Nanotechnology

Nanotechnology

Research on the nano-scale involves objects that measure only .000000001 meters (10^-9) in size—about 800-times smaller than the diameter of human hair.

But measuring the strength of the University of South Carolina’s nanoscience research requires a much broader yardstick, particularly when considering the caliber of scientists now on the faculty. Richard Webb is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the first of the University’s endowed faculty chairs in the South Carolina Centers of Economic Excellence program. Thomas Vogt, recruited from the Brookhaven National Lab, is the inaugural director of Carolina’s NanoCenter. Brian Benicewicz is leaving Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York to become the endowed chair in the Center of Economic Excellence for Polymer Nanocomposite Research; Benicewicz is also a top fuel-cell researchers.

NanoCenter research
The center is focusing on polymer nanocomposites and nanoelectronics, with Webb leading the nanoelectronics group, which recently recruited another industry leader in Thomas Crawford, an expert in hard drives who came from Seagate Technology in Pittsburgh.

A bevy of chemistry and chemical engineering faculty are using patented research processes to embed nano-sized clay particles in plastic. The result is dramatically improved packaging characteristics for bottles and other containers.

Ethics and outreach
Carolina is exploring not only the hard research areas of nanoscience, but also the societal implications of the technology. Davis Baird, dean of the South Carolina Honors College, leads a group of researchers who have received a $1.35 million grant from the National Science Foundation to study the growing role of nanotechnology in society.

Christopher Toumey joined the NanoCenter from the Department of Anthropology and began the S.C. Citizens’ School of Nanotechnology, an outreach program that demystifies the technology by providing an exchange between researchers and the public. Toumey says the technology’s ability to manipulate sub-microscopic particles will lead not only to new products but also to the processes that create them.

“Nanotechnology is what they call an enabling technology,” Toumey says. “It’s not just a better way to make a better computer chip; it’s more like the assembly line. It’s a new way to make a lot of different things.”

Nanotechnology Image: main banner: S. Baxter, Mechanical Engineering; E. Goldsmith, Cell Biology; C. Murphy, Chemistry; C. Robinson, Art; University of South Carolina NanoCenter

Nanotechnology Links

NanoCenter
University’s focal point for research of nanometer-scale structures

NanoScience Education and Outreach
Programs from undergraduate education to speakers’ bureau

Nanoscience and Technology Studies
Interdisciplinary perspectives and from the traditional disciplines

Thomas Vogt hiring announcement
University recruits NanoCenter director from Brookhaven National Lab

Brian Benicewicz hiring announcement
University names endowed chair for the Center of Economic Excellence for Polymer Nanocomposite Research