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Nanoscience at Harvard University
A “small” scientific revolution is taking place on the nano (10-9 meter) scale. How small is a nano? It takes 150,000 of them to approach the diameter of a single human hair.
By contrast, your cell phone and desktop PC have all been built using technologies at the larger, micron (10-6 meter) scale. Within the next few years, however, scientists will exhaust the capabilities of micron-level technology. To continue developing faster, less expensive, and more advanced components, they must go beyond and below to the nanoscale.
Nanoscience will rapidly transform not just the nature of science, but also how research is done, and even who does it. As computation has transformed information and communication and genomics is changing biology and healthcare, nanoscience will literally redefine our worldview — one atom at a time.
Nanoscience is already used to manufacture products ranging from scratch-proof eyeglasses to stain-proof pants. Engineers have honed their ability to manipulate individual atoms, ushering in a new era of fabrication. Such novel techniques promise advances in everything from computer chips—with parts nearly as small as atoms—and in drug delivery methods—the ability to target diseases with almost perfect precision.
Harvard University, home to a distinguished community of scientists in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) the Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences (DEAS), and Harvard Medical School (HMS), is poised to play a leading role in the future of nanoscience (see parts II and III).Harvard successfully blends tradition with the need for innovation.
Committing to nanoscience has required careful planning, creative thinking, and a desire to do science without boundaries. Unlike an institution that may simply want to chase a trend or try to keep up with the pack, Harvard has laid the groundwork to take a bold leadership role in the next age of science and discovery.
Goals for Nanoscience at Harvard
- Develop small-particle tools (e.g., optical tweezers)
- Manipulate the quantum structure directly where matter acts strangely and new properties emerge
- Apply nanotechnology to electronics, disease prevention, and fabrication
Nanoscience Faculty Leaders
- Charles Marcus, Department of Physics, FAS, Director of Center for Nanoscale Systems
- Robert Westervelt, Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences (DEAS), Department of Physics, FAS, Director of the Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center
- George Whitesides, Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, FAS
- David Weitz, DEAS, Department of Physics, FAS, Director of the Materials Research Science and Engineering Center
Who's Working Together
Physics;Chemistry and Chemical Biology;Molecular and Cellular Biology at the FAS, the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (Applied Physics, Bioengineering, Applied Mathematics, Electrical Engineering),Harvard Medical School
Recent Faculty Recruits
- Vinothan Manoharan, DEAS and Department of Physics, FAS
- Jenny Hoffman, Department of Physics, FAS
Related Centers
Center for Nanoscale Systems (CNS)
The scientific focus of CNS is on how nanoscale components can be integrated into large and complex interacting systems. Building complex systems at the nanoscale level could lead to revolutionary advances in technology and to our fundamental understanding of the natural world. For example, electronic devices small enough to display quantum phenomena may results in breakthroughs such as quantum computers with unimaginable computational power.
The Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC)
MRSEC is one of eleven such centers sponsored by the National Science Foundation. The center is focuses on: multiscale mechanics of films and interfaces; engineering materials and techniques for biological studies at cellular scales; and interface-mediated assembly of soft materials. For example, a new microfluidics-based device made by physicist David A. Weitz and colleagues at Harvard University and Unilever Corp. makes precisely controlled double emulsions in a single step. Double emulsions--droplets inside droplets--could be useful for encapsulating products such as drugs, cosmetics, or food additives.
NSEC is a multi-national, multi-university collaboration among Harvard and peer institutions. The goal of the Center is to build, image and test ultra-small quantum devices based on electrons and photons, and to understand their behavior theoretically. For example, Eric Mazur’s group created silica nanowires that could aid in the development of optical chips that operate more rapidly and efficiently than today's electronic chips; the tiny structures could also be used to manipulate cells and other microscopic objects.
The Rowland Institute
Rowland is dedicated to experimental science over a broad range of disciplines. Current research is carried out in physics, chemistry, and biology, with an emphasis on interdisciplinary work and the development of new experimental tools. The Institute was originally founded by the late Edwin H. Land in 1980.
Institute of Quantum Science and Engineering
A sister institute or research initiative in quantum science and engineering is under development and will comprise theoretical and experimental work from quantum optics and quantum information to solid-state physics and device engineering. Applications range from increased storage methods to unbelievably powerful computing – from increased transmission rates for data, to rapid information processing, to enhanced security. It’s where quantum mechanics, information theory, and nanotechnology will come together