Nanotechnology’s SPRING

Rice University became a major player in nanotechnology when buck-minsterfullerene was discovered here in 1985. In 1993, Rice was the first university anywhere to mount a broad, cohesive program in nanoscale science and technology, leading to the establishment of the Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology. Now Rice has teamed with three other Texas universities to help position the state as a center for education, research, and development in this cutting-edge science.

The Strategic Partnership for Research in Nanotechnology (SPRING)—involving the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Texas at Dallas, and the University of Texas at Arlington as well as Rice—will ensure that Texas remains a major player in this promising new field with objectives that span research, education, and technology transfer among member institutions and other universities and businesses throughout Texas. Leaders of the initiative say they intend to seek federal and state funding for the effort, which is expected to encompass research projects, programs, and conferences and the development of joint facilities and infrastructure.

SPRING plans to hold an initial nanotechnology workshop, probably at Rice, next fall. It also will coordinate visits with representatives of all three U.S. military services, the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration—the major U.S. funding organizations for nanotechnology research.