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NSF Awards $65 Million for Nano Centers

September 21, 2001
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Earlier this week, the National Science Foundation (NSF) announced awards estimated to total $65 million over five years to fund six major centers in nanoscale science and engineering. The awards are part of a series of NSF grants – totaling $150 million in fiscal year 2001 alone – for nano research in multiple disciplines. 



The six centers will be located at Columbia and Cornell Universities and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York, Harvard University in Massachusetts, Northwestern University in Illinois, and Rice University in Texas. 



Nanoscale science, engineering and technology are focused on a scale ranging from the size of individual atoms to that of large molecules. The new Nanoscale Science and Engineering Centers will develop new areas of research and help establish a nanotechnology workforce. The centers, intended to address challenges and opportunities that are too complex and multi-faceted for individual researchers or small teams to tackle in shorter periods of time, are expected to significantly advance the information, medical, manufacturing and environmental technologies. Other NSF grants will fund small, interdisciplinary research teams and individuals doing exploratory research in a wide range of areas. 



Working in partnerships with industry, national laboratories and other sectors, the centers will support education programs from the graduate to the pre-college level designed to develop a highly skilled workforce, advance pre-college training, and advance the public understanding of science and engineering. 



The six centers and their awards are: 

  • Center for Electronic Transport in Molecular Nanostructures 

    Columbia University ($10.8 mil/5 yrs) 
  • Center for Nanoscale Systems in Information Technologies 

    Cornell University ($11.6 mil/5 yrs) 
  • Center for the Science of Nanoscale Systems and their Device Applications 

    Harvard University ($10.8 mil/5 yrs) 
  • Center for Integrated Nanopatterning and Detection Technologies 

    Northwestern University ($11.1 mil/5 yrs) 
  • Center for Directed Assembly of Nanostructures 

    Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute ($10.0 mil/5 yrs) 
  • Center for Nanoscience in Biological and Environmental Engineering 

    Rice University ($10.5 mil/5 yrs)

More information on the NSF nanotechnology initiative can be found online at:

http://www.nsf.gov/home/crssprgm/nano/start.htm 

Virginia