News Story

New Nano Center Open for Business, Ranked No. 1

The new Maryland Center for Integrated Nano Science and Engineering (M-CINSE), recently ranked first in the nation in nano research and education, has opened its doors in the Kim Engineering Building and invited the participation of academic, industrial, financial and legislative partners from Maryland and the nation.

"Nanotechnology's potential for creating mind-stretching new knowledge and products in medicine, electronics, defense and other fields is well known," said University of Maryland President C.D. Mote, Jr. "Our new Center has just the right balance of scientific, engineering and business expertise to realize that potential, a strong commitment to environmentally benign outcomes, and a collegial, service-oriented approach that welcomes collaborators and clients."

The Center is a joint program of the university's College of Computer, Mathematical and Physical Sciences, College of Chemical and Life Sciences and the Clark School of Engineering. It has secured more than $30 million of external funding, currently involves more than 80 faculty members and is recruiting 25 more; ultimately, counting faculty, graduate students and staff, the Center will number nearly 700 people, making it one of the nation's larger academic nanotechnology operations.

In its May/June issue, Small Times magazine ranked the University of Maryland 's nano research and education initiatives first in the nation using quantitative assessments. The magazine cited the integrated M-CINSE approach, laboratories in the new Kim Engineering Building, nearly 100 faculty members, 120 published papers in 2004, more than 400 research grants and a variety of nanotechnology-related undergraduate and graduate courses to support the ranking. Other highly ranked schools included the University of Michigan, the University of Texas at Austin and the University of California at Berkeley. Maryland's microtechnology research was ranked second in the nation (in a tie with the University of Texas at Austin) by the publication.

May 23, 2005