Their properties change in strange and marvelous ways. Bulk materials become brand-new when miniaturized or restructured at the nanoscale.
There is a beautifully simple principle at the heart of modern nanotechnology research. made similar investments, creating new institutes and interdisciplinary partnerships. In the wake of the NNI, my university, Northwestern University, made the strategic decision to establish the International Institute for Nanotechnology, which now represents more than $1 billion in pure nanotechnology research, educational programs and supporting infrastructure. I began my research career in chemistry, but it seemed to me that nanotechnology was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: the opening of a new field that crossed scientific disciplines. And we’re reaping the rewards not just in medicine, but also clean energy, environmental remediation and beyond.īefore the NNI, there were people who thought nanotechnology was a gimmick. It catalyzed a worldwide effort and spurred an explosion of creativity in the scientific community. Today it’s clear that the NNI did more than influence the direction of research in the U.S. It was a significant financial bet on a field that was better known among the general public for science fiction than scientific achievement. We’re now more than two decades out from the initial announcement of the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI), a federal program from President Bill Clinton founded in 2000 to support nanotechnology research and development in universities, government agencies and industry laboratories across the United States.
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