NNCI: Texas Nanofabrication Facility (TNF)

纳米技术处理的人造物体的尺寸比我们日常接触的物体小得多，但比原子或分子大得多。因此，纳米技术可以表现出新颖和潜在的有用特性，可以在电子、国防和医疗保健等不同领域得到应用。纳米技术预计将成为21世纪美国和世界经济的重要组成部分。然而，由于这些物体非常微小，制造它们需要在设备和基础设施以及维护和培训这些工具的用户的人员方面进行巨大的投资。通常，这些都超出了学术机构和初创企业的资源范围，联邦政府的支持至关重要。德克萨斯纳米制造设施（TNF）是德克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校的一个国家纳米技术协调基础设施（NNCI）站点，建立在一个经过验证的nsf支持的模型上，并将帮助培训这一新兴领域的下一代工程师和科学家，重点是在这些STEM领域招募少数民族和女性。它还将催生纳米技术领域的初创企业，并将导致一些领域的进步，比如消耗更少能量的更快的计算机，用于更快通信的激光和光子设备，以及用于消费市场和国防应用的一系列令人眼花缭乱的产品。这一努力也将对医疗保健和其他主要的联邦计划产生影响，比如为大脑计划开发纳米传感器，为个性化医疗开发更好的DNA和蛋白质测序工具，以及为靶向药物输送开发纳米结构。TNF将通过提供最先进的纳米器件原型、计量和纳米制造能力，促进纳米科学和技术的突破，在纳米电子/光子学、绿色能源和医疗保健方面在西南和全国的应用。纳米电子器件原型的努力将不仅得到过去基于工具训练的方法的支持，而且还将得到新的基于整体解决方案的方案的支持。再加上设备制造，TNF将在原子尺度上提供纳米级成像和计量的尖端工具。纳米技术在医疗保健领域的应用将得到德克萨斯大学新近成立的戴尔医学院（Dell Medical School）的大力支持。戴尔医学院是近几十年来为数不多的新医学院之一，致力于重塑医学教育。TNF将指导和培养纳米技术的初创企业，并在德克萨斯州的NSF工程研究中心为纳米原型制造提供平台。它将建立纳米技术的教育活动，特别是针对代表性不足的少数民族和妇女，同时使纳米技术的社会和伦理影响（SEI）成为每项活动的一个组成部分。西南地区不断增长的西班牙裔人口使得这部分人口在STEM领域得到充分代表至关重要。肿瘤坏死因子位于所谓的德克萨斯三角的中心，该三角包含了德克萨斯州的大部分人口和高科技活动。这是美国11个超级人口中心之一，也是美国纳米技术的关键中心。因此，这个地方应该对推进21世纪美国的纳米科学和技术产生重大影响

Nanotechnology deals with man-made objects with sizes that are much smaller than everyday objects we deal with, but much larger than atoms or molecules, They can thus manifest novel and potentially useful properties that can have applications in diverse areas such as electronics, defense, and healthcare. Nanotechnology is projected to be a significant segment of the U.S. and world economy in the 21st century. However, since these objects are so tiny, fabricating them takes a tremendous investment in equipment and infrastructure, and in personnel to maintain and train users in these tools. Often, these are beyond the resources of academic institutions and startups, and support from the federal government is critical. The Texas Nanofabrication Facility (TNF), a National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure (NNCI) site at the University of Texas at Austin, builds upon a proven NSF-supported model, and will help train the next generation of engineers and scientists in this nascent field, with a strong focus on recruiting minorities and women in these STEM fields. It will also engender startups in nanotechnology, and will lead to advances in areas such as faster computers that would consume less energy, lasers and photonic devices for faster communication, and a dazzling array of products for the consumer market and defense applications. This effort will also have an impact on healthcare, and other major federal initiatives such as developing nanosensors for the Brain Initiative, better DNA and protein sequencing tools for personalized medicine, and nanostructures for targeted drug delivery.The TNF will facilitate breakthroughs in nanoscience and technology, with applications in nanoelectronics/photonics, green energy and healthcare in the Southwest and in the Nation, by providing state-of-the-art capability in nanodevice prototyping, metrology and nanomanufacturing. The efforts in prototyping of nanoelectronic devices will be underpinned not only by tool-training-based approaches, as in the past, but also new holistic solutions-based schemes. Coupled with device fabrication, TNF will provide cutting-edge tools in nanoscale imaging and metrology at the atomic scale. The application of nano-in-healthcare will be bolstered by the recently established Dell Medical School at the University of Texas, one of very few new medical schools in recent decades, and one that is committed to re-inventing medical education. The TNF will mentor and foster start-ups in nanotechnology, and provide platforms for nanomanufacturing of prototypes at the NSF Engineering Research Center in Texas. It will establish educational activities in nanotechnology especially directed at underrepresented minorities and women, while making social and ethical implications (SEI) of nanotechnology an integral component of every activity. The growing Hispanic population in the Southwest makes it crucial that this segment of the population is well represented in STEM fields. The TNF is located centrally in the so-called Texas Triangle, which encompasses most of the population and the high-technology activity in Texas. This is one of eleven mega-population centers in the Nation, and a key hub of nanotechnology in the U.S. As such, this site should have a major impact on advancing nanoscience and technology in the 21st century in the U.S.