NNCI: Nebraska Nanoscale Facility (NNF)

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Non-technical Description: The Nebraska Nanoscale Facility (NNF) will continue to function as an NNCI regional user facility serving the nanotechnology and materials characterization needs of small colleges, universities, small and large companies in the western region of the US Midwest. Users have access to state-of-the-art advanced instrumentation facilities and expertise at the NNF. It facilitates cutting-edge research in nanomaterials science and nanotechnology with increasing emphasis on emerging quantum materials and technologies and fabrication of nanotechnology enabled devices, which can lead to new consumer products. The renewed NNF continues its contribution to the United States research and educational infrastructure for transformative advances in the fabrication, characterization, understanding and utilization of novel nanostructures, materials and devices. These structures and devices play an increasingly critical role in contemporary technologies including information technology, digital communication, energy processing, sensors for threat detection, and biomedicine. The strong education-outreach (E/O) program at NNF is focused on increasing diversity and inclusiveness through summer research experiences for students, after school middle-school programs, community-college programs, minicourses, and others. NNF’s E/O activities include programs with Native Americans and tribal colleges in Nebraska associated with the Winnebago, Santee Dakota, and Omaha tribes and help attracting students to engineering and science careers.Technical Description: As an integral part of the NNCI the Nebraska Nanoscale Facility (NNF) provides open and affordable access to advanced instrumentation facilities, expertise, training, and services in nanoscience, nanotechnology, materials science, and engineering to users from academia, industries, and government labs in the western region of the US Midwest. The NNF provides a single door access to eight core facilities and two shared facilities associated with it. NNF is the only facility in the western region of the US Midwest that houses an advanced array of state-of-the-art research instrumentation with a combination of cutting-edge technologies, intellectual capabilities and expertise that are open to all users in the region. The renewed NNF provides external users easy access to systems dedicated for advanced nanofabrication, nanomaterials characterization, chemical analysis, and additive manufacturing. NNF is equipped to support the investigation of nanomaterials, quantum materials, and metamaterials as well as nanomagnetic and nano-biodevice fabrication and testing. Research at NNF is bolstered by strong research groups in nanoscale electronics, nanomagnetism, nanophotonics and materials and structures for energy. The NNF also supports major sponsored research programs at the Nebraska Center for Materials and Nanoscience, UNL and neighboring universities. Hundreds of graduate and undergraduate students, postdoctoral associates, visiting scientists and engineers continue to benefit from the state-of-the-art facilities in NNF.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.