About the Center for Nanotechnology

The Center, directed by Professor Francois Baneyx, was established by a University of Washington’s Initiatives Fund (UIF) award in 1997, and includes the NanoTech User Facility.

Our more than seventy-five faculty members come from the Departments of Chemistry, Physics, Bioengineering, Chemical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, Biochemistry, Genome Sciences, Physiology and Biophysics, and Microbiology.

Our Ph. D. Program in Nanotechnology is funded from the National Science Foundation's Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (NSF-IGERT) program.  We offer an Optional Ph.D. Program in Nanotechnology, the first of its kind in the nation, providing graduate students with excellent interdisciplinary education experiences in nanoscale science and nanotechnology.  

The NanoTech User Facility (NTUF) was established in 1998 to provide the Pacific Northwest nanotechnology community with access to advanced characterization and nanofabrication equipment. In 2004, NTUF expanded its role to the national level by becoming one of 13 nodes in National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network (NNIN), an NSF sponsored network of 13 universities, whose mission is to establish the infrastructure for the current and future research and education needs in nanoscience and nanotechnology.

NTUF has leading-edge instruments for characterization and fabrication at the micro- and nanoscale. Imaging tools include a Leica inverted fluorescence microscope, a Renishaw inVia Confcal Raman Microscope, an FEI field emission SEM with electron beam lithography capability, a Vecco Nanoscope scanning probe microscope with scanning tunneling microscopy and atomic force microscopy capabilities, and a recently acquired 2-photon Zeiss LSM510 laser scanning confocal microscope. Fabrication tools include soft lithography for rapid prototyping and a Nabity E-Beam Lithography system. NTUF also performs in-house nanotechnology tool development by drawing on faculty research and expertise.

Nanotechnology plays role in several other Centers on Campus:

University of Washington Engineered Biomaterials (UWEB):
An NSF Engineering Research Center since 1995.

Microscale Life Science Center (MLSC):
An NIH Center for Excellence in Genome Sciences since 2001.

Center for Materials and Devices for Information Technology Research (MDITR):
An NSF Science and Technology Center since 2002.

National ESCA and Surface Analysis Center for Biomedical Problems (NESAC/BIO): state-of-the-art surface analysis instrumentation and research facility serving the biomedical research community since 1984.

PNNL/UW Joint Institute of Nanoscience (JIN): has been created between the Pacific Northwest National Laboratories (PNNL) and the University of Washington (UW) since 2000.

Nanotech Student Association has been established since 2000.

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