Alan G. MacDiarmid NanoTech Institute

Mission Statement

Guided by theory and enabled by synthesis, the Alan G. MacDiarmid NanoTech Institute develops new science and technology exploiting the nanoscale. Its researchers inspire students by creating an atmosphere of excitement, fun, and creativity. We design frontier science and technology by teaming globally, and providing a place where physicists, chemists, biologists, ceramicists, metallurgists, and mathematicians join in teams with engineers to solve problems. We function as an engine of economic growth by eliminating boundaries that interfere with the transition from science to technology, and from technology to product.

History

The Alan G. MacDiarmid NanoTech Institute is a research center dedicated to new science and technological discoveries on the nanoscale.

The roots of the NanoTech Institute grew from the recruitment of Dr. Ray Baughman by Executive Vice President and Provost, Dr. Hobson Wildenthal and Vice President for Research and Graduate Education, Dr. Da Hsuan Feng to UTD.

UTD matched a $1million gift from the Robert A. Welch Foundation to fund the Robert A. Welch Distinguished Chair in Chemistry and Director of the UTD NanoTech Institute, both of which are held by Baughman.

With the appointment of Dr. Alan MacDiarmid, who shared the 2000 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, as Chairman of the Advisory Board and Dr. Anvar Zakhidov as Professor of Physics and Associate Director, the NanoTech Institute became reality.

It attracts scientists drawn to interdisciplinary research from around the world.

Much of the fundamental science being done today will develop into useful technologies in the next twenty years. This forward-leaning characteristic fuels the institute’s strong commitment to educating and training the next generation of scientists.

The NanoExplorer program introduces middle school and high school students to their first research experiences. In the last three years, students have co-authored numerous technical presentations on nanotechnology, producing more than 50 conference posters.

The Institute also supports research at the U.S./Mexico border region universities – U. T. Pan American and U. T. Brownsville. This activity has resulted in two technical conference and faculty and staff exchanges between the universities.

Since the NanoTech Institute’s establishment in the fall of 2001, the group has produced over 50 refereed journal articles, six of which have been published in Science or Nature, and given over 100 lectures both in the United States and abroad.