Profile: New Jersey Nanotechnology Consortium

There's little doubt about the pervasiveness of nanotechnology development - it represents the place in history where the classic disciplines of chemistry, physics and biology converge, and has become a dominant element of research in virtually every scientific community around the globe. Even as researchers continue to learn about the behavior of complex structures at molecular dimensions, early nanotechnology developments can deliver better electronics, communications and medical treatments today.

The New Jersey Nanotechnology Consortium (NJNC) provides rapid and cost-effective access to world-class nanotechnology research and development services, allowing breakthrough nanotechnology-driven innovations - from minimally invasive surgical tools and genechips for early disease diagnosis to pressure, temperature and bio sensors for disease prevention tolens arrays and waveguides for communication breakthroughs - to be commercially developed within the next few years. These types of innovations will help drive the nanotechnology industry into a forecasted $1 trillion business in the next 10 to 15 years, according to the National Science Foundation.

A private-public endeavor, NJNC was launched in early 2003 by Lucent Technologies, the state of New Jersey and the New Jersey Institute of Technology. NJNC is headquartered at the New Jersey Nanotechnology Laboratory in the world-renowned Bell Labs in Murray Hill, N.J., located close to New Jersey's leading electronics and pharmaceutical companies. By combining the leading-edge fabrication capabilities of this lab with New Jersey's academic research institutions and universities, NJNC is able to carry out basic and applied nanotechnology research while stressing the unique capability of bringing nanotechnology ideas from concept into commercialization.

With a highly experienced research team, NJNC offers design, prototyping and fabrication capabilities to member companies and the wider nanotechnology community, including companies in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, materials, optical/photonics, defense/aerospace and semiconductor markets. The consortium also supports development of the nanotechnology industry by educating the next generation of scientists, spearheading joint research and driving nanotechnology roadmap programs.