The most exciting area of research at NDSU is nanotechnology, the field of science dealing with extremely tiny circuits and chips (measured in nanometers, or billionths of a meter). NDSU's research started in August 2001 with a U.S. Department of Defense contract to work on micro- and nanosensors. Using technology exclusively licensed to NDSU by Alien Technology Corp., such chips can be manufactured and placed in any sort of coating or material, making them useful for potentially endless military and civilian applications.
The manufacture of such intricate electronics places stringent demands on the setting in which they are created. To accommodate the work, the Research II building has been constructed in the Research and Technology Park. The 76,000-square foot structure was specifically designed for nanotechnological research.
NDSU received funding for four defense research grants for high technology projects in 2002, and the university expects those to act as a springboard to more projects in the future.
www.ndsu.nodak.edu/cnse
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