A large endeavor to help businesses develop uses for something tiny
By: Mike Mathis
Rutgers University is undertaking a very large endeavor to help businesses develop uses for something tiny.
The university is establishing a nanotechnology facility it hopes will benefit various industries throughout the state by boosting competitiveness and creating high-paying jobs.
Nanotechnology is a branch of science and engineering that involves the design and manufacture of products from atoms and molecules. Examples of nanotechnology applications include thin films and coatings such as those found in sunscreens and cosmetics and stain-resistant clothing and mattresses, heads for computer hard drives, metal cutting tools and medical imaging devices.
The Rutgers Institute for Advanced Materials and Devices will bring together nearly 100 researchers in chemistry, physics, engineering and the life sciences, as well as businesses and academic institutions statewide to channel cross-disciplinary breakthroughs in science and technology into the private-sector economic realm, university spokesman Carl Blesch said. It will foster ties between academic, industrial and governmental labs; and provide training for the region’s burgeoning high-tech workforce, Mr. Blesch said.
The nanotech facility will be used by numerous industries, including petrochemical, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, microelectronic, and energy companies. Rutgers has invested $1 million in the endeavor, and the New Jersey Commission on Science and Technology has provided a $500,000 grant.
Kathryn Uhrich, an associate professor of chemistry at Rutgers and a founder of Polymerix Corporation, a specialty pharmaceutical firm in Piscataway, said having a joint facility with shared access to equipment, faculty, students and ideas is a significant benefit because, although many at Rutgers are working on nano-related projects, many are working in isolation.
Ms. Uhrich predicted the facility will be a boon to the state’s nanotechnology businesses. "Expanding our awareness will expand our capabilities," Ms. Uhrich said. "Any time that great science is coupled with a great management team, we have great potential for New Jersey. Polymerix hired 20 people based upon one platform technology out of one laboratory. It’s time to develop other technologies with other labs," she added.
Ganesh Skandan, CEO and co-founder of NEI Corporation, a Somerset-based company that develops, manufactures and distributes nanoscale materials, said he welcomed the prospect of the new facility, as well as having the ability to collaborate with the university faculty. Mr. Skandan has a doctorate in materials science and engineering from Rutgers.
NEL’s products include nanomaterials for use in antifreeze, rechargeable batteries, automotive finishes, and floor and fabric coatings. NEI and Rutgers signed a 5-year cooperative agreement in February to conduct primary research and development and apply it to the commercial marketplace. The program will involve students at Rutgers and scientists and engineers at NEI and will run through March 2011. The partnership is being funded in part by a $400,000 NSF grant.
"This is a good start," Mr. Skandan said. "I’d love to see it expand."
Among the institute’s innovations will be the installation of what is being called the most powerful microscope in New Jersey. The research goals of the institute are to develop multifunctional materials and devices, such as extending silicon computer chip technology to perform functions such as handling wireless signals or controlling high-power applications. Nanoscience technology will also be used to shrink electronics to new levels of smallness and to create new tools to monitor and control biological systems for diagnosis, drug discovery and drug delivery, Mr. Blesch said.
Work also focuses on catalysts for the chemical, petrochemical and pharmaceutical industries, all of which are major business sectors and employers in the state, according to Mr. Blesch.
The institute also will be making incubator space available to startup ventures, offering favorable intellectual property arrangements for both startups and established companies, and training a high-technology workforce. IAMD will conduct outreach programs to high school students, teachers and the public, Mr. Blesch said.
An estimated $1 trillion worth of products will incorporate nanotechnology by 2015, according to the National Science Foundation. The $500,000 grant from NJCST will leverage more than $5 million in existing state-of-the-art equipment obtained through donations and federal grants, and allow for the acquisition of new equipment, including the large microscope. Rutgers purchased the transmission electron microscope for about $500,000 and is spending another $400,000 to equip a room to house it, install it and buy a service contract, Mr. Blesch said.