National Nanotechnology Initiative

National Nanotechnology Initiative – United States

Launched in 2000 with eight agencies, the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) consists of the individual and cooperative nanotechnology-related activities of 26 Federal agencies with a range of research and regulatory roles and responsibilities. Fifteen of the participating agencies have research and development (R&D) budgets that relate to nanotechnology, with the reported NNI budget representing the collective sum of these investments. Funding support for nanotechnology R&D stems directly from NNI member agencies, not the NNI. As an interagency effort, the NNI informs and influences the Federal budget and planning processes through its member agencies and through the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC). The NNI brings together the expertise needed to advance this broad and complex field—creating a framework for shared goals, priorities, and strategies that help each participating Federal agency leverage the resources of all participating agencies. With the support of the NNI, nanotechnology R&D is taking place in academic, government, and industry laboratories across the United States.

Links:

– National Nanotechnology Initiative

Organization Goals:

The NNI expedites the discovery, development and deployment of nanoscale science and technology to serve the public good, through a program of coordinated research and development aligned with the missions of the participating agencies. These agencies work to fulfill the NNI vision by working together to accomplish four primary goals:
1. To advance world-class nanotechnology research and development;
2. To foster the transfer of new technologies into products for commercial and public benefit;
3. To develop and sustain educational resources, a skilled workforce and the supporting infrastructure and tools to advance nanotechnology; and
4. To support the responsible development of nanotechnology.

NNI Centers and Networks of Excellence:

Government funds for nanotechnology research have created some of the most sophisticated nanoscience laboratories in the world. In addition to providing the facilities, the NNI also has created programs to attract researchers across an array of disciplines to facilitate discoveries. Centers and networks provide opportunities and support for multidisciplinary research among investigators from a variety of disciplines and from different research sectors, including academia, industry and government laboratories. Such multidisciplinary research not only leads to advances in knowledge but also fosters relationships that enhance the transition of basic research results to devices and other applications. The multidisciplinary centers are listed below, organized by funding agency:

Department of Defense

Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies – Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Center for Nanoscience Innovation for Defense – University of California-Santa Barbara, Riverside and Los Angeles
Institute for Nanoscience – Naval Research Laboratory
DARPA Center on Nanoscale Science and Technology for Integrated Micro/Nano-Electromechanical Transducers (iMINT) – University of Colorado

National Institutes of Health

Nanotechnology Characterization Laboratory – National Cancer Institute, Frederick MD

NHLBI Programs of Excellence in Nanotechnology

Integrated Nanosystems for Diagnosis and Therapy – Washington University
Nanotechnology: Detection & Analysis of Plaque Formation – Emory University and Georgia Tech
Nanotherapy for Vulnerable Plaque – Burnham Institute
Translational Program of Excellence in Nanotechnology – Massachusetts General Hospital

Nanomedicine Development Centers

Center for the Optical Control of Biological Functions – University of California, Berkeley
Center for Cell Control – University of California, Los Angeles
Phi2 DNA-Packing Motor for Nanomedicine – Purdue University
Nanomedicine Center for Nucleoprotein Machines – Georgia Institute of Technology
National Center for Design of Biomimetic Nanoconductors – University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Center for Protein Folding Machinery – Baylor University
Nanomedicine Center for Mechanobiology – Columbia University
Engineering Cellular Control: Synthetic Signaling and Motility Systems – University of California, San Francisco

National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) Centers of Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence

Carolina Center of Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence – University of North Carolina
Center for Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence and Translation – Stanford University
Center for Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence at Johns Hopkins – Johns Hopkins University
Center for Translational Cancer Nanomedicine – Northeastern University
Dartmouth Center for Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence – Dartmouth University
MIT-Harvard Center of Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence – MIT and Harvard University, Massachusetts General Hospital
Nanomaterials for Cancer Diagnostics and Therapeutics – Northwestern University
Nanosystems Biology Cancer Center 2 – California Institute of Technology
Texas Center for Cancer Nanomedicine – The University of Texas Health Science Center and The Methodist Hospital

NCI Cancer Nanotechnology Training Centers

Boston University Cross-Disciplinary Training in Nanotechnology for Cancer – Boston University
Integrative Cancer Nanoscience and Microsystems Training Center – University of New Mexico
Midwest Cancer Nanotechnology Training Center (M-CNTC) – University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
The Johns Hopkins Cancer Nanotechnology Training Center – Johns Hopkins University
The University of Kentucky Cancer Nanotechnology Training Center – University of Kentucky
UCSD Cancer Nanotechnology Training Center – University of California San Diego

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health