NNCI: Texas Nanofabrication Facility (TNF)

纳米技术处理的人造物体的尺寸比我们处理的日常物体小得多，但比原子或分子大得多，因此它们可以表现出新颖的和潜在有用的特性，可以在电子，国防和医疗保健等不同领域应用。 纳米技术预计将成为美国和世界经济在21世纪世纪的重要组成部分。然而，由于这些物体如此微小，制造它们需要在设备和基础设施以及人员方面进行巨大的投资，以维护和培训这些工具的用户。通常，这些都超出了学术机构和创业公司的资源，来自联邦政府的支持至关重要。德克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校的国家纳米技术协调基础设施（NNCI）站点德克萨斯纳米工厂（TNF）建立在经过验证的NSF支持的模型基础上，并将帮助培训这一新兴领域的下一代工程师和科学家，重点关注在这些STEM领域招募少数民族和女性。它还将催生纳米技术的初创企业，并将导致诸如消耗更少能量的更快计算机、用于更快通信的激光和光子器件以及用于消费市场和国防应用的令人眼花缭乱的产品等领域的进步。这一努力也将对医疗保健和其他主要的联邦倡议产生影响，例如为大脑倡议开发纳米传感器，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将促进纳米科学和技术的突破，在西南和全国的纳米电子学/光子学，绿色能源和医疗保健方面的应用，通过在纳米器件原型设计、计量和纳米制造方面提供最先进的能力。纳米电子器件原型设计的努力不仅将得到基于工具培训的方法的支持，而且还将得到基于新的整体解决方案的计划的支持。再加上设备制造，TNF将提供尖端的工具，在纳米成像和计量在原子尺度。最近成立的德克萨斯大学戴尔医学院将支持纳米医疗保健的应用，这是近几十年来为数不多的新医学院之一，也是致力于重塑医学教育的医学院。TNF将指导和培育纳米技术初创企业，并为德克萨斯州NSF工程研究中心的原型纳米制造提供平台。它将建立纳米技术教育活动，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道德影响（SEI）成为每项活动的组成部分。西南部不断增长的西班牙裔人口使得这部分人口在STEM领域得到充分代表变得至关重要。TNF位于所谓的德克萨斯三角区的中心，该三角区涵盖了德克萨斯州的大部分人口和高科技活动。这是全国11个特大人口中心之一，也是美国纳米技术的关键枢纽。因此，这个网站应该对推进美国世纪的纳米科学技术产生重大影响。

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.