IGERT Program

IGERT Program       Thematic Basis       
Research Efforts

Thematic Basis for the Group Effort

Nanostructures, feature sizes of about a billionth of a meter, have moved from the realm of fantasy to reality. They will be to the 21st century what microtechnology has been to the 20th. We can now tailor both mechanical and chemical properties of nano-sized materials to meet specific needs. We can build sub-micron structures (using novel imprinting techniques) and position individual molecules and atoms to nanometer precision. These technological breakthroughs are already bringing fundamental advances in quantum physics, materials, optoelectronics, chemical synthesis, bio-mimetic processing, biotechnology, and medicine.

Industries which stand to be impacted most strongly by nanotechnology are computing and communications, biotechnology, and medicine. The industrial and academic demand for people who think, measure, and engineer on the nanometer scale will increase dramatically. Leaders of this technological revolution must possess strong multidisciplinary skills. American universities must change the way graduate students are taught in order to provide US industry with the personnel necessary to establish and maintain a lead in this field.

In 2000 we began a NSF-funded program for Integrative Graduate Education and Research Training (IGERT) in Nanotechnology. Our IGERT objectives are to enhance graduate education in nanotechnology across college lines. To do this, we have already or will:

1. Introduce a Ph. D. program combining Nanotechnology with concurrent degrees in science, engineering and medicine (which should start in 2001).

2. Recruit outstanding graduate students who can become future leaders in nanoscale science and technology.

3. Create and expand innovative interdisciplinary research training opportunities in nanoscale science and technology.

4. Establish an environment and infrastructure to provide students hands-on expertise in state-of-the-art technology for fabrication and analysis of samples on the nanoscale, with the NanoTech User Facility serving as the cornerstone.

5. Establish an industrial "Nanotechnology" internship program.

6. Integrate graduate education in nanotechnology into other UW programs.

7. Nurture an exciting educational and research environment to promote rapid advances in nanoscale science and technology.

This IGERT program places the UW in a leading position for educating a new generation of graduate students with interdisciplinary expertise and communication skills who are well prepared to drive the technological revolution.

Research innovations in nanoscale science and technology require an intimate marriage of diverse fields, from theory to application, wherein each one learns from the other, and all learn from nature's tool chest in Nanotechnology. Concerted efforts from scientists, engineers and the medical profession are required. Since 1997, UW has taken a unique stance about changing the way in which it does its business. Annually, the President takes 1% of the University budget and distributes it, via an internal competition, to fund innovative ideas for research and education: this is the "University Initiative Fund" (UIF). Through the UIF, UW has already made a major commitment to developing a world-class graduate traineeship program in Nanotechnology. In 1997, several IGERT co-investigators were awarded a four-year UIF grant (total = $2M) to establish the Center for Nanotechnology ("CNT"). The CNT is a union of physical, life, medicine, and engineering sciences. In the CNT, a unifying interest in nanoscale science and technology brings together faculty and students from eight departments and four colleges for collaborative research and cross-departmental education in nanoscale science and technology. It provides a genuinely interdisciplinary force to educate tomorrow's leaders across departmental lines.

At the heart of the CNT are:

1. a fellowship program for graduate students, now ending its second year (16 fellowships have been awarded), funded from the UIF,

2. a seminar series, now in its third year, where faculty and students present in an informal setting current results and problems of ongoing projects, and

3. a new centralized NanoTech User Facility (NUF), where graduate and undergraduate students are educated hands-on using state-of-the-art equipment.

The CNT is a highly successful focal point for building long-lasting collaborations among graduate students, faculty, industry and other regional research institutions. It is an ideal foundation for this NSF IGERT program. The UIF support let us get a good start, but is considered seed funding. Support through the NSF IGERT program is continuing and expanding this effort, and will have a crucial, long-lasting impact in redefining graduate education in nanotechnology. Since the group of faculty and the UW administration has successfully joined forces to implement infrastructure and education programs, the CNT is in an excellent position to lead this educational revolution in nanoscale science and technology, and to respond to academic and industry needs for properly educated personnel.

While the UIF seed funds, which are time-limited, enabled implementation of excellent research programs in nanotechnology and the necessary infrastructure to manipulate and analyze samples on the nanoscale, our NSF-IGERT program is now allowing the implementation of a comprehensive graduate education program in "Nanotechnology". This program is centered around a number of major research efforts.