Nanotechnology

Rochester Launches Nanosystems Initiative

A new nanotechnology effort at Rochester received a multimillion dollar boost this spring.

Thanks to $1.8 million in federal funding, the Nanosytems Inititive will focus on developing fuel cells and biosensors, two areas that are expected to see tremendous growth in the near future, and in which the University is already strong.

Nicholas Bigelow, a professor of physics and of optics and senior scientist at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics, says equipment needed for nanoresearch is often highly specialized and difficult to obtain.

He says the initiative will help create a center that will be shared by many scientists across the campus and from a variety of different disciplines.

“The center will be truly interdisciplinary, and will involve faculty and students in optics, chemistry, physics, and biomedical, chemical and electrical engineering, as well as the Medical Center and all members of the community,” says Bigelow. “In this sense, the new center will bring together researchers from across the university, allowing the whole to be greater than the sum of its parts.”

The Rochester initiative will be unique in terms of its capabilities for high-temperature nanomaterials found in fuel cells and for optical interactions with molecular and genetic tracers. Those rare capabilities will also be available to scientists from other universities.

The center will be housed in the Institute of Optics Annex building, adjoining the Wilmot building and the new Robert B. Goergen Hall for Biomedical Engineering and Optics.

In announcing the funding for the project, U.S. Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY) emphasized Rochester’s efforts to be on the cutting edge of science, research, and innovation.

“The Nanosystems Initiative is an exciting project that will lead to scientific advancement at the University and economic growth for the broader Rochester community,” she said.