Research - Nanotechnology at UT Austin

RESEARCH AT UT AUSTIN
	The University of Texas at Austin has one of the largest and most successful research programs in nanotechnology world-wide. Over 450 researchers, in nine departments and 65 faculty research groups are working at the forefront of such exciting areas as nanoelectronics, nano biology and medicine, nano structured polymers, nanoparticle synthesis, nanotechnology for energy needs (e.g. for photovoltaics, fuel cells and catalysis), nano applications to spintronics and plasmonics, nano imprint lithography, nano tube research just to name a few of the main areas.
Centers and Funding
	Strategic Partnership for Research in Nanotechnology (SPRING), established in 2002, is a network of shared experimental centers that will rapidly advance and promote nanotechnology in the region. SPRING's mission is to foster nanoscience and nanotechnology research, education and technology transfer. SPRING is a collaborative effort between UT Austin, UT Dallas, UT Arlington and Rice University.
	Southwest Academy of Nanotechnology (SWAN) focuses on the next generation of computer chips. The center's goal is to bring seven to eight globally recognized researchers and their teams to Texas to conduct nanoelectronics research in a varity of areas.
	Consortium for Nanomaterials for Aerospace Commerce and Technology (CONTACT) consists of the following members: the Universities of Texas at Austin, Dallas, Arlington, at Brownsville, the University of Texas Pan American, Rice University, and the University of Houston in collaboration with the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Materials and Manufacturing Directorate (AFRL/ML) in Dayton, Ohio. It focuses on nanomaterials to ensure our national air superiority and rapid commercialization of nanomaterials developed by Texas universities scientists.
Publications and Honors
	Nanosurgery on a specially designed microchip reveals anesthetics interfere with nerve regeneration process - May 5, 2008 AUSTIN, Texas--A hair strand-thin worm is providing substantial clues on how nerves regenerate, offering insight and hope to finding genes that affect nerve generation and ultimately new drugs and therapies for human neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s.
	Detecting Cancer With Saliva - January 10, 2008 HOUSTON, Texas—Biochemist John McDevitt’s lab-on-a-chip technology was used by researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston to identify and quantify specific protein markers in human saliva to provide an early, non-invasive diagnosis of breast cancer.
	Nature Nanotechnology "News and Views" - Calling All Chemists by Dr. Rod Ruoff, January 2008
	Hot New Paper from CNM Fellow Zhen Yao - "Room-Temperature Single-Electron Transistors Using Alkanedithiols" Published in the November 2007 issue of IOP Publishing journal Nanotechnology
	Top 2 Hottest Paper in Acta Materialia Prof. Paulo Ferreira and Ph.D student Chris Carlton’s recently published paper in Acta Materialia entitled “What is behind the Inverse Hall-Petch Effect in Nanocrystalline Materials?” is attracting a wide attention from the scientific community. The paper shows that the Hall-Petch equation developed in the 50’s is just a particular case of a more general phenomenon, where the inverse Hall-Petch effect in nanomaterials can be predicted.
	Nanoscale organic and polymeric field-effect transistors as chemical sensors - January 2006 One of 2006 Top 10 most viewed articles published in Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry
	Physicists Slow and Control Supersonic Helium Beam - Thursday, March 8, 2007 The speed of a beam of helium atoms can be controlled and slowed using an atomic paddle much as a tennis player uses a racquet to control tennis balls, physicists at The University of Texas at Austin have discovered.
	Texas Researchers Aim to Use Saliva To Diagnose Health and Disease - Monday, February 12, 2007 Innovative saliva-based health diagnostic tools will be developed by John McDevitt and colleagues through a $6 million, multi-institutional grant from the National Institutes of Health.
	"Laser-induced breakdown of soda-lime glass microspheres using Nd:YAG laser" - Becker, Michael F., Keto, John W., and Lee, Jaemyoung. Optics and Laser Technology. Jun 2007, Vol. 39, Issue 4, pp. 835-839.
	Formation Mechanism of Pt Single-Crystal Nanoparticles in Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells - Paulo Ferreira and Yang Shao-Horn. Electrochemical and Solid-State Letters. Jan. 17, 2007, Vol. 10, Issue 3, pp. B60-B630.
	“Organic Transistor Based Circuit as Drive for Planar Microfluidic Devices” - Nadkarni, Suvid and Dodabalapur, Ananth. Journal of Materials Science-Materials in Electronics. Sep. 2007. Vol. 18, Issue 9, pp 931-937.
	“Light Scattering from Collagen Fiber Networks: Micro-Optical Properties of Normal and Neoplastic Stroma.” - Arifler, D., Pavlova, I., Gillenwater, A., and Richards-Kortum, R. Biophysical Journal. May 1, 2007, Vol. 92, Issue 9, pp. 3260-3274.
	“Sapphyrin-Nanotube Assemblies” - Boul, Peter J., Cho, Dong-Gyu, Rahman, G.M.A., Marquez, M., Ou, Zhongping, Kadish, Karl M., Guldi, Dirk M., Sessler, Jonathan L. Journal of the American Chemical Society May 2, 2007 Vol. 129, Issue 17, pp. 5683-5687.
	“Effect of sorbed water and temperature on the optical properties and density of thin glassy polymer films on a silicon substrate” - Freeman, Benny D., Paul, Donald R., and Rowe, Brandon W. Macromolecules. Apr. 17, 2007, Vol. 40, Issue 8, pp. 2806-2813 .

Nano Views

Major Research Centers with
Emphasis in Nanotechnology

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