NSF Highlights

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Inexpensive Templates for Nanostructure Fabrication Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have discovered a new method of formulating common polymers for industrially generating templates used in precision nanomanufacturing. The researchers found that blending commercially-available tri-block copolymer surfactants with commodity polymers that selectively associate with one of the blocks can yield bulk quantities of polymeric templates with well-ordered periodic nanostructures.

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Nanoparticle-Polymer "Chemical Nose" Sensors A team at the University of Massachusetts Amherst has created a sensor array to detect, identify, and quantify protein targets. The polymer fluorescence is quenched by gold nanoparticles: the presence of proteins disrupts the nanoparticle-polymer interaction, producing distinct fluorescence response patterns. These patterns are highly repeatable and are characteristic for individual proteins at nanoscale concentrations. Quantitative analysis was used to identify 52 unknown proteins with an accuracy of 94%, demonstrating that nanomaterial-based protein detectors are potentially feasible for “chemical nose”applications in medical diagnostics.

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Beyond-Binary: Nanomagnet Clusters for Data Storage Using ultrahigh resolution electron beam lithography, a team led by Prof. Mark Tuominen at the University of Massachusetts Amherst has fabricated clusters containing a well-defined number of interacting cobalt nanomagnets. With multiple stable states, the clusters can be used to encode and store data beyond the limits of conventional binary storage. This method may serve as a way to pack more data into a fixed area in hard drive and memory applications. The researchers are now attempting to scale-up the fabrication of these multistate nanomagnets to larger areas by using hierarchical patterning methods on diblock copolymer films.

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Network Established to Spur U.S. Nanomanufacturing The NSF Center for Hierarchical Manufacturing (CHM) at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, in teamwork with other academic, government and industrial programs devoted to the new technology of nanomanufacturing, has established an R&D network and cyber-clearinghouse for this industrially-important field. The National Nanomanufacturing Network (NNN) will sponsor networking, collaborative events, education and information exchange for America’s nanomanufacturing research and technology community. Its digital library, InterNano, of nanomanufacturing technical information, resource directories and NNN events can be found at http://www.internano.org.

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Scientists Develop Educational Modules on Nanotechnology A team at the Center for Hierarchical Manufacturing at the University of Massachusetts Amherst has developed a systematic approach for producing repurposable educational videos that utilize a combination of live video and 3D animation to convey complex concepts in nanotechnology. The first group of videos were produced and evaluated by teachers and students in K-12, community college and university learning environments. The repurposable content enables adaptation for various audience levels, instructional approaches, and languages.