| Posted: Sep 16, 2015 |
$81 million to support new National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure in the U.S.
(Nanowerk News) To advance research in nanoscale science, engineering and technology, the National Science Foundation (NSF) will provide a total of $81 million over five years to support 16 sites and a coordinating office as part of a new National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure (NNCI).
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The NNCI sites will provide researchers from academia, government, and companies large and small with access to university user facilities with leading-edge fabrication and characterization tools, instrumentation, and expertise within all disciplines of nanoscale science, engineering and technology.
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The NNCI framework builds on the National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network (NNIN), which enabled major discoveries, innovations, and contributions to education and commerce for more than 10 years.
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"NSF's long-standing investments in nanotechnology infrastructure have helped the research community to make great progress by making research facilities available," said Pramod Khargonekar, assistant director for engineering. "NNCI will serve as a nationwide backbone for nanoscale research, which will lead to continuing innovations and economic and societal benefits."
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The awards are up to five years and range from $500,000 to $1.6 million each per year. Nine of the sites have at least one regional partner institution. These 16 sites are located in 15 states and involve 27 universities across the nation.
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Through a fiscal year 2016 competition, one of the newly awarded sites will be chosen to coordinate the facilities. This coordinating office will enhance the sites' impact as a national nanotechnology infrastructure and establish a web portal to link the individual facilities' websites to provide a unified entry point to the user community of overall capabilities, tools and instrumentation. The office will also help to coordinate and disseminate best practices for national-level education and outreach programs across sites.
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Funding for the NNCI program is provided by all NSF directorates and the Office of International Science and Engineering.
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New NNCI awards:
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- Mid-Atlantic Nanotechnology Hub for Research, Education and Innovation, University of Pennsylvania with partner Community College of Philadelphia, principal investigator (PI): Mark Allen
- Texas Nanofabrication Facility, University of Texas at Austin, PI: Sanjay Banerjee
- Northwest Nanotechnology Infrastructure, University of Washington with partner Oregon State University, PI: Karl Bohringer
- Southeastern Nanotechnology Infrastructure Corridor, Georgia Institute of Technology with partners North Carolina A&T State University and University of North Carolina-Greensboro, PI: Oliver Brand
- Midwest Nano Infrastructure Corridor, University of Minnesota Twin Cities with partner North Dakota State University, PI: Stephen Campbell
- Montana Nanotechnology Facility, Montana State University with partner Carlton College, PI: David Dickensheets
- Soft and Hybrid Nanotechnology Experimental Resource, Northwestern University with partner University of Chicago, PI: Vinayak Dravid
- The Virginia Tech National Center for Earth and Environmental Nanotechnology Infrastructure, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, PI: Michael Hochella
- North Carolina Research Triangle Nanotechnology Network, North Carolina State University with partners Duke University and University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, PI: Jacob Jones
- San Diego Nanotechnology Infrastructure, University of California, San Diego, PI: Yu-Hwa Lo
- Stanford Site, Stanford University, PI: Kathryn Moler
- Cornell Nanoscale Science and Technology Facility, Cornell University, PI: Daniel Ralph
- Nebraska Nanoscale Facility, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, PI: David Sellmyer
- Nanotechnology Collaborative Infrastructure Southwest, Arizona State University with partners Maricopa County Community College District and Science Foundation Arizona, PI: Trevor Thornton
- The Kentucky Multi-scale Manufacturing and Nano Integration Node, University of Louisville with partner University of Kentucky, PI: Kevin Walsh
- The Center for Nanoscale Systems at Harvard University, Harvard University, PI: Robert Westervelt
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