately inexpensive control of the structure of matter. Applications of nanotechnology are being studied for manufacturing of products, medicine and health care, space exploration, food production, warfare, and many other uses.

As a manufacturer today, you either take many small parts or components and assemble them to make a finished product, or you take a larger "chunk" of material and cut it down into the shape you need. This is the same concept used in nanotechnology, but on a much smaller scale.

Here's an excerpt from the video storyboard of the joint nanotechnology videoproject written and animated by Nanotechnology Magazine and produced by The Discovery Channel, Canada.

"The world is on the brink of a new technological revolution beyond any human experience. A new, more powerful industrial revolution capable of bringing wealth, health, and education, without pollution, to every person on the planet. No longer will forest need to be cut or smoke spewed into the air. This is the promise of nanotechnology.

A nanometer is one billionth of a meter. That's a thousand, million times smaller than a meter. If you blew up a baseball to the size of the earth, the atoms would become visible, about the size of grapes. Some 3 - 4 atoms fit lined up inside a nanometer. Nanotechnology is about building things atom-by-atom, molecule-by-molecule. The trick is to be able to manipulate atoms individually, and place them where you wish on a structure.

Nanotechnology uses well-known physical properties of atoms and molecules to make novel devices with extraordinary properties. The anticipated payoff for mastering this technology is beyond any human accomplishment thus far."


Centers for Nanotechnology research (general)

Centers for research in nanotechnology are being established at an increasing rate as more scientists and engineers come to understand the importance of the technology and redirect their research efforts to take advantage of new federal R&D programs.

National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network (NNIN)
In March 2004 the NNIN caqme into being. This is an integrated networked partnership of user facilities, supported by the National Science Foundation.This network provides users accross the nation with open access, both on-site and remotely, to leading edge tools, instrumentation, and capabilities for fabrication, synthesis, characterization, design, simulation, and integration, to help enable individual research projects. The NNIN also has extensive education, training and outreach activities. Click here for a list of members of the NNIN.

Centers for Nanotechnology Research in New York State:

Following are some of New York State's centers conducting research in nanotechnology:

Cornell Nanofabrication Facility
The Cornell Nanofabrication Facility (CNF) has served the US research community for more than 21 years by providing nanofabrication services to over 600 research projects on the Cornell University campus. Subjects for research are as diverse as Astronomy and Plant Pathology, and projects delve into the emerging fields of Integrated Optics and Microelectromechanical Structures (MEMS) as well as the more conventional Microelectronics, Physics and Materials Research. The CNF is supported by the National Science Foundation, and is one of thirteen members of the National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network. The network "provides researchers opportunities to turn new ideas for the fabrication of nanoscale structures into experimental reality."

The Nanobiotechnology Center
Cornell University is the lead institution in the Nanobiotechnology Center (NBTC), a National Science Foundation, Science and Technology Center. Nanobiotechnology is an emerging area of scientific and technological opportunity. This Center applies the tools and processes of nano-microfabrication to build devices for studying biosystems and also learns from biology how to create better micro-nanoscale devices. The Nanobiotechnology Center is characterized by its highly interdisciplinary nature and features a close collaboration between life scientists, physical scientists, and engineers. The Center also shares a commitment to education and outreach, taking the discoveries from the laboratory and realizing their potential benefit to society. It is actively soliciting private-sector partners and can offer a variety of innovative enterprise activities.

Cornell Center for Materials Research (CCMR)
CCMR is part of the NSF's MRSEC program.The Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers (MRSEC) program provides support for interdisciplinary materials research and education of the highest quality while addressing fundamental problems in science and engineering that are important to society.
The U.S. national network of centers for Materials Research encompasses 28 centers funded by the National Science Foundation, including the Cornell Center for Materials Research (CCMR).

The mission of CCMR is to advance, explore and exploit the forefront of the science and engineering of advanced materials. The unifying theme of their current research is the study of materials purposefully structured at the nanoscale (near atomic dimensions). They aim to be world leaders in the design, control and understanding of the behavior of both crystalline and disordered nano-materials. This objective is pursued through fundamental experimental and theoretical studies of the assembly and processing of nano-materials and of their resulting behavior.

CCMR plays a leading role in fostering a long tradition of interdepartmental, interdisciplinary cooperation and collaboration and in increasing such interaction with outside organizations. Approximately one hundred faculty members from ten departments are active members of CCMR.

The Center is primarily supported by the National Science Foundation's Division of Materials Research, but also by generous contributions from Cornell University, by critical Industrial grants and gifts, and most recently by NYSTAR for CCMR's Industrial Outreach Program

Columbia University
Columbia University has three centers funded by the National Science Foundation. Below are the links to Columbia's nanotechnology activities. 

 *        Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center -
http://research.radlab.columbia.edu/nsec/

 *        Materials Research Science & Engineering Center http://research.radlab.columbia.edu/mrsec/

 *        Environmental Molecular Science Institute -
http://research.radlab.columbia.edu/emsi/

  *        Columbia nanotechnology homepage -
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/osi/nanoindex.html (I'm not certain that this is being updated regularly)

 

 Clarkson University CAMP
The Center for Advanced Material Processing (CAMP) at Clarkson University is dedicated to developing Clarkson's research and educational programs in high-technology materials processing and is focused on industrial concerns and meeting industrial needs. CAMP's mandate is to develop innovations in advanced materials processing and to transfer this technology to business and industry. The Center is built on Clarkson's recognized expertise in colloid and surface science and fine particle technology.

CAMP research topics include:

  • Colloidal dispersion & processing (e.g., polymer blends and foams; surfactants, liquid crystal and gels; etc.)
  • Particle transport, deposition and removal (e.g., flow visualization and wet particulate cleaning processes, etc.)
  • Chemical-mechanical planarization (CMP) (e.g., metal and dielectric film polishing, abrasives, etc.)
  • Particle synthesis and properties (e.g., optical, magnetic and electric properties; organic and inorganic composites, uniform particle synthesis, etc.)
  • Thin film and coating (e.g., adhesion; CVD and PECVD; and coated particles and fibers)
  • Other support technologies such as microstructural characterization and other instrumental and processing techniques

Industrial applications for some of CAMP's research include, but are not limited to, imaging (toners and inks, and phosphors for displays), microelectronics (thin film deposition, and wafer cleaning and polishing), catalysts (such as destruction or conversion of materials of environmental concern) and pharmaceutical, health and personal care (drug delivery vehicles, cosmetic materials).

 

Albany Nanotech at the University at Albany - SUNY
Albany NanoTech serves the needs of its partners through its participation in long-range visionary technology development programs (eg. Interconnect Focus Research Center), in medium-range technology development programs (eg. Center for Advanced Thin Film Technology) and short-range programs (SEMATECH, NIST-ATP, etc.). Albany NanoTech is able to accelerate the commercialization of technologies by providing a one-stop-shop for technology deployment, market development, economic outreach business assistance.

 

NYSTAR Research Centers in Nanotechnology and Microelectronics
NYSTAR funds many other centers in New York State either directly in nanoscience or that apply or support nanoscience and research.


Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center

Rensselaer Named One of Six National Nanotechnology Centers - NSF to Provide $10 Million in Funding
TROY, N.Y. - Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., was selected by the National Science Foundation to receive $10 million to develop one of six Nanoscale Science and Engineering Centers (NSEC), the NSF announced in late 2001.

According to Shirley Ann Jackson, president of RPI, "This Center will significantly advance nanotechnology research, will serve the National Nanotechnology Initiative, and will contribute to the economic growth of the Capital Region. To be selected with Cornell and Columbia as leaders in this vital effort underscores the strength of New York universities in nanotechnology research."

 

 


The Foresight Institute

Foresight is a nonprofit educational organization formed to help prepare society for anticipated advanced technologies. Their "primary focus is on molecular nanotechnology: the coming ability to build materials and products with atomic precision."

The Foresight web page has links to many publications, including to entire full text sources by Eric Drexler, Chairman of the Foresight Institute. Drexler is the individual responsible for advancing our knowledge about principles first presented by Richard Feynman, MIT physicist at the annual meeting of the American Physical Society at Caltech in 1959. In 1965, Feynman won the Nobel Laureate in Physics, and died in 1988.

Nanodot
http://nanodot.org/

The nanodot website is maintained by Foresight and provides information on topics of interest, and the latest news. It also includes a 280-page report from the U.S. National Science and Technology Council's Subcommittee on Nanoscale Science, Enginering and Technology (NSET) which features presentations from a workshop on the Societal Implications of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology. This program was held at the National Science Foundation in Washington, D.C. in September 2000. NSET is the coordinating body for the U.S. National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI). A full copy of the report is available on the Web as an Adobe Acrobat PDF file at http://itri.loyola.edu/nano/NSET.Societal.Implications/.

 

Engines of Creation, by K. Eric Drexler

Engines of Creation was originally published by Anchor Books in 1986. This WWW version was reprinted and adapted by Russell Whitaker and can be read online. It explains the foundations of nanotechnology and why this will all come to fruition. It is an easy read and will convince you it is a technology to follow.

Excerpt from Marvin Minsky's foreward:

"Engines of Creation begins with the insight that what we can do depends on what we can build. This leads to a careful analysis of possible ways to stack atoms. Then Drexler asks, "What could we build with those atom-stacking mechanisms?" For one thing, we could manufacture assembly machines much smaller even than living cells, and make materials stronger and lighter than any available today. Hence, better spacecraft. Hence, tiny devices that can travel along capillaries to enter and repair living cells. Hence, the ability to heal disease, reverse the ravages of age, or make our bodies speedier or stronger than before. And we could make machines down to the size of viruses, machines that would work at speeds which none of us can yet appreciate. And then, once we learned how to do it, we would have the option of assembling these myriads of tiny parts into intelligent machines, perhaps based on the use of trillions of nanoscopic parallel-processing devices which make descriptions, compare them to recorded patterns, and then exploit the memories of all their previous experiments. Thus those new technologies could change not merely the materials and means we use to shape our physical environment, but also the activities we would then be able to pursue inside whichever kind of world we make."

Unbounding the Future, by Eric Drexler and Chris Peterson, with Gayle Pergamit, published in 1991 by William Morrow and Company, Inc., and produced for the Web by E-SPACES.

This book presents nanotechnology concepts in an easy-to-understand format for the non-scientist. It combines factual descriptions with future scenarios based on those facts to give the reader a vision of nanotechnology's potential influence on human affairs.


Social Implications of Nanotechnology

In addition to the NSET report on societal implications mentioned above in the section on Nanodot, following are other organizations which have reports, articles and commentary on related topics.

Rand Corporation

The Rand Corporation's report on "the Global Technology Revolution: Bio/Nano/Materials Trends and Their Synergies with Information Technology by 2015" examines potential effects of several technologies through 2015. This report addresses global impact from biotechnology, nanotechnology, advanced materials, and information technology in social, political, economic and environmental arenas. The report also addresses the synergies that will potentially be created from combinations of these technologies over the next 15 years. The full report is available online as an Adobe Acrobat PDF file at http://www.rand.org/publications/MR/MR1307/.

The American Association for the Advancement of Science(AAAS)

The AAAS Science and Technology Policy Yearbook looks back at 2000 on the debate over nanotechnology, genetics and robotics. The full Yearbook and other items are available online as Adobe Acrobat PDF files at http://www.aaas.org/spp/dspp/rd/yrbk01.htm


 

Nanotechnology in Manufacturing - Site which describes nanotechnology's application to manufacturing in an Autodesk Technology Forum Presentation given by John Walker on May 10th, 1990 entitled, "What Next? The Coming Revolution In Manufacturing"


Latest news

Read up-to-the-minute nanotechnology headlines from commercial news sources including SciCentral, Yahoo News, BBC News, CNN Technology News, News Index, ABC News, and university research news sources.


Nanotechnology Images


Nanotechnology Link Sites

NYSTAR's NanoNY

A site with great links

Learn about self-assembly, molecular robotics, and other manufacturing-oriented nanotechnology concepts.


This page developed by Marcene Sonneborn, TDO's SBIR Specialist. Updated 1/6/2005 (RIT)
for questions call 315.425.5144 or email msonneborn@tdo.org

 

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