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nano@illinois Slideshow

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  • NSF nano@illinois RET Cohort 2017 group photo with program leads, graduate student and faculty mentors

    NSF nano@illinois RET Cohort 2017 group photo with program leads, graduate student and faculty mentors

  • NSF Awards $4M nanoManufacturing Node

    Newly awarded nanoManufacturing NODE leadership team (L-R): Irfan Ahmad (Innovation, Education & Outreach); Placid Ferreira (co-PI); Kimani Toussaint (PI); Narayan Aluru (co-PI); Elif Ertekin (co-PI); Nahil Sobh (Technical Lead); not in picture: Hayden Taylor (co-PI, UC Berkeley); and Ayesha Boyce (External Evaluator, UNC Greensboro)

  • Nano blood cells could offer convenient, portable alternative to transfusion

    Researchers have developed the first artificial red blood cells designed to emulate vital functions of natural red blood cells. If confirmed safe for use in humans, the nanotechnology-based product could represent an innovative alternative to blood transfusions that would be especially valuable on the battlefield and in other situations where donated blood is difficult to obtain or store.

  • Copy of Copy of NSF CAREER Award to Can Bayram: "Cubic Phase Green Light Emitting Diodes for Advanced Solid State Lighting"

    CNST affiliated faculty Can Bayram's (Electrical and Computer Engineering) NSF CAREER proposal titled "Cubic Phase Green Light Emitting Diodes for Advanced Solid State Lighting" has been awarded a 2017 NSF CAREER Award, which includes Green LED research, and hosting Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REUs) and Teachers (RETs).

  • Tunneling key to high-speed modulation of transistor and laser development

    Two recent studies by UIUC researchers, Feng and Holonyak, are expected to significantly impact the fundamental modulation bandwidth for transistors and laser operations for energy-efficient high speed data transfer in optical and 5G wireless communications.

  • Novel silicon etching technique crafts 3D gradient refractive index micro-optics

    Researchers at the University of Illinois have fabricated 3-D birefringent gradient refractive index (GRIN) micro-optics by electrochemically etching preformed Si micro-structures, like square columns, PSi structures with defined refractive index profiles.

  • Six Illinois faculty members elected AAAS Fellows

    Six University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign faculty members, including CNST affiliates Jianjun Cheng (Materials Science and Engineering) and Brian T. Cunningham (Electrical and Computer Engineering) have been elected 2016 Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

  • del Rosario research paper

    Congrats to Larissa del Rosario, 2016 NSF-funded nano@illinois Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) participant in the Dr. Can Bayram lab, Micro and Nanotechnology Lab. del Rosario is co-author of "Investigation of AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistor structures on 200-mm silicon (111) substrates employing different buffer layer configurations."

  • Eight Illinois researchers rank among world’s most influential

    Eight University of Illinois researchers have been named to the Clarivate Analytics Highly Cited Researchers list for 2016. The list is based on an analysis of journal article publication and citation data, an objective measure of a researcher’s influence over the past 11 years.

  • NSF I/UCRC CARD INAUGURAL IAB MEETING AT WPI

    CNST led efforts helped establish the Center for Advanced Research in Drying jointly with Worcester Polytechnic Institute and University of Illinois. The research teams will be located at FSHN and MNTL. Hao Feng is the Illinois Site Director and Irfan Ahmad is co-Site Director. Jamal Yagoobi is the Director and is based at WPI. NSF I/UCRC Program Director Raffaella Montelli opened the CARD Inaugural IAB Meeting on November 14, 2016 at Worcester, MA.

  • Yang Research Group develops conveyor belt transport system for producing precision catalysts

    A University of Illinois research team has invented a highly-efficient method for producing precision catalysts that can be used for cathode reaction in hydrogen fuel cells for automobiles. The technique promises to increase the efficiency of producing shape-controlled catalysts that could have benefits beyond the automotive industry.

  • Lyding Leader in STM Research

    For his groundbreaking research, Lyding, a professor of electrical and computer engineering, recently was awarded the Foresight Institute Feynman Prize for experimental work. The Foresight Institute is a leading think tank and public interest organization focused on transformative future technologies. According to a Foresight Institute announcement, “Lyding is a pioneer in the development of STM technology and particularly hydrogen depassivation lithography."

  • nano@illinois RET leadership presentation at STEM education conference

    On October 27, 2016 at the National Science Teachers Association Conference, the nano@illinois Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) program was highlighted, with co-authors Carrie Kouadio, Irfan Ahmad, Lynford Goddard, and Xiuling Li.

  • Franklin Institute honors Holonyak with coveted award

    The Franklin Institute has announced John Bardeen Endowed Chair Emeritus Nick Holonyak, Jr (BSEE '50, MS '51, PhD '54) as one of eight awardees of the coveted Benjamin Franklin Award for Electrical Engineering. The institute recognized him for the development of the first visible red laser and LED and the use of various alloys in colored light sources.

  • College of Engineering names five new Founder Professors

    The top-ranked College of Engineering at Illinois continues to build its legacy, adding several elite-level faculty researchers to its list of Founder Professors, as well as the first Grainger Distinguished Chair in Engineering, Dr. Rashid Bashir, Head of the Department of Bioengineering and former CNST Co-Director.

  • BIOE researchers quantify drug delivery from nanoparticles inside a cell

    For the first time, researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have demonstrated that the success of delivery of drugs from nanoparticles can be quantified inside a cell. “We can precisely tell how much drug has been released from the carrier at a given time point,” stated Dipanjan Pan, an assistant professor of bioengineering at Illinois.

  • Bioengineering’s Ganguli and team earn top prize in primary healthcare technology competition

    Anurup Ganguli, Ph.D. student in Bioengineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Campaign, along with his team, received this year’s First Prize of $150,000 in the Student Technology Prize for Primary Healthcare competition, administered by Massachusetts General Hospital through its Ambulatory Practice of the Future (APF) initiative. The project, “Personalized Multiplexed Molecular Diagnostics for Point-of-Care Setting,” offers a novel technology for rapid detection of infectious diseases in all primary-care settings.

  • MNTL faculty help improve manufacturing drying processes

    MNTL faculty affiliates Irfan Ahmad, Logan Liu, and Graciela Padua are members of the new NSF Center for Advanced Research in Drying, which is developing energy-efficient technologies for drying moist, porous materials.

  • nano@illinois RET teachers discover nanotechnology's big impact—Hope their students will too 2

    This summer 11 teachers of varying grade levels and backgrounds participated in the nano@illinois Research Experience for Teachers (RET) funded by the National Science Foundation. While participating in research in a wide range of areas, these teachers’ eyes were opened to the intricate world of nanotechnology and all the possibilities it offers.

  • Undergrads consider nanotechnology careers thanks to nano@illinois REU

    During the summer of 2016, ten undergraduate students learned about nanotechnology as part of the NSF-funded nano@illinois Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU). While spending the summer performing research in the labs of some of Illinois’ premier researchers, the students not only learned a lot about the area in nanotechnology that they were studying; they learned what grad school is like and got some pointers on how to apply.

  • SIU Carbondale graduate students hosted by CNST and MNTL

    Graduate students from the Electrical and Computer Engineering department at Southern Illinois University (SIU) Carbondale were hosted by the Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology and the Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. They discussed collaborations on computer nanotechnology and bionanotechnology. Pictured here are the students with Executive Director of CNST Dr. Irfan Ahmad as well as nanoBIO NODE researcher Dr. Mohamad Kalani.

  • MechSE researchers demonstrate tunable wetting and adhesion of graphene

    Researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have demonstrated doping-induced tunable wetting and adhesion of graphene, revealing new and unique opportunities for advanced coating materials and transducers. “Our study suggests for the first time that the doping-induced modulation of the charge carrier density in graphene influences its wettability and adhesion,” explained SungWoo Nam, Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering at Illinois.

  • Girls experience Electrical Engineering at the 2016 GLEE G.A.M.E.S. Camp

    During the 2016 edition of the GLEE (Girls Learning Electrical Engineering) G.A.M.E.S. camp, 19 campers from across the US (and even one international student) not only got their heads around what Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) is like...they got their hands around it too. Some of the classes in which the girls participated involved a broad range of subjects: power and energy, optics, algorithms, nanotechnology, and solar cells, which included a lab during which the girls tested some solar cells.

  • Nanotechnology-based approach to repair the cancer cell suicide mechanism

    Cancer cells are able to evade a biochemical process that leads to cell death, which allows for uncontrolled cellular growth. Dipanjan Pan, Assistant Professor in Bioengineering and member of Beckman's Bioimaging Science and Technology Group, has discovered a highly selective nanotechnology-based approach that can trigger the "suicide switch" for cancer cells.

  • The 14th Annual CNST Nanotechnology Workshop

    Students presented posters in two judged sessions at the 14th Annual CNST Nanotechnology Workshop, May 5-6, 2016 at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

  • Delegation Visits CNST from KU Leuven in Belgium

    On April 4, 2016, a delegation from Katholieke Universiteit (KU) Leuven in Belgium visited the Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology for a discussion and presentations on nanotechnology collaborations with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

  • Illinois Public Engagement Symposium

    CNST and NanoSTRuCT both featured posters and displays at the Illinois Public Engagement Symposium held on March 16, 2016 in the I Hotel & Conference Center.

  • Engineering Open House 2016: The STEM of Innovation/BTW

    “The STEM of Innovation” was the theme for the 96th annual Engineering Open House (EOH) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign on March 11, 2016. Booker T. Washington STEM Academy 3rd graders led booths at NanoSTRuCT booths at the Micro and Nanotechnology Lab and visited CNST booths.

  • Schleife receives CAREER Award

    "Using these new and accurate results as input to solve Maxwell’s equations, we build a multi-scale approach that enables us to study nanostructured materials for optical applications and devices entirely from computer simulations. Input from online data repositories will be explored for discovery of novel optical materials," explains André Schleife, Blue Waters Assistant Professor in MatSE.

  • Novel nanotechnology technique for table-top production of flat optics

    Researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have developed a simplified approach to fabricating flat, ultrathin optics. The new approach enables simple etching without the use of acids or hazardous chemical etching agents. Kimani Toussaint, an Associate Professor of Mechanical Science and Engineering who led the research, published this week in Nature Communications.

  • UIUC Winner announced for NNIs nanotechnology image contest

    The National Nanotechnology Coordination Office (NNCO) announced the winner of the second round of EnvisioNano, a nanotechnology image contest for students. Elizabeth Sawicki, a member of the Medical Scholars Program and the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, won the top honors for her image entitled Gelatin Nanoparticles in Brain.

  • Lipoprotein nanoplatelets shed new light on biological molecules and cells

    Andrew Smith, an Assistant Professor of Bioengineering, and his interdisciplinary research team have developed a new material composite derived from quantum dots. These lipoprotein nanoplatelets are rapidly taken up by cells and retain their fluorescence, making them particularly well-suited for imaging cells and understanding disease mechanisms.

  • NanoSTRuCT continues STEM outreach in 2015-16

    NanoSTRuCT (Nanoscale Science and Technology Resources for Community Teaching) has continued its STEM outreach efforts at Booker T. Washington STEM Academy in fall 2015, with 75 3rd grade students. This project, originally funded through an Illinois Public Engagement grant, relies on graduate student volunteers in STEM fields, and is managed by the CNST. Efforts will continue in Spring 2016.

  • Dr. France Cordova, NSF Director, visited UI nanotechnology centers on October 15

    National Science Foundation Director France Cordova visited NSF-funded centers and programs at the Micro and Nanotechnology Lab on October 15, 2015: Center for Innovative Instrumentation Technology (CiiT), Emergent Behaviors of Integrated Cellular Systems (EBICS), Cellular and Molecular Mechanics and BioNanotechnology-IGERT (CMMB-IGERT), nanoBIO Node, nano@illinois REU, and nano@illinois RET.

  • Sanguinetti Visit

    The Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology participated in Illinois Lt. Governor Evelyn Sanguinetti's visit to campus on September 16, 2015 which focused on increasing the number of underrepresented students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

  • 2015 nano@illinois REU

    NSF-funded nano@illinois Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) student Keaton Jaramillo conducted research in Department of Chemistry Professor Paul Braun's lab in summer 2015.

  • Copy of 2015 BNSI lab-3

    Participants in the 2015 BioNanotechnology Summer Institute engage in lab modules during the during the two-week experience at the University of Illinois Micro and Nanotechnology Lab.

  • 2015 BNSI lab-2

    Participants in the 2015 BioNanotechnology Summer Institute engage in lab modules during the during the two-week experience at the University of Illinois Micro and Nanotechnology Lab.

  • nano@illinois RET Poster Session

    nano@illinois Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) participants presented their summer research experiences in a poster session and presentations on July 24, 2015 at the Micro and Nanotechnology Lab.

  • 2015 CNST Nanotechnology Workshop

    Trainees presented posters at the CNST 13th Annual Nanotechnology Workshop, held jointly with NSF IGERT-CMMB and NIH/NCI M-CNTC Symposium. Featured speakers included Drs. Mostafa A. El-Sayed (Georgia Institute of Technology) and Mehmet Toner (Harvard-MIT Health Sciences & Technology).

  • NanoSTRuCT

    NanoSTRuCT graduate students lead outreach at Booker T. Washington STEM Academy with 3rd grade students in 2014-2015.

  • New camera design mimics arthropod eye

    A team of Illinois researchers from several disciplines has developed a new camera that uses an array of tiny lenses and sensors, inspired by the eyes of a fly. The breakthrough camera is described in an article published in the May 2, 2013, issue of Nature.

  • Researchers develop unique method for creating uniform nanoparticles

    Illinois researchers have developed a new way to produce highly uniform nanocrystals used for both fundamental and applied nanotechnology projects.

  • New advance in biosensors includes BIOE Prof. Brian Cunningham and ECE Prof. Gary Eden

    Illinois team develops high-sensitivity, high-resolution optical laser biosensor and is featured on cover of Lab on a Chip journal.

  • student

    CNST is committed to training the next generation of engineers and scientists through formal and informal education. CNSTs participation in events like Engineering Open House are working to expand outreach for K-12 students.

  • John Rogers' Skin Technology

    John Rogers is leading a charge to develop electronics that bend and stretch with the mechanical properties of skin.

  • Jianjun Cheng's Research Targets Cell Nanoparticles

    Bionanotechnology is the integration of biotechnology and nanotechnology with applications in agriculture, the environment, and medicine. Jianjun Cheng's research shows a cell targeting nanoparticles.

  • Paul Lauterbur, Nobel Laureate

    Nobel Laureate, the late Paul Lauterbur, developed the MRI and achieved a Nobel Prize in Physiology

  • Trainees

    Graduate students in NSF IGERT in Cellular and Molecular Mechanics and BioNanotechnology, and the NIH/NCI Midwest Cancer for Nanotechnology Training Center programs are training the next generation of engineers and scientists through formal and informal education.

  • Joseph Lyding's Tunneling microscopy

    Joseph Lyding’s work in nanoelectronics and nanophotonics research area has led to the usage of scanning tunneling microscopy to study carbon nanotubes.