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About 120 attendees represented academia,
science and industry at the second annual BAT Workshop.
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| HDR’s Ahmad Soueid,
RA, greets another workshop sponsor and emcee, Dr.
Allan Chasey of Arizona State University. |
Nanotechnology is second only to
terrorism on the Bush administration’s
list of top priorities for 2005. As nanoscale science,
engineering and technology advance and discoveries are
woven into everyday life, the potential contributions
of nanotechnology to future economic growth have brought
increasing government attention.
Last December, President Bush signed into law the 21st
Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act. The
new law lays out $3.7 billion for nanoscale science, engineering,
and technology research and development in fiscal years
2005 through 2008.
| 2004
BAT II Workshop Sponsors |
•
Arizona State University
• HDR
[architecture/engineering]
• CREATE
[construction research and education]
• Colin Gordon & Associates [vibration/acoustics] |
The new act was a major topic of
conversation and focus
of the keynote presentation at the two-day Buildings
for Advanced Technology (BAT) Workshop II, held in
Mesa, Arizona, in January. About 120 people attended the
workshop, co-sponsored by HDR. The program featured 24
prominent researchers and leaders in the field of nanotechnology
from prestigious universities and national laboratories.
The workshop, the second
annual, centered on developing a connection between emerging
science and a range of technical factors to consider during
design and construction of advanced technology facilities
for new nano-, bio- and micro-technology research and
production.
Participants included scientists, architects, engineers,
end-users, facilities managers, contractors from private
industry, university faculty and national laboratories
representatives. Dr. Allan Chasey of Arizona State University
(ASU) and Ahmad Soueid, RA, of HDR, welcomed the attendees
and served as emcees.
| BAT
II Keynote Speaker |
 Dr.
Clayton Teague Director of the National Nanotechnology
Coordination Office Dr. Teague delivered the keynote
address at this year’s Buildings for Advanced
Technology Workshop in Mesa, Arizona. (See inside
for story details.) He was appointed to his current
position in the National Science and Technology
Council in April 2003 as an agency representative
for the National Institute of Standards and Technology
(NIST), where he has been since 1972.
He has authored or coauthored 70 papers, has presented
more than 50 lectures nationally and internationally
and jointly with colleagues, has six patents. |
Essence of the Act
The new R & D act reaffirms a nanotechnology program
with many of the ongoing activities supported under the
National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) since its inception
in 2001, according to Dr. Clayton Teague, Director of
the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office, and keynote
speaker who kicked off the three-day workshop.
“The law recognizes the need for developing networks
of interdisciplinary nanotechnology research centers and
advanced technology user facilities, as well as studying
health and environmental implications, both of which are
highly relevant to the purposes of this [BAT] workshop,”
Teague said.
No Nano Amount for Broad-Based
Programs
The budget authorized for FY2004 nanotechnology research
is $849 million, 10 percent over the 2003 budget. Of the
$123 billion total allotted for all research, half goes
to the Department of Defense (DOD), and half of the remainder
to the National Institutes of Health, two agencies conducting
key nanotechnology research for the federal government.
Teague said the U.S. government, through the National
Nanotechnology Initiative, has identified five critical
“investment areas.” These include:
1. Fundamental research in:
- Novel phenomena, materials structures, processes and
properties
- Nano-biosystems
- Nanoscale devices and system architecture
- Theory, modeling, and simulation
2. NNI “grand challenge” areas:
- Nanostructured materials by design
- Nanoscale manufacturing
- Chemical-biological-radiological-explosive detection
and protection
- Nanoscale instrumentation and metrology
- Nano-electronics, -photonics and -magnetics
- Healthcare, therapeutics and diagnostics
- Energy conversion and storage
- Microcraft and robotics
- Nanoscale processes for environmental improvement
3. Centers of Excellence
4. Research infrastructure
5. Societal implications and workforce preparation
Investigating the
Investment Modes
The first mode under the government’s plan,
fundamental research, supports a balanced investment in
research across all of science and engineering. This
across-the-board investment is critical because research
outcomes cannot always be anticipated, and discoveries
in one discipline can have unexpected
implications in another.
The second investment mode, the “grand challenges,”
focuses on nine specific R & D areas more directly
related to nanotechnology applications and
identified as potentially having significant economic,
governmental and societal impacts.
The third mode supports “centers of excellence”
at host institutions such as universities. These centers
provide funding and opportunities for multidisciplinary
research to scientists from varied research sectors, including
academia, industry and government laboratories.
Fourteen centers have been initiated in theU.S., seven
funded by the National Science Foundation, three by the
DOD and four by the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration.
Investment mode four deals with research infrastructure,
for which the government will fund the oftencostly development
of infrastructure, instrumentation, standards, computational
capabilities and other research tools. It will make Nanoscale
Science Research Centers easily accessible to qualified
researchers, thereby fostering innovative technology and
its transition to useful applications.
Of the five such facilities under the auspices of the
Department of Energy, HDR designed two: the Brookhaven
National Laboratory Center for Functional Nanomaterials
in Upton, New York, and the Sandia Center for Integrated
Nanotechnologies in Albuquerque.
And finally, the fifth investment mode focuses
on societal – ethical, social, legal, economic –
implications of nanoscience and nanotechnology, as well
as
workforce preparation, education and training. This area
addresses the public’s concern for nanotechnology’s
potential effects on health and the environment.
Programming…Designing…Building
the Building
Worldwide, 30 advanced technology buildings are under
construction or planned, according to Teague. The BAT
II Workshop focused on nanotechnology research directions,
especially as architectural trends, engineering solutions
and sustainable design apply to advanced technologies.
Environmental disturbances are the primary limiting factor
in the design of instrumentation for nanotechnology labs,
Teague said. Extremely delicate experiments are threatened
by contaminants from the modern world and its machinery.
Further, there is little quantitative information on how
to build facilities with just the right characteristics
for nanoscience research. This has caused costly mistakes,
he said.
 |
Dr. Neil Shinn, manager of the Surface
and Interface Department at Sandia National Laboratories,
discusses the future Sandia Center for Integrated
Technologies, designed by HDR. |
Other Hot Topics
The BAT II Workshop presented a review of project management
issues and how to protect an investment in these facilities.
It focused on nanotechnology and bio-nanotechnology facilities,
programs and instrumentation, and covered the full spectrum
of nanotechnology projects.
Also included were discussions of scientists’ requirements,
architectural and engineering building design approaches,
information on specific laboratory equipment from both
environmental and installation standpoints, and construction
approaches and techniques.
Specific presentations included:
- Analytical instrumentation facility requirements
- Architectural trends, solutions and sustainable design
- Mechanical and process systems
- Electrical, EMI, grounding
- Mechanical systems noise issues - case studies
- Meeting user requirements - case studies
- Scope development, programming, cost, cost control,
project control
- Project management
- The Arizona State University Bio-Design Institute
Initial planning for next year’s Buildings for
Advanced Technology Workshop is under way and will be
announced in the next few months. Watch www.nanobuildings.com
for upcoming information.
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