Quantum-Nano Center Opens in Ontario

The Quantum-Nano Center is located conveniently in Ontario, Canada, on the main campus of the University of Waterloo.

The Center will bring together the two disciplines of quantum computing and nanotechnology under one roof, creating a facility that is the first of its kind in the world. Both disciplines involved the study of matter on a minute scale. The goal is that combined research will lead to breakthrough discoveries in industries ranging from energy to health care.

Advanced research in such fields as quantum computing, theoretical physics and nanotechnology has historically led to some of the greatest advances in our fundamental understanding of the universe and matter, including advances in materials sciences. These advances hold the promise of transforming virtually every high-tech industry from advanced manufacturing to life sciences, to information technology. Unlocking and harnessing its potential requires four essential elements:

1. Great and ambitious science.

2. World-class research infrastructure.

3. Skilled workers.

4. And supportive government.

Investors who choose Ontario have access to all of that - in a positive climate that helps businesses grow and succeed.

"Breakthrough science is advancing at a dizzying speed today, with quantum physics at atomic and sub-atomic scale," said Lazaridis, founder of QNC and co-founder of Research in Motion, makers of the now ubiquitous BlackBerry smartphone. "Simultaneously, rapid movement is happening in nanotechnology, where fabrication of materials, devices and systems 100 nanometers or smaller is being explored. This critical nexus of quantum computing and nanotechnology brings the world closer to the cusp of previously unimagined solutions and insights."

The state-of-the-art $160 million center was made possible by a $100 million donation from Lazaridis, as well as funding from the federal and Ontario provincial governments. Ontario, a center for advanced scientific research and innovation, is a priority destination for entrepreneurs and industries who want to create world-class research facilities.

The 26,010-square-metre (279,867 sq. ft.), five-storey Quantum-Nano Center will become home to the Institute for Quantum Computing, the Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology and the university's undergraduate program in nanotechnology engineering. The state-of-the-art facility was designed to attract world-class talent.

A hexagonal honeycomb lattice of structural steel distinguishes the exterior of the building; the pattern was inspired by the stable hexagonal carbon structure of the nanotube.

The Quantum Nano-Center is, in fact, the latest in a number of major investments in research centers that are driving innovation.

In 2011, the new Stephen Hawking Center opened at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Waterloo, and the MaRS Discovery District (a convergence center that accelerates innovation and the commercialization of new discoveries) started a major phase of expansion aimed at more than doubling its size in Toronto.

Each discipline will occupy its own building, joined by a six-storey central atrium with informal gathering space. Lounges, offices and meeting rooms are positioned around the edge of the atrium to foster collaboration and the exchange of ideas between scientists. White boards cover many of the walls to accommodate unexpected flashes of insight.

Equipped with controls for vibration, temperature fluctuation and electromagnetic radiation, the Quantum-Nano Center was designed to meet strict scientific standards.

One of the signature features of the facility is a cleanroom area that was created to keep out particles of air and skin so researchers can manipulate atoms one by one and make very precise materials. The cleanroom contains less than 100 particles, whereas a standard room contains about two billion particles.

The QNC also has on-site fabrication facilities that will give scientists and students the tools to create quantum nanodevices. Because the fabrication can be done on-site, it will allow for faster development and revision than is possible in other research facilities.

With this unique facility, a new frontier of research and innovation is about to begin in Ontario.

Science Center, Nanotech Cleanroom Planned for UW-Stevens Point

A $75 million request to build a new science center at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point has been approved by the State Building Commission.

The building will be four floors and almost 170,000 ft². It will contain educational and research facilities for biology and chemistry. The building will be constructed with an energy-conserving design and a goal of earning a LEED Gold rating. Construction is projected to start in 2015 and last two years. The university is also hoping to construct a nanotechnology cleanroom.

"The Building Commission's endorsement represents a significant milestone in the funding process," says UWSP Chancellor Bernie Patterson in a statement. "We are grateful for the Building Commission's support of our full request and pleased that members recognized as a priority the need for new facilities to best prepare students for careers in today’s technology and knowledge-based global economy."

NY Strikes Nanotechnology Deal with Israel

New York state has a new agreement with Israel aimed at increasing collaboration on nanotechnology research.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that his administration has signed a memorandum of understanding with Israel that will expand technological and economic relations in nanotechnology, which involves manipulating matter on an atomic scale.

The agreement outlines collaboration between the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering in Albany and the Israeli Lead Innovation and Commercialization Agency.

Cuomo says the agreement will enable billions of dollars in investments and new high-tech jobs in New York and Israel.

IBM Receives Tell Award for Nanotechnology Center

The Switzerland Trade and Investment Promotion, the Swiss federal agency that assists companies expanding internationally, has bestowed its annual Tell Awards to several companies, including IBM. The awards, named for legendary Swiss hero William Tell, honor U.S. companies for significant recent investment projects in Switzerland. IBM received the award for the Binnig and Rohrer Nanotechnology Center.

Inaugurated in May 2011, the Binnig and Rohrer Nanotechnology Center is the latest extension to IBM's research lab in Zurich. The facility is the centerpiece of a 10-year strategic partnership in nanoscience between IBM and ETH Zurich, where scientists research novel nanoscale structures and devices to advance energy and information technologies. The building represents an investment of $60 million in infrastructure costs and an additional $30 million for tooling and equipment which, including the operating costs, are shared by the partners.

With this new facility, IBM strengthens its commitment in Switzerland to foster leading talent and promote innovation in nanotechnology.

The Binnig and Rohrer Nanotechnology Center offers a collaborative infrastructure for advancing nanoscience. It is part of IBM Research – Zurich, which was opened in 1956 as IBM's first research laboratory outside the U.S. The nanotechnology center features an exploratory cleanroom fabrication facility measuring over 3,115 ft2 and six "noise-free labs" which shield extremely sensitive experiments from any disturbances, such as mechanical vibrations, electro-magnetic fields, temperature fluctuations, and acoustic noise.

The center is named for Gerd Binnig and Heinrich Rohrer, the two IBM scientists and Nobel laureates who invented the scanning tunneling microscope at IBM Research – Zurich in 1981, thus enabling researchers to see atoms on a surface for the first time. In 1986 Binnig and Rohrer received the Nobel Prize in Physics for this achievement, widely acknowledged for laying the foundation for nanotechnology research.

In the facility, scientists and engineers from IBM, ETH Zurich and Empa will pursue joint and independent projects, ranging from exploratory research to applied and close-to-market projects. Three ETH professors and their teams have moved into the building and will conduct part of their research in nanoscience on a permanent basis. In addition, recently IBM and Empa have partnered on a transmission electron microscope (TEM), which will be installed in the noise-free labs in the coming months. The TEM will be the first of its kind in Europe.

WVU Constructing Engineering Research Building

In September 2012, representatives from West Virginia University and the Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources broke ground on the Advanced Engineering Research Building. A recent gift from alumnus J. Wayne Richards and his wife, Kathy, will be used to help make the building a reality.

The couple recently pledged $250,000 to the Statler College Building Fund to help fund construction of the new facility, which is expected to open in 2014. It will house offices, classrooms, computer classrooms, a learning center and graduate student space, as well as a cleanroom to meet the needs of high-technology learning and discovery.

"This building is designed to complement and expand the existing expertise and capabilities of the engineering facilities we now have available," says Gene Cilento, Glen H. Hiner Dean of the Statler College. "We look for this facility to become a hub that supports interdisciplinary research across campus and promotes growth of entrepreneurial activities and economic development for the state."

McIlvaine Company

Northfield, IL 60093-2743

Tel: 847-784-0012; Fax: 847-784-0061

E-mail: editor@mcilvainecompany.com

www.mcilvainecompany.com