New nanotechnology research institute in Northern Ireland

Brussels, 21 Apr 2004

EU, national and industry funding has enabled the opening of the new Nanotechnology Research Institute at the University of Ulster in Northern Ireland.

The new institute will be involved in technology transfer, leveraging university research for the benefit of industry and commerce, particularly in the following fields: bio-sensing, tissue engineering, drug delivery, surface science, nanotubes, plasma technology, nano-scale patterning and nano-scale manipulation.

Director of the institute, Professor Jim McLaughlin, claimed that the facility will build on the University of Ulster's reputation for innovation and excellence. 'Uniquely in the UK or Ireland, we're bringing life sciences and cell biology under the same roof as nanotechnology - and that kind of structural integration and cross-fertilisation of ideas will be invaluable in the development of new processes and technologies in the future.'

'Our ability to arrange atoms lies at the foundation of this exciting new technology,' he added. 'The ability to arrange atoms through new processing techniques, modifications to atomic surfaces, or molecules, or interrogating DNA at the nanoscale; all have exciting device applications, which can lead - via improved bio-devices - to a better quality of life.'

CORDIS RTD-NEWS / © European Communities
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