The West Virginia University College of Engineering and Mineral Resources will celebrate the opening of the new Nanofabrication Clean Room, a shared facility, with a 1:30 p.m. presentation Friday, March 24.
The event will take place in G-78B in the Engineering Sciences Building , with a reception to follow.
The first of its kind in West Virginia , theclean roomis the key hub in a set of laboratories supporting WVNano, a campus-wide effort to advance nanoscience and engineering.
Larry Hornak, WV Nano interim director and professor in the WVU Lane Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, will provide a presentation and description of the 3,300-square-foot facility.
The WVU community and public are invited to learn more about this exciting new area of research and step forward for West Virginia , Dr. Hornak said.
Nanotechnology involves the observation and manipulation of material smaller in size than a wavelength of light. One nanometer is one-billionth of a meter. In comparison, a human hair is about 100,000 times as wide.
Nanotechnology research requires asuper-cleanenvironment in order to avoid contamination of materials involved in the research, Hornak explained.
This is the first facility of its kind in West Virginia , and is an absolutely vital tool that enables us to conduct cutting-edge discovery and innovation in nanotechnology across the disciplines,Hornak said.
At WVU , the nanotechnology initiative focuses on existing research strengths, including cancer cell biology. Other WVNano focus areas have the potential to link with and advance forensics and biometrics research, both major University initiatives.
Although housed in the College of Engineering and Mineral Resources, the facility is shared by researchers from several WVU schools and colleges. Together with labs in physics, chemistry and health sciences, theclean roomprovides the means to build new nano and micro-scale devices and systems to improve lives, health and security.
For more information, contact Susan Case, director of college relations at the WVU College of Engineering and Mineral Resources, at 304-293-4821 ext. 2213.
