Posted: November 11, 2008

(Nanowerk News) On October 27th-31st 2008 “The First School of Metrology and Standardization in Nanotechnologies and Nanoindustry. Nanomaterials” was conducted by the Russian Corporation of Nanotechnologies (RUSNANO) together with the Federal Agency for Technical Regulating and Metrology. The School specifically aimed at generation of working proposals in the sphere of metrology, standardization and certification in nanoindustry, increase competence of specialists working in companies, participating in national nanotechnology network, centers of excellence, metrology centers, test centers and laboratories, including participants of the NANOCERTIFICA voluntary certification system for nanoindustry products.

The School was attended by 159 experts, including 143 participants from 21 regions of the Russian Federation and 16 participants from 7 other countries (China, Byelorussia, Sweden, USA, Germany, Kirghizia, and Netherlands). A large amount of young specialists are involved in the training program. The share of participants aged below 35 years old amounted to about 70%. This number included 15 students going for master’s degree, trained under the dedicated project of Rusnano to qualify in “Nanodiagnostics, Metrology, Standardization and Certification of Nanoindustry Products”.

36 world renowned lecturers included specialists from leading scientific centers of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Russian Federal Agency for Technical Regulation, universities involved in advanced research and development in nanoindustry areas, including 7 lecturers from abroad (China, USA, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden). The lectures covered a wide range of most relevant developments in the following areas:

Russian and international experience in metrological support to uniformity of measurements and standardization of nanoindustry products, Experience and standardization of “clean stations” and quality management in nanotechnologies, Most important methodological approaches in nanodiagnostics and nanoanalysis, including visualization of nanoobjects, determination of elemental and phase composition, high precision measurements of electric, magnetic, electrochemical, thermodynamic, acoustic and other properties. Promising areas of nanotechnology development to obtain new materials and structures, requirements for methods of their certification and testing: carbon nanomaterials; nanostructure metallic, ceramic and composite materials, nanomaterials for electronics, spintronics and photonics, magnetic nanomaterials, nanostructural catalysts.

The School Program Committee of the School appreciated the level of lecturers and noted that lecturing program of the School covered up to 90% of perspective developments in nanotechnology areas.

The exhibition of measuring and testing equipment for nanoindustry, organized within the School, presented a wide range of equipment from 13 companies (Tokyo Boeki, NT-MDT, BRUKER, Center of Perspective Technologies NPP, Scientific Research Center on Study of Properties of Surface and Vacuum, Netzsch Geratebau, Technological Institute of Superhard and New Carbon Materials, Nanofactory Instruments AB (Sweden), Scientific Equipment Trade House, LABTEST, Nienschanz, AMPHORA Laboratories LLC.

Another event of the School was a meeting of managers of NANOCERTIFICA System of Voluntary Certification of nanoindustry products with representatives of various test/research and development centers and laboratories to discuss areas of potential cooperation.

The Program Committee suggests the following resolutions should be approved as a result of the School effort:

1) Engage organizations, represented at the School, to the cooperation on standardization and certification of products under NANOCERTIFICA System of Voluntary Certification.

2) Take additional effort to involve test centers, multipurpose centers and research laboratories in cooperation with Rusnano in the areas of testing and metrological support, in particular, to create standard samples with certain composition, structure, properties to support calibration and proving of instrumentation used to measure parameters of nanoindustry products.

3) Publish the course of lectures delivered during the First School as a special edition of the Journal of Nanotechnologies in Russia and in the form of training aid for students and post-graduates studying nanotechnologies.

4) Give credit to the effectiveness and productivity of the First School. Recommend conducting the Second School of Metrology and Standardization in Nanotechnologies and Nanoindustry in 2009 (September – October). Main focus areas of the next School shall be defined as biomedical nanotechnologies and safety of nanoproducts, including issues of metrology and standardization.

5) Promote international cooperation in areas of standardization and metrology, including educational events as follows: schools and seminars.

6) Develop a classifier of nanoindustry products and measurement equipment, supporting measurement requirements. Continue supply of equipment to test centers and laboratories as a necessary endeavor.