By Trevor Thornton, Ph.D. The annual meeting of the National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure (NNCI) was held at Georgia Institute of Technology during 18-19 January. Representatives from each of the 16 sites of the NNCI reviewed progress towards the network goals of providing access to advanced nanotechnology tools, staff expertise, and educational opportunities. During the first Read More …
Category: Spring 2017 Newsletter
Hello & welcome back to the busy world of NCI-SW. We are very excited to share news with you about happenings with NNCI and in particular, NCI-Southwest. Articles today will range from updates from the annual NNCI Meeting to information about the ASU, Solar Power Lab. You’ll learn from Stuart Bowden, about the purpose, beginnings, and journey of the Quantum Energy and Sustainable Solar technology (QESST) Engineering Research Center at ASU. Then, our colleague Rick Vaughn will tell you about the exciting work being done with MEMS technology at Rio Salado College, at the Maricopa Community Colleges (MCCCD). Our teammate, Ray Tsui, will report out on the happenings at the annual Night of the Open Door, held at Arizona State University campuses. Later, graduate student, Rohit Sarkar will share his findings when using the photolithography and deep reactive ion etching tools in the CSSR cleanroom to fabricate a unique MEMS based tensile testing device. All in all, a very busy quarter to catch you up on, so let’s begin.
The ASU Solar Power Lab
By Stuart Bowden, Ph.D. ASU has a long history of developing solar power technology dating back to the energy crisis of the 1970s when Dr. Chuck Backus, then Dean of Engineering, lead the solar energy initiative. An outcome of this early initiative was the establishment of the ASU Solar Power Lab comprising state-of-the-art laboratory facilities Read More …
MEMS is the Word at Rio Salado College, Maricopa Community Colleges
By: Rick Vaughn, Ph.D The Southwest Center for Microsystems Education (SCME), Rio Salado College, and Arizona State University have come together in a unique partnership to give students hands-on clean room opportunities while earning their hybrid (distance and in-class) Nanotechnology degree and/or certificate. The partnership allows for cost-effective delivery of essential skills for micro and Read More …
Night of the Open Door at ASU
By: Ray Tsui, Ph.D Night of the Open Door, an annual signature event, where Arizona State University invites the general public to visit all five of its campuses, to learn about the work and capabilities at the school. The 2017 event, at the Tempe campus, was held on February 25. NCI-SW was excited to present Read More …
Exciting Student Research
By: Rohit Sarkar, Graduate Student Nanocrystalline metals and alloys exhibit a plethora of enhanced mechanical properties like increased strength and toughness. As a result they find widespread use in structural and functional applications in industries ranging from aerospace to medicine. Moreover, if the nanostructure of these materials can be precisely tailored, many unique properties like Read More …