Posted: October 29, 2009

Groundbreaking scheduled for Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering

(Nanowerk News) Officials from University of North Carolina (UNC) Greensboro and N.C. A&T State University will hold a groundbreaking for the Joint School of Nanoscience & Nanoengineering at 3 p.m. Monday, Nov. 9, at the South Campus of Gateway University Research Park, 2901 E. Lee Street, Greensboro.
Plans will be unveiled for the 100,000-plus-square-foot research facility at the event. Featured speakers will be UNC President Erskine B. Bowles; Rep. Joe Hackney, Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives; and Chancellors Linda P. Brady and Harold L. Martin Sr., of UNCG and N.C. A&T, respectively.
The JSNN is a collaborative project between UNCG and N.C. A&T, and its mission is to train students to conduct basic and applied research. The JSNN initially plans to offer professional Master of Science and Ph.D. degrees in nanoscience and to develop degree programs in nanoengineering. The JSNN will work closely with the Piedmont Triad community to help enhance opportunities for economic growth through its outreach and engagement activities.
The school’s founding dean is Dr. James G. Ryan, who joined the project in July 2008, coming from the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering at the University at Albany. There, he was associate vice president of technology and professor of nanoscience.
Gateway University Research Park is a collaboration between N.C. A&T and UNCG, and it will serve as a bridge to successful commercial application for the scientific research being performed at Greensboro’s two high research activity universities. University officials expect that over the next 20 years, the research park will contribute $250 million to the economy of the region.
John R. Merrill, executive director of Gateway University Research Park said, “The nanoscience and nanoengineering industries are a direct pathway to the future of major technological breakthroughs in the areas of nanobiology, nanometrology, nanocomposite materials and bioelectronics. Gateway University Research Park is once again making history by positioning the Triad region for growth in these arenas.”
Gateway University Research Park is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit entity created to manage and operate the collaboration between N.C. A&T and UNCG for the purposes of research and economic development within the Triad. The park is expected to attract, establish and/or retain businesses and organizations driven by the discovery of new knowledge and technologies.
Source: University of North Carolina