The products developed by the Center for Nanoscale Science may be tiny, but their potential in the 21st century is enormous.

CNSE remains one of the most dynamic hubs at NDSU, researching and developing state-of-the art miniaturized electronics and nanotechnology for both federal government and private enterprise. CNSE began in August 2001 with a $1.4 million Department of Defense contract to establish a center for producing micro- and nanosensor systems, and to begin research on low-power, miniature battlefield sensors. Today, CNSE has received $17 million in DOD contracts, says Philip Boudjouk, vice president for research, creative activities and technology transfer at NDSU.

Located in the NDSU Research and Technology Park, CNSE is adding a new building to meet its research demands. Research 2, a 76,000-square-foot building, is slated to open in February 2004. Dedicated to nanoscale science and engineering research, Research 2 will have room for 125 researchers and support staff. It will house cleanrooms, four laboratories for sensor electronics and process engineering research, a high-performance computing center and eight traditional chemistry labs. When fully equipped, the building will be valued at $30 million. "Fortunately, we are on time for that project and under budget," Boudjouk says.

Current DOD projects at CNSE include microsensors, wireless electronics miniaturization, marine coatings for the Navy, robot-automated tools for new materials discovery, anti-corrosion coatings for military aircraft, electronic and magnetic nanomaterials, and super-hard coatings to improve wear resistance. Nanochips — no larger than flecks of ground pepper — can be activated by a radio frequency wave, providing enough energy to send a response, Boudjouk says. A collection of these chips can transmit all types of useful information. "Just think of it as an elegant barcode," Boudjouk says. That's just the beginning. Nanosensors could tell a mess-hall cook whether a shipment of meat underwent unsafe temperature shifts during shipping, or the location of a soldier lost in the mountains. They could track inventory or control weapons. "Down the road, you can see weapons wouldn't be activated until they're hit with a certain type of radio wave," Boudjouk says. "So if they're stolen in a shipment, you can't use it. It thinks it's a brick." The technology could easily transition to everyday use. They could help find lost children. Grocery store managers could tell whether the pork chops in the meat department are close to spoiling. Nanosensors could even be sent through someone's blood stream, to give doctors a report on how the body is responding to cancer treatment. "What will happen is, we get the equipment and infrastructure in place (for DOD projects), and then we'll hear from other agencies that want to work with us," Boudjouk says.

Some of them have already joined hands with CNSE.

Among them:

• Alien Technology Inc., of Morgan Hill, Calif., will transfer $200 million in technology to NDSU. Alien holds the patent for a manufacturing technology called Fluidic Self-Assembly, which is revolutionizing how flat-panel displays are manufactured. It allows for the efficient placement of large numbers of microscopic circuits across a surface. Alien recently made international news by selling 500 million radio-frequency identification tags to Gillette Co., as an inventory-tracking and theft-prevention measure.



• Tessera Technologies manufactures a chip the size of a child's thumbnail, but incredibly complex. Its chips are found in all Play Stations and many Nokia cell phones.



• Symyx specializes in Super Rapid Throughput Technology. SRTT's applications — which allow for high-speed, parallel screening of hundreds of components on a miniaturized scale — are ideal for pharmaceutical and genetic research. Scientists may know which components are needed to create a certain drug, but they don't automatically know the ideal proportions of those components. They can spend years trying to find the best formula. SRTT condenses the process to one that takes hours and costs much less, Boudjouk says.

Thanks to CNSE and the Research Park, NDSU can use cutting-edge technologies like these. "Within two years, NDSU will have a minimum of $400 million in technology transferred to it. We will have a suite of related technologies, and one of the key things we will be able to do is develop unique combinations of these technologies to create new technologies," Boudjouk says. "Quite frankly, I'm counting on that."