The 2007 NNIN REU Program is now live!

The National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network (NNIN) is an integrated networked partnership of user facilities, supported by the  National Science Foundation, serving the needs of nanoscale science,  engineering and technology.

The mission of National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network (NNIN) is to enable rapid advancements in science, engineering and technology at the nano-scale by efficient access to nanotechnology infrastructure. We provide shared open, geographically diverse laboratories, each with specific areas of technical excellence, and provide fabrication, synthesis, characterization, and integration resources to build structures, devices, and systems from atomic to complex large-scales. Our users belong to diverse areas: astronomy, plant pathology, materials science, physics, chemistry, life-sciences, various branches of engineering, etc., and come from academe, national laboratories, and industry. Users can perform research on-site using facility equipment, training and staff support. For many tasks, remote usage is also feasible. External users typically spend a week or two, or commute, to complete their work although longer visits are possible. We help users succeed by providing strong pre-visit technical interaction, mechanisms that let users protect their intellectual property, and strong training and knowledge support.

This web-site provides resources for to help you decide how to accomplish your technical goals, and other technical resources for learning. It also provides educational and outreach resources for the community at large. 

The Domain Experts of NNIN , also known as Technical Liaisons, provide technical expertise and support so that users can employ techniques and knowledge of other disciplines. Common examples are chemistry- or biology-based techniques, nanoscale characterization, novel growth techniques, etc.

We have a large set of process capabilities utilizing a very diverse instrument set covering both top-down and bottom-up paradigms. Users can perform short experiments using advanced tools, e.g. electron-beam lithography, as well as large integration projects. NNIN also provides computation and software support for nanoscience through computing resources and a variety of software.   Computation Domain Experts help you accomplish tasks by providing individualized technical support even if you are not an expert of the field. 

Our strealined project acceptance process  aims to enable the use of the facilities within 2 weeks of first contact.  We provide hands on equipment training and extensive process support to enable projects to achieve results quickly. We also have a large set of web-based multimedia training resources related to various instruments that you may find useful even if you are not a user.

Web-based educational resources are also available for a variety of research areas, including a soon to appear Open Textbook on Nanotechnology. Graduate and undergraduate students may also find our mentoring web-based media useful for learning about how to make good presentations as well as making career decisions. 

In addition, we all must be aware of the Social and Ethical issues surrounding Nanotechnology as well as  science in general. We welcome you to participate in the discussions, development and the learning through our related SEI web-site.

We invite you to explore our web-site and our facilities. Through equal access to all projects independent of origin; training, education and hands-on support in conduct of experimental tasks; and a commitment to social and ethical consciousness, outreach, and development of web-based infrastructure resources, we provide an open environment for success of the national nanotechnology enterprise.