September 10, 2001 — WEST LAFAYETTE, IN — Purdue University plans to create a $100 million park that officials say will lead the way in the exploration and development of nanotechnology and bioscience, as well as online commerce.

The centerpiece of the four building, 40 acre Discovery Park development, announced Friday, will be a $51 million nanotechnology center that will house more than 23,000 square feet of cleanroom space. Currently, there is only 3,000 square feet of cleanroom space available on the campus.

The facility is said to be one of the few in the country that was built specifically for nanotechnology development. Construction on the Birck Nanotechnology Center – named after its main benefactor – is slated to begin in July and should be completed in 2004.

Purdue officials say it will position the university at the forefront of the emerging technology.

“Nanotechnology is an area that is still in its infancy and not yet dominated by a particular geographic location, as Silicon Valley dominates the computer industry, ” said George Adams, an engineer at Purdue who headed the facility’s planning committee. “That means nobody has a compelling lead at this point, so this is an area in which you can become a big player fairly easily. We have the potential to make Indiana a high-tech region in the United States for this kind of technology.”

The research park will also feature a bioscience and engineering center to study the genetic structures of plants and animals, an “E-enterprise” center to study issues related to computers and business, and a Center for Entrepreneurship to look at licensing and marketing issues that related to new technologies.