Sunscreen, computers, food, medicine — teensy, tiny nano-engineered materials are in common, everyday items that most people don’t think much about. Applications of nanomaterials are wide and varied — a revolution in modern industry.
Every year in honor of National Nanotechnology Day on October 9th, the National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure (NNCI) hosts a Plenty of Beauty at the Bottom image contest to celebrate the beauty of the micro and nanoscale. Check out this year’s winners and featured images.
Stanford University, along with the University of California, Berkeley, will lead the California-Pacific-Northwest AI Hardware Microelectronics Commons Hub (Northwest AI Hub), one of eight Microelectronics Commons regional innovation hubs awarded by the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD). The Northwest AI Hub will receive $15.3 million in funding this year, part of a total package of $238 million awarded to all eight innovation hubs across the country.
Today, we are living in the midst of a race to develop a quantum computer, one that could be used for practical applications. This device, built on the principles of quantum mechanics, holds the potential to perform computing tasks far beyond the capabilities of today’s fastest supercomputers. Quantum computers and other quantum-enabled technologies could foster significant advances in areas such as cybersecurity and molecular simulation, impacting and even revolutionizing fields such as online security, drug discovery and material fabrication.
The UW Institute for Nano-engineered Systems (NanoES) has awarded three seed grants to UW researchers to use nanotechnology tools to develop new, innovative technologies and devices. Electrical & computer engineering (ECE) Postdoctoral Scholar Brant Bowers, ECE Assistant Professor Serena Eley and mechanical engineering Assistant Professor Mohammed Malakooti will receive up to $10,000 to carry out work in the UW’s Washington Nanofabrication Facility (WNF) and Molecular Analysis Facility (MAF).
Semiconductors, also known as integrated circuits or microchips, have become a necessity for modern life. Long considered to be the brains of modern electronics, these tiny chips can be found in almost every electronic device in use today. And their impact is vast, supporting every sector of the U.S. economy, as well as national security. Currently, all major U.S. defense systems and platforms rely on microchips for their performance, and in many cases, simply to operate.
In a new Nature paper, a team led by UW researchers reports that it is possible to imbue graphite — the bulk, 3D material found in No. 2 pencils — with physical properties similar to graphite’s 2D counterpart, graphene. Not only was this breakthrough unexpected, the team also believes its approach could be used to test whether similar types of bulk materials can also take on 2D-like properties. If so, 2D sheets won’t be the only source for scientists to fuel technological revolutions. Bulk, 3D materials could be just as useful.
UW ECE and Physics Associate Professor Arka Majumdar and UW ECE postdoctoral scholar Johannes Fröch are part of an international research team helping to make high-quality, color cameras smaller and lighter for mobile platforms, such as next-generation smartphones, drones, and point-of-care medical devices. The team recently developed a miniature camera that uses an innovative hybrid optical system over 100 times smaller than its commercial counterpart.
As described in a paper published June 28 in the journal Nature, a UW ECE research team has invented a new type of LiDAR system that could help self-driving cars “see” distant objects with clarity and precision.
A team of UW scientists and engineers led by Xiaodong Xu has announced a significant advancement in developing fault-tolerant qubits for quantum computing.