Research Complex to bring
fields together
By Luis Jiménez
Summer
Reporter
With the development of the new research complex
proposed to begin construction during the summer of 2002, Purdue hopes
to further research in the field of nanotechnology by putting together
numerous researchers from many fields in one building.
Nanotechnology engineering is the investigation
design and manipulation of materials on the atomic scale and involves
the study of building miniature devices, atom by atom.
James Cooper, professor of electrical and computer
engineering, said nanotechnology is a term broadly used in several research
areas such as: biology, chemistry, physics, electrical, materials and
chemical engineering.
"Nanotechnology involves trying to build structures
that are far smaller than there have ever been built before," Cooper
said.
What sets this new research complex apart from
any other research centers on campus is the possibility of having several
members from different fields together working in the same space, which
is important for this kind of research as nanotechnology requires a
significant amount of multidisciplinary work.
Richard Schwartz, dean of the Schools of Engineering,
said the research complex is being built for two purposes: to provide
facilities that are not available anywhere in campus and to provide
a location where many fields can be brought together.
"(The complex) should be one of the leading centers
in the country," said Schwartz. "There would be equipment and facilities
not available on this campus."
Cooper said the facility is going to be a state-of-the-art
research center. "It will bring many facilities in one building, which
I believe haven't been brought together in any university yet," Cooper
said.
Although the nanotechnology research center would
be a significant landmark on campus, it will not come for cheap. Schwartz
said the $5 million received from the Indiana State Budget will be used
to start the construction of the center's physical facilities; however,
other $55 million are expected to be raised from private sources to
finance the construction of the complex.
"This is a very important center that will provide
the facilities for many research groups," Schwartz said.
Rashid Bashir, assistant professor of electrical
and computer engineering, also stressed the importance of the center.
"It is extremely important to the University, to the state and to the
country," he said. "Nanotechnology is a research area of natural importance.
There has been national initiative to accelerate research in this field.
People have started to realize the potential of this type of research."
Bashir said that future applications yielded from
nanotechnology research include the making micro-scale implantable devices
that can be used in the body to detect certain chemicals in the body.
He also said other applications of this technology would be the future
production of more powerful computers and memories based on molecules,
which Cooper denominated as the "next generation of integrated circuits."
According to Cooper, the future of nanotechnology
research is a promising one. He said that it is hard to know for sure
what could be done from a long-term perspective, but foresees many advances
in the near future. "Further out 15 or 20 years, we are going to see
dramatically improved and smaller electronical devices," Cooper said.
"We expect some biomedical applications in 5 to 10 years."
Kent Fuchs, head of the School of Electrical and
Computer Engineering, explained how nanotechnology research would be
laid out. He said there would be six kinds of laboratory spaces. "There
will be clean rooms; biology and chemistry labs; an epitaxial growth
lab, which will support the atom by atom growth of semiconductor crystals
and will enable the layer by layer construction of new materials and
devices," he said. "There will be measurement and characterization labs
and a nanotechnology incubator."
The nanotechnology incubator would be an administrative
facility that will be in charge of encouraging entrepeneurship for facilitating
new companies based upon the research results derived from the center.
Cooper said many of the possible advances in this
field can't just be envisioned right now. "Nanotechnology is something
is probably going to be with us for the next 50 years."
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