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There appear to be divided camps on the subject of nanotubes;
* For * Against * Not sure but let’s continue with scientific inquiry
Want to see? Well you can’t. Nanomaterials are microscopic particles used in medicine, electronics, sporting goods, and even clothing. Law makers in the UK are saying nanomaterials need more safety testing and tighter regulation.
We have written about this before, when, earlier in 2008 Nature Nanotechnology journal published an article suggested that we have reason to be concerned with the long-term health effects of nanotubes (little rolled-up sheets of carbon) and that those effects would be similar to asbestos in that the longer tubes could lodge in the lungs and stay there.
In the UK, the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution investigated nanomaterials and although it found no evidence of harm to either health or the environment from nanotechnology, it warned:
“The pace at which new nanomaterials are being developed and marketed is beyond the capacity of existing testing regulatory arrangements to control the potential environmental impacts adequately.”
The commission did not recommend a ban or moratorium on nanomaterials because each material had to be assessed on its merits. Sir John Lawton, the commission chairman, said there were particular concerns about three widely-used types of nanomaterial: nanosilver, carbon-60 and carbon nanofibers.
Nanoparticles of silver are incorporated into some clothing and laundry products because they suppress odor and kill germs. They also risk shutting down sewage systems by killing the bacteria needed to break down waste products, Sir John told a news conference in London.
Carbon nanotubes may harm the lungs in the same way as asbestos. “If I had to give advice to my family, I would say, ‘don’t wear spun nanofibres’,” he said.
Nanotechnology did not need a new regulatory regime, the commission decided. Instead, Europe’s existing regulatory system for chemicals, known as Reach, should be extended to encompass nanoparticles.
Andrew Maynard, chief scientist on the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington DC, said: “Despite repeated warnings, the establishment continues to lag behind emerging technologies.”

UAE Higher Education and Scientific Research Minister HE Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, opened today the second International Conference on Bio-Nanotechnology at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC).
The conference aims at assessing nano and micro technologies for emerging applications and its prospects in the region.
Inaugurating the conference, Sheikh Nahyan said that the UAE leadership is keen to keep the country abreast with the latest technology.
He underscored the significance of nanotechnology, which plays growing role in the daily life, adding that its effect could affect the international community and economies of many countries.
"Nanotechnology bears huge potential that can effect changes in the fields of energy, technology, medicine, communications, food industry, military strategies and national security," said Sheikh Nahyan. He disclosed that the UAE University was planning to set up the Emirates Sciences and Nano Engineering Centre.
The four-day conference, which is being organised by the Faculty of Engineering of UAE University in conjunction with Khalifa University for Sciences, Technology and Scientific Research and Asia Nano Forum 2008, is held under the patronage of Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces HH General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Present at the event were Sheikh Mohammed bin Nahyan Al Nahyan and a number of dignitaries.
Nanotechnology, sometimes shortened to 'nanotech', refers to a field whose theme is the control of matter on an atomic scale. Generally nanotechnology deals with structures 100 nanometres or smaller, and involves developing materials or devices within that size. Nanotechnology is extremely diverse, ranging from novel extensions of conventional device physics, to completely new approaches based upon molecular self-assembly to developing new materials with dimensions on the nano scale, even to speculation on whether we can directly control matter on the atomic scale, reforming atoms to create new materials and existing products by revolutionary new techniques.

New Haven, Conn. — Yale Professor Mark Reed, whose research has contributed to nanotechnology in areas from quantum dots to molecular electronics, has been named a fellow of the IEEE, one of the most prestigious honors given by this professional association for the advancement of technology.
Reed’s award “for contributions to nanoscale and molecular-scale electronic devices” was announced by IEEE President Lewis M. Terman.” Originally an acronym for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the IEEE is a non-profit organization that now encompasses a broad group of related disciplines.
Most recently, Reed has designed a new approach for creating nanodevices that allows them to integrate directly with microelectronic systems. This novel technology has broad application for low-cost, highly sensitive detection of molecules including biomolecules for medical diagnostics and therapeutics.
At Yale, Reed is the Harold Hodgkinson Professor of Engineering and Applied Science and the associate director of the Yale Institute for Nanoscience and Quantum Electronics (YINQE). During his time at Texas Instruments before joining the Yale faculty in 1990, he demonstrated the first quantum dot device.
Reed, who received his Ph.D. from Syracuse University in 1983, is the author of more than 175 professional publications and 6 books, and holds 25 U.S. and foreign patents. His previous awards include the Kilby Young Innovator Award (1994), the Fujitsu ISCS Quantum Device Award (2001), election to fellowship in the American Physical Society (2003), and the IEEE Pioneer Award in Nanotechnology (2007).
HealthNewsDigest.com

Albany, NY - Taking a novel approach to educating the public about the fast-growing field of nanotechnology, the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering ("CNSE") of the University at Albany and Colonie Center today unveiled what is believed to be the first nanotechnology exhibit to be located in a shopping center anywhere in the world.
Launched as part of CNSE's community and educational outreach initiative known as NANOvember, the display incorporates nanotechnology-enabled consumer products, including an Xbox, iPod Touch, clothing and cosmetics, with high-tech items from CNSE's world-class Albany NanoTech Complex, such as silicon wafers, computer chips and biochips, and solar and fuel cells. The exhibit demonstrates the link between nanoscale technologies and real-world applications, as well as the growing global leadership of the UAlbany NanoCollege in nanotechnology education, research, development and deployment.
The exhibit will be located through March of 2009 at Colonie Center - a 1.3-million-square-foot shopping center that sees more than 12 million visitors annually - giving the public a unique opportunity to learn about nanotechnology, described by the National Nanotechnology Initiative as "leading to the next Industrial Revolution," as it enables innovations in fields ranging from health care, energy and the environment to military, aerospace, telecommunications and information technology, among many others.
Dr. Alain E. Kaloyeros, Senior Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of CNSE, said, "The UAlbany NanoCollege is delighted to unveil this first-of-its-kind exhibit in collaboration with Colonie Center, which has been a proactive and welcoming partner in sharing the exciting and fast-growing world of nanotechnology with the community. This is a great opportunity to showcase the power of nanotechnology to address the most important challenges facing society in the 21st century, as well as the global leadership of CNSE and New York State, through the vision and investment of Governor Paterson and Assembly Speaker Silver, in developing a nanotechnology sector that is attracting high-tech jobs, companies and investment throughout New York."
Joseph Millett, General Manager of Colonie Center, said, "Colonie Center is proud to partner with the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering to display the first nanotechnology exhibit at a shopping center anywhere in the world. It is exciting to know that all of these amazing innovations are being enabled by education, research and development at the NanoCollege, which is a great source of community pride for the Capital Region and New York State."
Anita Blackford, Senior Vice President of Marketing at Feldman Mall Properties, said, "Feldman Mall Properties is pleased to congratulate Colonie Center and the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering as they unveil the world's first nanotechnology exhibit to be located in a shopping mall. This display, which is unique in the global shopping center industry, puts the exciting world of nanotechnology on display at Colonie Center, giving students and families the opportunity to learn firsthand about nanotechnology and the educational and technological capabilities of CNSE, which are positioning Albany and New York State as global leaders in the most important scientific field of the 21st Century."
Jeffrey Stone, President, Capital Region, KeyBank N.A., said, "This unique exhibit provides a wonderful window into the exciting world of nanotechnology and its growing impact on our regional economy, led by the significant new investment and high-paying jobs being attracted by the UAlbany NanoCollege. I urge members of the community to visit Colonie Center to see the display, part of the NEXSTEP initiative that is designed to demonstrate how nanotechnology is changing the face of the Capital Region."
Kerry Orlyk, Executive Director of the Schenectady Museum and Suits-Bueche Planetarium, said, "We are delighted to support the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering's unique efforts to share their work involving nanoscience and technology with the public. At the Schenectady Museum & Suits-Bueche Planetarium, we share the College's passion for encouraging a love of learning, especially learning that involves science and math."
Jahseim Dobbs, a senior at Albany High School who is participating in the CNSE-AHS NanoHigh program, said, "Through the NanoHigh program, I've become interested in pursing the nanobiomedical field to help improve health care in the future. Many people my age have not had the chance to understand, as I do, what nanotechnology has to offer and the great career opportunities it presents. This display will give other young people and the whole community a chance to learn more about nanotechnology and the impact it is having on our world."
NANOvember is presented as part of "NEXSTEP," or "Nanotechnology Explorations for Science, Training and Education Promotion," a partnership between CNSE and KeyBank that features educational initiatives to promote greater understanding of the changing economic and business environment in the Capital Region and New York State being driven by nanotechnology.
The schedule of events during NANOvember also includes CNSE's Community Day; hosting of a national conference on the convergence of nanobioscience and medicine; educational programs such as "NanoCareer Day" for students and "Nano 101" for teachers; a series of community lectures highlighting CNSE's pioneering education, cutting-edge research and significant economic impact; and, an open house for prospective graduate students.
About CNSE. The UAlbany CNSE is the first college in the world dedicated to research, development, education, and deployment in the emerging disciplines of nanoscience, nanoengineering, nanobioscience, and nanoeconomics. In May 2007, it was ranked as the world's number one college for nanotechnology and microtechnology in the Annual College Ranking by Small Times magazine. CNSE's Albany NanoTech complex is the most advanced research enterprise of its kind at any university in the world: $4.5 billion, 450,000-square-foot complex that attracts corporate partners from around the world and offers students a one-of-a-kind academic experience. The UAlbany NanoCollege houses the only fully-integrated, 300mm wafer, computer chip pilot prototyping and demonstration line within 65,000 square feet of Class 1 capable cleanrooms. More than 2,000 scientists, researchers, engineers, students, and faculty work on site at CNSE's Albany NanoTech complex, from companies including IBM, AMD, SEMATECH, Toshiba, ASML, Applied Materials, Tokyo Electron, Vistec Lithography and Freescale. An expansion currently underway will increase the size of CNSE's Albany NanoTech complex to over 800,000 square feet, including over 80,000 square feet of Class 1 capable cleanroom space, to house over 2,500 scientists, researchers, engineers, students, and faculty by mid-2009. For more information, visit cnse.albany.edu/.
About Colonie Center. At 1.3 million square feet, this two-level enclosed shopping and entertainment center features over 100 specialty stores. The center is anchored by Macy's, Boscov's and Sears. L.L. Bean, their first retail store in New York State, sits proudly on the first level. On the second level, Colonie Center features the Christmas Tree Shops, one of only two in our state. Popular retailers include The Gap/Gap Kids/ Baby Gap, Express, Bath and Body Works, Aeropostale, Victoria's Secret, Kay Jewelers, Lane Bryant, American Eagle and New York and Co. Other unique stores include Sephora (the first in the northeast), Barnes & Noble, Lids, Steve and Barry's, Spectors, and Hannoush Jewelers. The center boasts the only Cheesecake Factory Restaurant and P.F. Changs China Bistro in upstate New York, as well as an expanded food court and the popular Friendly's Restaurant. The new Regal Cinemas Stadium 13 brings state-of-the-art digital projection theaters as well as surround sound to the capital area; along with plush high-back stadium rock/recliner seating.
CNSE Contact: Steve Janack, CNSE Vice President for Marketing and Communications (phone) 518-956-7322 (cell) 518-312-5009 (e-mail) sjanack@uamail.albany.edu

When graphite is made into its smallest part it becomes what is known as grapheme. Nanotechnologies are being utilized to create graphene which is considered an amazingly strong material. Graphene can be created in sheets which can later be used in solar cells as electrodes, used as material in lithium batteries, used for the creation of powerful sensors and in the creation of semiconductors.
Recently appearing in an Internet nanotechnology journal called the Nature Nanotechnology, a team of UCLA nanotech researchers revealed a technique for the creation of grapheme in mass quantities or in large sheets. The leader of the nanotech research team from UCLA, Yang Yang, who is a Materials Science and Engineering Professor from the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering, and the Chemistry and Biochemistry professor from the same institution, Richard Kander, have established a strategy for putting graphite/oxide paper into a liquid made of hydrazine. The hydrazine reduces the graphite into graphene in a single layer sheet.
The study revealed the first time that hydrazine has ever been used in the effort to produce graphene. What’s more, the hydrazine used by the nanotech team improves upon the graphene, making it a better conductor for electricity. Recent tests conducted on the graphene created from hydrazine solution use deliver an output that is three times higher than former reports. According to the nanotech team responsible for the discovery, this new found way for creating graphene sheets is expected to evolve into the future of graphene production and to improve upon nanoelectronic research and studies.
According to Kander, Graphene is considered one of the best and most advanced nanotech materials since it holds so much potential for uses in the industry of electronics as well as other industries. The current and existing methods for the creation of graphene are associated with a number of disadvantages which are not associated with this newer method for graphene creation. Since the use of hydrazine to reduce graphite into graphene is dependent upon the use of a pure solution, the entire creation of graphene sheets has now been dramatically and incredibly simplified. Simpler creation methods help to diminish the cost of production as well. According to Yang, who not only led the team to the discovery, but is also the Nano Renewable Energy Center’s director, graphene sheet creation holds an amazing amount of promise in the industry of flexible electronics.

According to a decision made by the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution made recently, nanotechnologies and the production of nanomaterials need more regulations and serious safety and testing measures put in place. Nanomaterials are tiny microscopic structures which are oftentimes smaller than viruses and some organizations are concerned that they may one day prove to be dangerous.
The announcement had nothing to do with the discovery of any dangers associated with the use of nanomaterials in consumer products. In fact, that is part of the problem; there have been little to no studies conducted on the risks associated with nanotechnologies to this date and the Royal Commission recognized the danger of a fast evolving nanotechnology field with no regulations to control the risks that may exist. Growing concerns are being expressed for the potential harmful effects that the small nanotech particles might produce in the environment, on animals, on people, and plants. This concern has led the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Royal Society to call for more research and testing on nanomaterials to identify any potential risks or effects.
As of this date there has not been a proposed ban on the use of nanotechnologies in consumer and commercialized products. The commission chairman, Sir John Lawton announced the commission’s concerns with three chief types of nanomaterial that need more testing which include carbon nanobfibers, carbon 60, and nanosilver. Such items are already being used in clothing materials and laundry products. There is even some concern that nanotubes made from carbon might have similar properties to asbestos which can prove harmful to the respiratory system.
The goal of the commission was not to make an attempt to be all controlling of nanotechnologies. However, it is believed that the Reach organization in Europe, which deals specifically with chemicals, should be expanded to embrace nanotechnologies and the creation of nanomaterials. According to the Chief Scientist of the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies at the Woodrow Wilson Centre in Washington DC, the repetitious warnings about the potential hazards, environmental risks and health risks associated with nanotechnologies have not been acknowledged in an expedient fashion. It is believed that the recommendations established by the Royal Academy will help the lag between testing and regulating of nanomaterials and the creation of new nanomaterials and to finally bring the gap to a close. The Royal Commission was not capable of finding out the amount of monies spent on nanotech research and safety in private and public sectors. Over £2 million was dedicated to a nanoscience environmental initiative, but in the end, more information is necessary.

La Havana (VNA) – A nanoscience and nanotechnology centre will be built in Cuba based on achievements in biological and scientific and information technologies that the country has attained so far.
The announcement was made at the 2nd International Seminar on Nanosciences and Nanotechnologies in Havana late last week.
The event was attended by 35 prominent experts from Germany, France, China, Japan, Britain, Spain and Russia who came to talk about nanoscience and its practical applications.
Cuba has a system of 65 specialised research centres and 220 scientific institutions, which provides a solid foundation for fast development of nanoscience and technology researches as well as their application in a wide range of areas including health sector, agriculture and environmental protection, said Fidel Castro Diaz-Balart, scientific aide to the State Council of Cuba, at the opening session on November 15.
As for the nanotechnology development, Cuba has set a strategic target of promoting investments for research and expert-training activities and developing new technologies, he added.
Nanosciences and their applications have brought about a wider and more diversified goods and services, including beauty items, disinfectants, dental adhesives and many other medical products.

A new class of exceptionally effective chemical catalysts that promote the powerful olefin metathesis reaction has been discovered by a team of Boston College and MIT scientists, opening up a vast new scientific platform to researchers in medicine, biology and materials.
The new catalysts can be easily prepared and possess unique features never before utilized by chemists, according to findings from a team led by professors Amir Hoveyda of BC and Richard Schrock of MIT. The team's findings are reported in the current online edition of the journal Nature.
"In order for chemists to gain access to molecules that can enhance the quality of human life, we need reliable, highly efficient, selective and environmentally friendly chemical reactions," said Hoveyda, the Joseph T. and Patricia Vanderslice Millennium Professor and Chemistry Department chairman at BC. "Discovering catalysts that promote these transformations is one of the great challenges of modern chemistry."
Catalytic olefin metathesis transforms simple molecules into complex ones. But a chief challenge has been developing catalysts to this organic chemical reaction that are practical and offer exceptional selectivity for a significantly broader range of reactions.
Schrock, the Frederick G. Keyes Professor of Chemistry at MIT who won the 2005 Nobel Prize in chemistry, said the unprecedented level of control the new class of catalysts provides will advance research across multiple fields.
"We expect this highly flexible palette of catalysts to be useful for a wide variety of catalytic reactions that are catalyzed by a high oxidation state alkylidene species, and to be able to design catalytic metathesis reactions with a control that has rarely if ever been observed before," Schrock said.
Highly versatile molecules that contain carbon -- carbon double bonds, alkenes, or olefins, are ubiquitous in medicinally relevant and biologically active molecules. Tetrahedral in constitution, the new catalysts are the first to exploit a metal with four different ligands -- molecules that bond to the central metal -- which in turn dictate the catalysts' high level of reactivity and selectivity.
"For the first time these catalysts take advantage of the configuration of a metal with four different ligands attached to it, an untested situation that has long been predicted to be a strong director of asymmetric catalytic reactions that take place at the metal center," said Schrock.
A novel aspect at the center of the catalyst is that the metal molybdenum is a source of chirality, also known as "handedness." Like the mirror image of left hand and right, molecules can come in two variations, one a reflection of the other. But these two variations often function in entirely different ways -- sometimes one proves harmful, while the other is benign.
With molybdenum at its core, the new catalyst gives chemists a simple, unique and efficient way to produce one form of the molecule or the other in order to yield the desired reactions.
The new catalysts are also structurally flexible, a relatively unconventional attribute that lends them exceptional chemical activity. The discovery of catalysts with stable configurations and flexible structures is expected to allow chemists to design, prepare and develop new chemical transformations that furnish unprecedented levels of reactivity and selectivity, according to the co-authors, which include BC researchers Steven J. Malcolmson, Simon J. Meek, and Elizabeth S. Sattely.
The findings mark the latest discovery from the long-standing collaboration between the Hoveyda and Schrock labs, work that has been supported by more than $3.5 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health for nearly a decade.
"Unquestioned leaders in their own areas of science, Hoveyda and Schrock have pooled their complementary skills to come up with an elegant solution to an elusive goal -- the development of catalysts for enantioselective olefin metathesis," said John Schwab, who oversees organic synthesis grants at the NIH's National Institute of General Medical Sciences. "This is a beautiful illustration of the power of collaborative science."
Adapted from a news release issued by Boston College.

The idea of nanotechnology (although he did not call it nanotechnology) started when Richard Feynman (1959) gave a talk at Caltech called “There’s plenty of room at the bottom”. He suggested the “possibility of maneuvering things atom by atom” and “if we go down far enough, all our devices can be mass produced so that they are perfect copies of one another.” The term nanotechnology was first used by Taniquchi in 1974.
In 1977, Eric Drexler began to discuss the possibilities of molecular nanotechnology. He wrote two books on molecular nanotechnology: one for a general audience Engines of Creation: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology (1986); and one for a technical audience Nanosystems: Molecular Machinery, Manufacturing, and Computation (1992). In these books Drexler argued that improvements in molecular nanotechnology were reliant on progress to be made in other technologies. The invention of the scanning tunneling microscope in 1986 was a major help as it allowed atomic resolution for the first time.
Early on, there was a debate between two of the giants in the field of nanotechnology: Eric Drexler, who argued that molecular nanotechnology was possible and Richard Smalley, who argued it would not be technically possible because of steric issues (i.e. “fat fingers”) and molecular adherence problems (i.e. “sticky fingers”) (Phoenix, 2003a). The former refers to the clumsiness to discriminate at the level of individual atoms and the later refers to the propensity of molecules to stick together. This debate was quickly solved by the rapid progress made in nanotechnology (e.g. Eigler & Schweizer (1990) published the finding that they could move a single atom). Thus, many of the technical problems of working at the nanolevel could be overcome therefore highlighting the enormous potential of this technology. The technologies of scanning force and atomic force microscopy have increasingly allowed minute manipulations to be made at the nanoscale.
In 2000, the US Government announced the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) to expand research into nanotechnology and provided funding of US$500 million in the first year (by 2006, this had increased to US$1.4 billion). The ambitious goals of this initiative included shrinking the entire contents of the Library of Congress into a device the size of a sugar cube, assembling new materials from the ‘bottom up’, using gene and drug delivery technologies to detect and target cancer cells, and developing new technologies to remove the smallest water and air pollutants.
Amongst this early optimism, Bill Joy (2000), who was then Chief Scientist of Sun Microsystems, published an essay in Wired magazine that highlighted the dangers of nanotechnology. In this essay, Joy called for a “relinquishment” of dangerous research pathways such as self-replicating nanomachines that could get out of control and begin destroying the environment. This created much debate. There was concern amongst nanotechnology scientists that public fears could greatly limit the growth of nanotechnology as a result of funding being denied or ‘over-cautious’ regulations.
The risks of nanotechnology were also discussed in science fiction. For example, Prey by Michael Crichton (2002) highlighted the problem of nanomachines self-replicating out of control to create so-called ‘grey goo’. There was also beginning to be opposition to nanotechnology. For example, the Action group on Erosion, Technology and Concentration (ETC) protested against the funding given to the NNI by the US Government. ETC (2003 and 2004) is against nanotechnology because of its risks and has called for a moratorium on nanotechnology.
The insurance industry also began to consider the risks involved in nanotechnology. For example, Swiss Re (2004 and 2005) attempted to assess the risks of nanotechnology given the large number of unknowns and its possible large impact on society. Morgan (2005) suggested that the development of a framework for informing the risk analysis and risk management of nanoparticles was needed.
In April 2008, scientists from Hewlett-Packard reported in the journal Nature that they had designed a simple circuit element that they believe “will enable tiny, powerful computers that could imitate biological functions”. The device, called a memristor (see figure 3), could “make it possible to build extremely dense computer memory chips” (Tour & Tao, 2008). This revolutionary device could allow many new developments to be quickly made in artificial intelligence. The ability to create machines that have a ‘consciousness’ is becoming a real possibility. What would this mean for humanity? It could radically alter our current systems and institutions. What this would mean for future generations of both humans and other living things?
There are already nanotechnology products widely available for consumers and businesses to purchase, including sunscreens, toothpastes, sanitary ware coatings, car tyres, golf clubs and even food packaging. Although estimates vary, it has been estimated that the current global market for nanotechnology is worth US$40 billion and it has been predicted to be worth up to US$1 trillion by 2015-2020 (Tegart, 2006, p.11). However, there is growing concern that the safety of these nanomaterial products has not been fully tested and many unknowns about the effects of possibly highly dangerous nanomaterials being released into the environment remain. Public trust of nanotechnology is critical. Also current regulations may not be sufficient to cover the risks involved and they may need to be tightened to provide better protection from nanotechnology risks.
The Woodrow Wilson International Centre for Scholars (WWICS)[1] maintains a list of nanomaterial products on its website currently puts the number at 610 products produced by 322 companies, located in 20 countries. However, the exact number of nanomaterial products is contested. Journalist Howard Lovy (2007) has argued the WWICS derives its list from product claims rather than their own criteria or assessment and in this way contributes to public alarm. There are also many products at the early stages of discovery and development. The extent of investment required to develop these technologies is large and possibly high risk. For example, consider the IT boom and the enormous amounts of money made and then the bust and the huge losses incurred [reference needed here]. A number of scholars acknowledge that, as with other technologies, there are both benefits and risks involved in nanotechnology (Treder, 2004; Tucker, 2007). The Royal Society and The Royal Academy of Engineering (2004) together released a report that highlighted both positive and negative impacts of nanotechnology.

I have learnt to delete the email every time without reading it. Now I discover that I was right to do so, thanks to the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution’s commonsensical report, Novel Materials in the Environment: the Case of Nanotechnology.
As the people who earn money by getting us to worry about it know, calling something nanotechnology makes us far more likely to worry than if it were called dust.
Just like other supposedly new trends that people want us to be alarmed about, such as globalisation, working with vanishingly small particles is not so novel either. It has been going on since ancient times.
The Lycurgus cup, shown on the cover of the Royal Commission’s report, is thought to have been made in 4th-century AD Rome.
It is the only complete example of a special kind of glass, known as dichroic, which changes colour from opaque green to translucent red when held up to the light.
This property is caused by tiny amounts of colloidal gold and silver contained in the glass.
So far, so unalarming. The Royal Commission makes the sane point that there is nothing inherently alarming about nanoparticles because of their scale, only because of what some of them have been engineered to do.
We already know alarming things about dust. For example, prolonged exposure to coal dust causes lung diseases and some forms of asbestos cause cancer.
But is the world about to be dissolved into grey goo because of some new agent attacking cell walls? The Royal Commission would appear to think not.
They do point out that a growing number of nanoparticles, called carbon nanotubes, are used in tyres and as anti-static agents in fuels, and things called Buckminsterfullerenes, or Buckyballs, are manufactured in increasing quantities.
Sir John Lawton, chairman of the commission, says he would not wear sportswear coated with minute silver particles, which fight smell and grime, because they might behave in the same malign way as asbestos dust - though they might not. We simply don’t know.
So, as the Royal Commission says, it makes sense to research what particles do when they are ingested or discharged willy-nilly into the environment. It also makes sense to amend regulations, so companies have to report any adverse effect on health or the environment.
On the other hand, potential uses of nanotechnology are likely to benefit mankind considerably - for example in water treatment, in fuel cells, batteries and in energy‑efficient materials. So it would be mad to write off whole technologies without further research.
All this sounds like profound common sense - the kind that has sadly often not been listened to when the commission has offered advice before, for example, on reducing the emissions from aircraft into the stratosphere.
You wonder why we can’t look at GM technology in the same measured way.
• WE have no chance now of meeting the target the Government has, perhaps foolishly, imposed on itself of halting the loss of Britain’s species and habitats by 2010, a Commons select committee reported this week.
MPs say the problem is simply that government fails to consider the consequences of its own policies, for example those on biofuels, planning, housebuilding – or the removal of set-aside.
• SOMETHING funny goes on, though, when accounting for the loss of species.
My friend Guy Smith, Essex farmer and barn owl lover, points out that the government’s Farmland Bird Index, one of its indicators of sustainability, is based on an absurdly small number of species, 19 in fact, when a more reasonable number for the birds inhabiting farmland would be in the 40s.
The index excludes sparrowhawks, buzzards, magpies – all of which have increased. It even leaves out barn owls, which have doubled in numbers in the past 10 years.
Could it be that the decline of smaller birds, such as the skylark and starling, has to do not only with changes in farming, as environmentalists are fond of pointing out, but also with an increase in predatory species? Interesting thought.

Computers are getting smaller and smaller. And as hand-held devices — from mobile phones and cameras to music players and laptops — get more powerful, the race is on to develop memory formats that can satisfy the ever-growing demand for information storage on tiny formats.
Researchers at The University of Nottingham are now exploring ways of exploiting the unique properties of carbon nanotubes to create a cheap and compact memory cell that uses little power and writes information at high speeds.
Miniaturisation of computer devices involves continual improvement and shrinking of their basic element, the transistor. This process could soon reach its fundamental limit. As transistors approach nanoscales their operation is disrupted by quantum phenomena, such as electrons tunnelling through the barriers between wires
Current memory technologies fall into three separate groups: dynamic random access memory (DRAM), which is the cheapest method; static random access memory (SRAM), which is the fastest memory — but both DRAM and SRAM require an external power supply to retain data; and flash memory, which is non-volatile — it does not need a power supply to retain data, but has slower read-write cycles than DRAM.
Carbon nanotubes — tubes made from rolled graphite sheets just one carbon atom thick — could provide the answer. If one nanotube sits inside another — slightly larger — one, the inner tube will ‘float’ within the outer, responding to electrostatic, van der Waals and capillary forces. Passing power through the nanotubes allows the inner tube to be pushed in and out of the outer tube. This telescoping action can either connect or disconnect the inner tube to an electrode, creating the ‘zero’ or ‘one’ states required to store information using binary code. When the power source is switched off, van der Waals force — which governs attraction between molecules — keeps the Inner tube in contact with the electrode. This makes the memory storage non-volatile, like Flash memory.
Researchers from across the scientific disciplines will be working on the ‘nanodevices for data storage’ project, which is funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. Colleagues from the Schools of Chemistry, Physics and Astronomy, Pharmacy and the Nottingham Nanotechnology and Nanoscience Centre will examine the methods and materials required to develop this new technology, as well as exploring other potential applications for the telescoping properties of carbon nanotubes. These include drug delivery to individual cells and nanothermometers which could differentiate between healthy and cancerous cells.
Dr Elena Bichoutskaia in the School of Chemistry at the University is leading the study. “The electronics industry is searching for a replacement of silicon-based technologies for data storage and computer memory,” she said. “Existing technologies, such as magnetic hard discs, cannot be used reliably at the sub-micrometre scale and will soon reach their fundamental physical limitations.
“In this project a new device for storing information will be developed, made entirely of carbon nanotubes and combining the speed and price of dynamic memory with the non-volatility of flash memory.”
— Ends —
Notes to editors: The University of Nottingham is ranked in the UK's Top 10 and the World's Top 100 universities by the Shanghai Jiao Tong (SJTU) and Times Higher (THE) World University Rankings.
It provides innovative and top quality teaching, undertakes world-changing research, and attracts talented staff and students from 150 nations. Described by The Times as Britain's "only truly global university", it has invested continuously in award-winning campuses in the United Kingdom, China and Malaysia. Twice since 2003 its research and teaching academics have won Nobel Prizes. The University has won the Queen's Award for Enterprise in both 2006 (International Trade) and 2007 (Innovation — School of Pharmacy), and was named 'Entrepreneurial University of the Year' at the Times Higher Education Awards 2008.
Its students are much in demand from 'blue-chip' employers. Winners of Students in Free Enterprise for four years in succession, and current holder of UK Graduate of the Year, they are accomplished artists, scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs, innovators and fundraisers. Nottingham graduates consistently excel in business, the media, the arts and sport. Undergraduate and postgraduate degree completion rates are amongst the highest in the United Kingdom. Story Credits
More information is available from Dr Elena Bichoutskaia on +44 (0)115 951 4191, elena.bichoutskaia@nottingham.ac.uk

The Birck Nanotechnology Center at Purdue University provides both an appealing façade and a high level of functionality. The open architectural style supports the collaborative, interdisciplinary nature of the research being performed in the building.
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The 25,000 square foot nanofabrication cleanroom is designed using a bay-chase concept with equipment bulkheaded through the chase walls. This minimizes the area under filter while separating maintenance from operation functions on equipment. This style of design is well suited to a research environment. (Photos courtesy HDR Architecture; Steve Hall, and Hedrich Blessing.)
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“The Birck Nanotechnology Center (BNC) building at Purdue University is itself a scientific instrument,” states Research Development Manager George Adams. “All elements of the facility work together to the same end, enabling nanoscale research.” The building includes the largest and cleanest university cleanroom in the United States, a separate biological cleanroom, a uniquely designed link between the two clean-room types for materials transfer, and highly sophisticated general laboratories optimized for nanoscale research. These cleanrooms and laboratories in turn support an advanced equipment set. This entire facility is supported by a highly experienced technical staff. The infrastructure of building, equipment, and staff is the foundation for and the partner with Purdue’s researchers in their quest to push the limits in nanoscience, nanoengineering, and nanotechnology and to create novel materials, structures, and devices that are life-changing. The opportunities appear limitless.
Beginning with the nanofabrication clean-room equipment set, the capability for lithography has been pushed to six nanometers (0.006 micrometers) with a newly purchased Leica Vec-torBeam lithography system, additional e-beam and optical lithography systems, including double-side alignment tools, round out the lithography area of the BNC. To achieve this capability, Building Manager Mark Voorhis tuned the cleanroom control system to maintain less than two-tenths of a degree temperature variation in this portion of the cleanroom. This, coupled with ISO Class 3 (Class 1) particle control, a NIST-A vibration rating on the cleanroom waffle slab, and low EMI levels, allow the VectorBeam to achieve its full capability.
Advanced etching capability allows the patterns obtained in the lithography area to be replicated in various films on the wafers. Two STS deep reactive-ion etchers, a soon-to-be-delivered etcher from Panasonic, and several other reactive-ion etch systems provide the ability to etch a wide variety of materials with high aspect ratios.
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The Scifres Nanofabrication Laboratory, a semiconductor-style cleanroom specially designed for nanotechnology research, provides clean zones ranging from ISO Class 3 to ISO Class 5 zones with exceptional vibration and temperature control. (Photo courtesy HDR Architecture; Steve Hall, and Hedrich Blessing.)
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The nanofabrication cleanroom uses a three-floor approach, with utilities supplied from the subfab below the cleanroom and air handling provided from the floor above the cleanroom. The use of a subfab reduces equipment installation time and cost, critical for a research facility where equipment changes will be ongoing.
Deposition has long been a strength at Purdue, and the capabilities of twelve evaporators and sputterers, as well as several chemical vaporization deposition (CVD) and plasma-enhanced CVD (PECVD) systems have been supplemented with the acquisition of two atomic layer deposition (ALD) systems. This wide variety of systems allows both common and exotic films to be deposited while minimizing concerns of cross-contamination.
Ion implantation, diffusion and oxidation, and wet-chemical processing round out the cleanroom tool set. This equipment is located in the 25,000 square foot Scifres Nanofabrication Laboratory, a cleanroom containing six bays at ISO Class 3 (Class 1), five bays at ISO Class 4 (Class 10), and two bays at ISO Class 5 (Class 100) clean zones. A bay-chase design with large chases and smaller bays was used for two principal reasons. First, this approach minimizes first cost and operating cost by reducing the amount of the cleanroom under filter. Second, a physical barrier is placed between the “operations” portion of the equipment and the “maintenance” portion of the equipment. The mass of the equipment is recessed in the chase where the ultimate in cleanliness is not needed and where most of the maintenance functions are performed.
The cleanroom is the typical semiconductor-style three-floor cleanroom with a subfab level, cleanroom level, and air-handling level. The subfab is not part of the airflow path, and contains support equipment for the cleanroom tools. For example, the vacuum pumps of a reactive-ion etcher are located in the subfab where the contamination they generate is isolated from the clean-air path. Inert gases are also located in the subfab, while hazardous gases are located in one of three gas rooms—toxic, flammable, or pyrophoric. The subfab also serves as a utility distribution level. Electrical power, exhaust, and piping systems are distributed on this level, with connections to both sub-fab equipment and to cleanroom equipment.
The subfab level is on grade, with a high column density to provide the vibration control desired for the clean-room waffle slab. Dividing the subfab from the cleanroom is a high-aspect-ratio waffle slab. The beams are 36” deep on 24” centers, with a 4 1/2” thick pan between the beams. This pan is penetrated at regular intervals with utility sleeves to provide a path for the distribution of utilities from the subfab to the cleanroom.
The cleanroom level is further subdivided into the air-distribution space above the terminal (ULPA) filters, the cleanroom itself, and the underfloor area for air return and utility distribution. The air-distribution system is a duct-ed supply with a plenum return. Balancing boxes supply air through flexible ducts, “elephant trunks,” to the filter modules. The filter modules supply a gasket seal between the module and the T-bar ceiling system— the non-critical seal. A gel seal is used between the filter and the module because it is the pressurized and, therefore, critical seal.
The cleanroom bays and chases are separated by demountable wall panels attached to a support system that allows the mounting of utilities and Unistrut brackets directly to the mullion. Glass panels are utilized frequently to achieve an open feel to the cleanroom.
The cleanroom floor is a standard perforated panel, but the chase floor is a grated panel. The grating allows below-floor piping to be traced without removing panels and provides a lower pressure drop in the airflow path. The cleanroom floor stands two feet above the epoxy-coated waffle slab, allowing ample space to maximize airflow uni-directionality and to ease installation and servicing in underfloor areas.
The upper level of the cleanroom building contains both make-up and recirculation air handlers. Multiple-fan units, each with six man-liftable, independent fans, handle the recirculation airflow through the cleanroom, providing nine air changes per minute. Fan independence means that no fan is a single point of failure for air circulation; the other five fans provide “instant backup” should a fan fail. By using small, identical fans, an in-house stock of a few relatively inexpensive spare fans allows for timely replacement of a failed fan-motor assembly.
Entry to the nanofabrication cleanroom follows standard protocols for a cleanroom of this classification. A pre-gowning area provides step-over benches where shoe covers are donned, and an open area where bouffant caps are added. Following the swipe of an ID badge and check against a database to ensure that the user’s cleanroom training is current, an air shower provides access to the gowning room. A standard top-down gowning protocol is used for donning hoods, GORE-TEX jumpsuits, boots, and gloves. Finally, a second air shower provides access to the cleanroom.
The cleanroom of the Birck Nanotechnology Center in Discovery Park at Purdue University is enabling nan-otechnology research in many areas. A cleanroom portion of this comprehensive facility is a driving force in nanoscience and the development of new nanoscale devices.
John R. Weaver II serves as the Facility Manager for the Birck Nanotechnology Center at Purdue Uni-versity.He is responsible for the facility infrastruc-ture,safety and training activities,and cleanroom and laboratory operations.John received his BS degree in Chemistry at Adrian College in 1972,and joined RCA Solid State Division in process engineering in the world’s first production CMOS fabrication facility.In 1975 he moved to Hughes Aircraft Company’s Solid State Products Division in Newport Beach,California, where he continued his role in high-volume manufacturing-support engineering.In 1977 he moved to what is now Delphi Corporation in Kokomo,Indiana.During his career,John has been involved in a variety of roles in semiconductor process support,process development, and processing facilities development.He can be reached at 765-494-5494 or jrweaver@purdue.edu

Physicists at the London Centre for Nanotechnology have found a way to extend the electrically-detected quantum lifetime of electrons by more than 5,000 per cent, as reported in this week’s Physical Review Letters. Electrons exhibit a property called ‘spin’ and work like tiny magnets which can point up, down or a quantum superposition of both. The state of the spin can be used to store information and so by extending their life the research provides a significant step towards building a usable quantum computer.
“Silicon has dominated the computing industry for decades,” says Dr Gavin Morley, lead author of the paper. “The most sensitive way to see the quantum behaviour of electrons held in silicon chips uses electrical currents. Unfortunately, the problem has always been that these currents damage the quantum features under study, degrading their usefulness.”
Marshall Stoneham, Professor of Physics at UCL (University College London), commented: “Getting the answer from a quantum computation isn't easy. This new work takes us closer to solving the problem by showing how we might read out the state of electron spins in a silicon-based quantum computer.”
To achieve the record quantum lifetime the team used a magnetic field twenty-five times stronger than those used in previous experiments. This powerful field also provided an additional advantage in the quest for practical quantum computing: it put the electron spins into a convenient starting state by aligning them all in one direction.
For more information, see the paper published in Physical Review Letters, November 14 2008, by G. W. Morley (London Center for Nanotechnology), D. R. McCamey (University of Utah), H. A. Seipel (University of Utah), L.-C. Brunel (National High Magnetic field Laboratory), J. van Tol (National High Magnetic field Laboratory) and C. Boehme (University of Utah).
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Notes for Editors:
About the London Centre for Nanotechnology:
The London Centre for Nanotechnology is an interdisciplinary joint enterprise between University College London and Imperial College London. In bringing together world-class infrastructure and leading nanotechnology research activities, the Centre aims to attain the critical mass to compete with the best facilities abroad. Research programmes are aligned to three key areas, namely Planet Care, Healthcare and Information Technology and bridge together biomedical, physical and engineering sciences. Website: london-nano.com
About UCL (University College London):
Founded in 1826, UCL was the first English university established after Oxford and Cambridge, the first to admit students regardless of race, class, religion or gender, and the first to provide systematic teaching of law, architecture and medicine. In the government's most recent Research Assessment Exercise, 59 UCL departments achieved top ratings of 5* and 5, indicating research quality of international excellence. UCL is in the top ten world universities in the 2007 THES-QS World University Rankings, and the fourth-ranked UK university in the 2007 league table of the top 500 world universities produced by the Shanghai Jiao Tong University. UCL alumni include Marie Stopes, Jonathan Dimbleby, Lord Woolf, Alexander Graham Bell, and members of the band Coldplay. Website: ucl.ac.uk
About the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Tallahassee Florida
The National High Magnetic Field Laboratory develops and operates state-of-the-art, high-magnetic-field facilities that faculty and visiting scientists and engineers use for research. The laboratory is sponsored by the National Science Foundation and the state of Florida. To learn more visit magnet.fsu.edu.
About the University of Utah
The University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, is an institution for higher education and research accredited with Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges and a member of the Utah System of Higher Education with an enrolment of 28,025 students (Fall semester 2008) including 6,604 graduate students. Website: utah.edu

A group of nanotech researchers heralding from the United Kingdom’s University of Leeds has created a nanotechnology device called a biosensor which is expected to change the present methods used for diagnosing certain diseases. The nanotech biosensor, which uses specific antibodies to discover specific biomarkers, the device is helping in identifying the presence of certain diseases within the human body. The ELISHA project, also known as the Electronic Immuno-Interfaces and Surface Nanobiotechnology: A Heteroxical Approach, is firmly supported by the EU which has supplied 2.7 million in terms of funding for the project. The uniquely designed nanotech device is expected to be capable of minimizing the time one has to make a diagnosis to as little as a quarter of an hour’s time. Commercialization of the product is anticipated to occur in as little as three years time.
Current methods used for the detection of diseases within the body have several disadvantages associated with them: disadvantages that nanotechnologies are expected to eliminate and eradicate. Many of the diagnostic testing methods presently used in the medical field are decades old and include sampling of urine and blood. Such tests can take several hours to complete and must be finished off by professionals capable of testing the specimens. The newer method for diagnostic testing evolving from recent nanotechnological discoveries is expedient and can be conducted on location instead of having to be sent out to expensive laboratories.
A professor from the University of Leeds and the Faculty of Biological Sciences, Dr. Paul Millner asserts that the nanotechonologic form of diagnostic testing is expected to become the next generational form of testing. With the biosensors, it is possible to identify any type of analyte which is a specific disease-associated substance. The ELISHA nanotech biosensor is no bigger than a plastic credit card processing machine and the group has plans to make the device smaller than a cell phone.
The device is heavily dependent upon nanotechnologies which serve to manipulate small particles; it later gives the questioner or medical examiner a clear yes or no response when searching for the presence of specific diseases. Separate identifying microchips are designed to hunt for particular diseases within the human body. Diseases that the device is expected to hunt for include a variety of different cancers, heart disease, MS, and infections caused by fungi. The nanotech research team anticipates that the device will one day be capable of detecting HIV and tuberculosis as well.

[Source: ScienceDaily] - A landmark national survey on the use of nanotechnology for "human enhancement" shows widespread public support for applications of the new technology related to improving human health. However, the survey also shows broad disapproval for nanotech human enhancement research in areas without health benefits. A team of researchers at North Carolina State University and Arizona State University (ASU) conducted the study, which could influence the direction of future nanotechnology research efforts.
The "Public Awareness of Nanotechnology Study" is the first nationally representative survey to examine public opinion on the use of nanotechnology for human enhancement. The survey found significant support for enhancements that promise to improve human health. For example, 88 percent of participants were in favor of research for a video-to-brain link that would amount to artificial eyesight for the blind. However, there was little support for non-health research endeavors. For example, only 30 percent of participants approved of research into implants that could improve performance of soldiers on the battlefield.
Nanotechnology is generally defined as technology that uses substances having a size of 100 nanometers or less (tens of thousands of times smaller than the width of a human hair), and is expected to have widespread uses in medicine, consumer products and industrial processes. Human enhancement is a sweeping term that applies to the use of such technologies to alter human capabilities.
NC State's Dr. Michael Cobb, one of the leaders of the study, says the survey's findings are important because "what the public wants could drive the direction of future research." Cobb, an associate professor of political science, explains, "The public should have input into where the government invests its research funding." Dr. Clark Miller, an associate professor of political science at ASU and another leader of the survey, adds, "One of the most important findings is the difference in support for different applications of human enhancement. Research and public policies will need to reflect this differentiated view, recognizing that there are some applications the public supports and some that the public is quite skeptical of."
While the survey shows strong public support for research into nanotechnology applications in the health field, those findings are tempered by a similar concern from the public about the scope of that research. The study found that 55 percent of participants felt that researchers should "avoid playing God with new technologies." Similarly, the public expressed little confidence in the government and mass media to inform people about potential risks from new technologies. Rather, participants said they had the greatest confidence in university scientists and environmental groups to protect the public.
Leaders of the study were NC State's Cobb, ASU's Miller, Sean Hays, doctoral student in political science at ASU, and Dr. David Guston, professor of political science and director of the Center for Nanotechnology in Society at Arizona State University (CNS). The study was funded by CNS under a cooperative agreement from the National Science Foundation to conduct research, training and outreach on the societal aspects of nanotechnology. The study's findings complement earlier findings of the CNS National Citizens' Technology Forum, organized by Cobb and NC State researcher Dr. Patrick Hamlett in April 2008.
The survey was conducted between July and October of 2008. The survey included 556 participants, had a 28 percent response rate, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.1 percent.

The Independent, the organ of middle class, slightly left leaning, middle of the road, organic veg munching people with a perpetually concerned expression on their faces (at least the ones I know) distills all the recent fuss into one big question, which it then fails to answer.
Should the Government call a moratorium on nanotechnology?
Yes…
* The risks are simply too great to carry on business as usual until we know more
* We have managed perfectly well so far without nanotechnology, so why take the chance?
* If there is any doubt at all, it would do no harm to call a temporary halt until we know more
No…
* We already enjoy too many benefits from nanotechnology to be able to straightforwardly stop now
* The risks are hypothetical and it would be a mistake to stop without harder evidence that the risk is real
* The potential benefits that are just around the corner far outweigh any possible risks
It’s easy to poke holes in this, even if it mainly concerned with nanomaterials rather than nanotechnologies, but to be fair, it’s in the nature of science journalism that it tends to be generalist and rather ill informed.
Even a polymath such as Leonardo Da Vinci would have had trouble dealing with the whole of science, from space walks to stem cells, and then breaking it down into 500 word chunks that non scientists could understand (and would have been no doubt lumbered with being the arts correspondent too).
However, in common with almost every other nanotech scare story in the last decade I suspect that this will be quickly forgotten by most, although those organisations who take up cudgels against any form of scientific progress will no doubt use the recent reports to claim legitimacy for their often rather unscientific arguments.

Download the report (pdf) - http://www.rcep.org.uk/novel%20materials/Novel%20Materials%20report.pdf

UT Dallas researchers will play a key part in a collaborative effort to develop a new nano-scale manufacturing technique that builds three-dimensional objects atom by atom.
Part of the Atomically Precise Manufacturing Consortium (APMC) led by Zyvex Labs, a molecular nanotechnology company, the $9.7 million project is intended to accelerate the transition of nanotechnology from the laboratory to the marketplace.
The consortium plans to develop nanotech-based products in volume at practical production rates and costs. Researchers say a host of technologies could result from the work, including high-speed DNA sequencing, next-generation fiber optics and quantum computers.
“The program taps our extensive expertise and capability to manipulate silicon surfaces at the atomic scale and provides a conduit for our research to be translated into viable nanotechnology products,” said Robert Wallace, principal investigator and a professor of materials science and engineering and electrical engineering at the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science at UT Dallas.
UT Dallas researchers will receive nearly $2 million through the program, the largest share of any of the university participants, added Dr. Wallace, who is also a professor of physics. The research will take place in state-of-the-art facilities located in the university’s $85 million Natural Science and Engineering Research Laboratory building.
“The technologies developed by this program will be the first to allow robust three-dimensional solid structures to be created with atomic precision under computer control,” said John Randall, vice president of Zyvex Labs and principal investigator for APMC. “While this falls in line with efforts throughout human history to improve manufacturing precision, it is revolutionary because it will achieve unprecedented precision by taking advantage of the quantized nature of matter.”
The project includes a mix of funding from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the Texas Emerging Technology Fund.
“Our goal is to develop the capability to fabricate nanostructures in such a way that we can control position, size, shape and orientation at the nanometer scale, which is not possible today,” said Tom Kenny, DARPA program manager. “If we can demonstrate this, we will be able to truly unlock the potential capabilities of nanotechnology.”
APMC’s membership includes Zyvex, General Dynamics, Integrated Circuit Scanning Probe Instruments, Vought Aircraft, UT Dallas, UT Austin, the University of North Texas, the University of Central Florida, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the North Texas Regional Center for Innovation and Commercialization.