Purdue to construct new
research center
By Kurt Esposito
Assistant Campus Editor
Next summer, Purdue
will begin construction on a new research center that will be at the
forefront of one of science's fastest developing fields — nanotechnology.
"This should place
Purdue at the forefront of a very new and exciting field," said Richard
Schwartz, dean of the Schools of Engineering. "We have outstanding faculty
in this area. It will provide them with facilities to do this leading
edge research and provide students with opportunities to work and train
in this field."
Schwartz said nanotechnology
is a developing field and will become more important over the next five
to 10 years.
The field involves
the study of miniature devices and systems, one atom at a time. It has
applications in engineering, physics, biology and chemistry.
It's being used
to develop greater densities for computer memory and sensors for biological
agents.
The nanotechnology
complex is expected to cost $60 million and the Indiana General Assembly's
2001-2002 budget allotted $5 million dollars for the center.
The rest of the
funds will be raised from private donations. Additional lab equipment
is expected to cost another $10 million and some equipment to be used
in the facility is already housed in various buildings throughout campus.
Schwartz said the
center will bring together research that is being done by different
departments on various parts of campus.
James Cooper, professor
of electrical and computer engineering, said it will allow physicists,
chemists, biologists and engineers to work together. "We will be able
to create things that none of us would be able to do if we were doing
it alone," he said.
Purdue researchers
have already developed prototypes of biochips that detect deadly pathogens
in food. The bacteria has to be incubated in order to determine if it's
deadly. The process takes two to three days, which sometimes is too
late to save anyone if they consumed the food. The biochip can take
a solution containing the bacteria and incubate it within a few hours.
"That's a huge step,"
said Cooper.
The facility will
offer clean rooms, a nanotechnology incubator, atomic force and electron
emission microscopes and epitaxial growth facilities, which can be used
to make silicon crystals.
The center is part
of a research complex that will eliminate a total of 22 buildings containing
350 apartments in the Purdue Village, which houses mostly married students.
It has not yet been
determined what facilities the other buildings will house.
The first phase
of construction will take place in the northern part of the village
and will eliminate eight buildings, which hold 126 apartments. The apartments
are located north of Nimitz Drive and south of Marshall Drive.
Construction for
the phase is scheduled to begin in June of 2002 and end in the fall
of 2004.
The following four
phases will demolish 14 buildings, which include 224 apartments.
Residents living
in those buildings have been informed they need to relocate before June
2002. The University expects to re-house all those in the area who will
lose their apartment as a result of the construction.
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