Research Areas

Nanoscale Materials Science is a revolutionary new field in which materials are created through the control of matter on the nanometer-length scale, i.e., at the level of atoms and molecules, and then combined to generate larger structures with fundamentally new atomic/molecular organization. These new materials exhibit profoundly different physical, chemical, and mechanical properties than their macroscopic counterparts and, when assembled into larger structures, are expected to enable revolutionary advances in fields such as transportation, microelectronics, and medicine.

BioMEMS and Nanobiosystems researchers are developing new and innovative biomedical and biochemical analysis systems incorporating bioMEMS. Applications include environmental nanosystems, point-of-care testing, haptics and biosurgery, microfluidics and labs-on-a-chip, and proteomics and genomics.

Nanophotonics researchers span the Departments of Electrical & Computer Engineering (ECE), Chemistry, and Physics. Photonics-based research covers optical information processing and memories, connectivity, optical sensing, solid-state lighting, and basic studies of quantum dot lasers, photonic waveguide devices for optical communications utilizing wavelength multiplexing, and photonic bandgap structures.

Nanomedicine brings together researchers from the Colleges of Engineering, Medicine, and Arts & Sciences: Engineering, medical, physics, and chemistry faculty and students are exploring this new frontier in medicine, in which nanoscale science and technology play an important role in a variety of diagnostic and therapeutic options. An interdisciplinary approach is fostered in both research and education to formulate, design, and produce nanoscale solutions from "bench to bedside." Principal thrusts include nanoscale diagnostics and treatment at the cellular level; synthesis and characterization of nanoscale devices and nanomaterials for medical applications; and nanoscale biocompatibility and safety.