WASHINGTON, July 12, 2002 — The National Science Foundation on Friday committed about $70 million to a range of nanotechnology initiatives.
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The foundation is pushing development of a nanoscale-based science curriculum for university undergraduates and plans to launch two additional Nanoscale Science and Engineering Centers.
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The fiscal 2003 budget for NSF nanotech solicitations is up significantly over last year’s budget of $45 million. The bulk of the money, roughly $60 million, goes toward supporting teams of scientists in disparate fields collaborating on nanotechnology research projects, and those engaged in exploratory research on the nanoscale.
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The two new Nanoscale Science and Engineering Centers will split an annual pot of about $5 million, and the undergraduate curriculum drive is slated to receive approximately $4 million.
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Mike Roco, director of the federal government’s National Nanotechnology Initiative, said the solicitation comprises about a third of the NSF’s total nanotechnology budget of $221 million next year.
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The solicitation outlines seven research and education themes, ranging from biosystems at the nanoscale to nanoscale devices and system architecture. It also encourages bidders to submit proposals involving instrumentation, manufacturing processes, and devices for chemical, biological, radiological, or explosive agents detection, as well as research on converging technologies integrated at the nanoscale for improving human performance.
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The two new nanoscale science and engineering centers will boost the number of such NSF centers from six to eight. The centers are all geared toward addressing challenges to nanoscale manufacturing, and they all have different themes. To date, all of the centers are located at universities.
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The new undergraduate education initiative will involve about 40 grants of roughly $100,000 each, which can be used for salaries, instrumentation, supplies and expenses for the curriculum projects. Special emphasis will be placed on first- and second-year undergraduate courses, “given their pivotal role in influencing science literacy and career paths,” the solicitation says.
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The education component will revolve around interdisciplinary collaboration, and could involve the development of new courses and course materials and undergraduate research opportunities based on nanoscale science and engineering.
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“We plan to make a systemic change in undergraduate education and build a more coherent educational system, starting with the material unity in nature,” Roco said. The NSF, he said, is eager to help shepherd a new approach to science education “with nano being the core of a coherent system.”