National Institute for Nanotechnology
Encyclopedia
The National Institute for Nanotechnology (NINT) is a research institution located on the University of Alberta
main campus, in Edmonton
, Alberta
, Canada
. Its primary purpose is nanotechnological
research.
The institute was established in 2001 as a partnership between the National Research Council of Canada
, the University of Alberta
, and the Government of Alberta. It is administered as an institute of the National Research Council of Canada (NRC), and governed by a Board of Trustees nominated by the partners. Its core funding comes from the Government of Canada and additional funding and research support comes from the university, Government of Alberta, and various federal and provincial funding agencies.
In June 2006, the institute moved into its present 200,000 square metre facility, designed to be one of the world's largest buildings for nanotechnological research. There are at most two or three other facilities worldwide matching the new building in scale and capacity.
53.528391°N 113.528283°W
University of Alberta
The University of Alberta is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta and Henry Marshall Tory, its first president, it is widely recognized as one of the best universities in Canada...
main campus, in Edmonton
Edmonton
Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...
, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Its primary purpose is nanotechnological
Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology is the study of manipulating matter on an atomic and molecular scale. Generally, nanotechnology deals with developing materials, devices, or other structures possessing at least one dimension sized from 1 to 100 nanometres...
research.
The institute was established in 2001 as a partnership between the National Research Council of Canada
National Research Council of Canada
The National Research Council is an agency of the Government of Canada which conducts scientific research and development.- History :...
, the University of Alberta
University of Alberta
The University of Alberta is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta and Henry Marshall Tory, its first president, it is widely recognized as one of the best universities in Canada...
, and the Government of Alberta. It is administered as an institute of the National Research Council of Canada (NRC), and governed by a Board of Trustees nominated by the partners. Its core funding comes from the Government of Canada and additional funding and research support comes from the university, Government of Alberta, and various federal and provincial funding agencies.
In June 2006, the institute moved into its present 200,000 square metre facility, designed to be one of the world's largest buildings for nanotechnological research. There are at most two or three other facilities worldwide matching the new building in scale and capacity.
Research areas
According to NINT's research plan, the institute's research focus is in the following areas:- Synthesis and characterization of nanocrystalNanocrystalB. D. Fahlman has described a nanocrystal as any nanomaterial with at least one dimension ≤ 100nm and that is singlecrystalline.-Summary:More properly, any material with a dimension of less than 1 micrometre, i.e., 1000 nanometers, should be referred to as a nanoparticle, not a nanocrystal...
s and nanowireNanowireA nanowire is a nanostructure, with the diameter of the order of a nanometer . Alternatively, nanowires can be defined as structures that have a thickness or diameter constrained to tens of nanometers or less and an unconstrained length. At these scales, quantum mechanical effects are important —...
s
- Synthesis of supramolecular-based nanomaterialsNanomaterialsNanomaterials is a field that takes a materials science-based approach to nanotechnology. It studies materials with morphological features on the nanoscale, and especially those that have special properties stemming from their nanoscale dimensions...
- Fabrication and characterization of molecular-scale devicesMolecular self-assemblyMolecular self-assembly is the process by which molecules adopt a defined arrangement without guidance or management from an outside source. There are two types of self-assembly, intramolecular self-assembly and intermolecular self-assembly...
and nanosensorNanosensorNanosensors are any biological, chemical, or surgical sensory points used to convey information about nanoparticles to the macroscopic world. Their use mainly include various medicinal purposes and as gateways to building other nanoproducts, such as computer chips that work at the nanoscale and...
s
- Development of nano-scaled materials for catalysis and directed chemical reactions at semiconductor surfaces
- Development of nano-electronicNanoelectronicsNanoelectronics refer to the use of nanotechnology on electronic components, especially transistors. Although the term nanotechnology is generally defined as utilizing technology less than 100 nm in size, nanoelectronics often refer to transistor devices that are so small that inter-atomic...
and nano-fluidicNanofluidicsNanofluidics is the study of the behavior, manipulation, and control of fluids that are confined to structures of nanometer characteristic dimensions...
systems to interface devices to the outside world
- Theory, modeling, and simulation of nanosystems on multiple length scales
- Development of quantitative imaging and characterization techniques that support nanotechnology research
- Examination of the ethical, environmental, economic, legal and social issues of nanotechnology
- Research on nano-bioengineering such as protein design and genetic engineering of novel behaviours
- Development of nanoelectricalmechanical systemsNanoelectromechanical systemsNanoelectromechanical systems are devices integrating electrical and mechanical functionality on the nanoscale. NEMS form the logical next miniaturization step from so-called microelectromechanical systems, or MEMS devices...
(NEMS), such as lab-on-a-chip devices
See also
- Natural scientific research in Canada
- Technological and industrial history of Canada
- Canadian government scientific research organizationsCanadian government scientific research organizationsExpenditures by federal and provincial organizations on scientific research and development accounted for about 10% of all such spending in Canada in 2006...
- Canadian university scientific research organizationsCanadian university scientific research organizationsExpenditures by Canadian universities on scientific research and development accounted for about 40% of all spending on scientific research and development in Canada in 2006....
- Canadian industrial research and development organizationsCanadian industrial research and development organizationsExpenditures by Canadian corporations on research and development accounted for about 50% of all spending on scientific research and development in Canada in 2007....
External links
53.528391°N 113.528283°W