Nano Computation Network Garners NSF Funding
Staff -- Semiconductor International, 9/20/2007 3:07:00 PM
The Network for Computational Nanotechnology has received a five-year, $18.25M grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to advance the simulation capabilities of the network. The site, which is based at Purdue University (West Lafayette, Ind.), also offers online courses and other information on nanoelectronics, nanomedicine and nanomaterials. The network interface is the “nanoHUB,” a free Internet-based gateway used by more than 3000 national and international researchers and educators every month. In the last 12 months, 5700 users have run more than 220,000 simulations with 50 available tools. The simulations support the creation of new medicines, sensors for homeland security, environmental monitoring and other applications.
Besides Purdue, the center includes the University of California at Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Norfolk State University, Northwestern University, and the University of Texas at El Paso.
The network was launched in 2002 to develop computational tools that allow scientists from Boston to Beijing to advance nano-related research, said network director Mark Lundstrom, a professor electrical and computer engineering at Purdue.
The network supports research projects within the federally funded National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI).
"With the help of our five partner universities, we are growing beyond our roots in nanoelectronics to new areas such as nanofluidics, nanomedicine, nanophotonics and applications of nanoscience to the environment, energy, the life sciences and homeland security," Lundstrom said, adding that researchers in the industry also have access to the network.
Current topics on the site include carbon nanotubes, nanotransistors, nanoelectronics and quantum dots. Gateways focused on other disciplines, such as pharmacy, cancer and medical research, will be launched in the near future, Lundstrom said.
