Rice University in Houston has completed the renovation and remodeling of 3,000 sf in Abercrombie Hall to accommodate nanotechnology research. The facility houses a Class 100 cleanroom, a Class 1000 cleanroom, a conference area, and lab support space. The contractor for the design/build project was McCarthy Building Companies of Dallas .
Samsung Semiconductor LLP broke ground in late July 2004 on the second expansion phase of its Austin , Texas, chip manufacturing plant. The 34,000-sf, $500-million project will increase the plant’s capacity to produce nanoscale semiconductor memory technology. Completion is expected in three years.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has completed the new Advanced Measurement Laboratory (AML ) in Gaithersburg , Md. The $235-million facility accommodates research in nanotechnology, semiconductors, biotechnology, advanced materials, quantum computing, and advanced manufacturing. Completed in December 2003 and officially opened in June 2004, the AML features five separate wings with stringent environmental controls on particulate matter, temperature, humidity, vibration and electromagnetic interferences. The design includes:
Electron microscope maker FEI Corp. has opened its enhanced Eindhoven , Netherlands, campus, featuring the “NanoPort," a state-of-the-art product and applications center. Providing space for collaborative R&D projects, such as the European Union’s Interaction Proteome Project, the NanoPort accommodates scientists working in the disciplines of biotechnology, materials science, structural biology, proteomics, pathology, and semiconductors and data storage. The facility houses a range of transmission and scanning electron microscopes, as well as ion beam and dual-beam systems.
The University of Albany has created the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, the nation’s first college of nanoscience, in Albany, N.Y. Providing infrastructure and environment for attracting new nanotechnology research and development, the college will be housed in the same complex as the Albany Center of Excellence in Nanoelectronics located on the Albany Nanotech campus.
M+W Zander U.S. Operations is completing the $3.5-million office and cleanroom construction training center in 60,000 sf of Building 44 at the Watervliet Arsenal in Watervliet, N.Y. A joint venture of Albany NanoTech, Arsenal Business and Technology Partnership, and M+W Zander, the center will train members of the Pipe Fitters Union, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, and sheet metal workers to construct and maintain cleanroom facilities and install precision machinery.
The University of Houston will complete the $76-million Science and Engineering Research and Classroom Complex in spring of 2006. Designed by Cesar Pelli, the facility will enable collaboration between researchers from the Cullen College of Engineering and the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. The complex will accommodate research in biotechnology, nano-lithography, DNA chips, protein chips, materials, optoelectronics, synthetic medicinal chemistry, and drug design.
North Carolina State University may add as much as 240,000-sf of office space to its Centennial Campus in Raleigh. Plans describe the development of several additional office buildings on 5.7 acres of the 1,334-acre site. The Centennial Campus will foster collaboration by allowing faculty and graduate students to work side-by-side with corporate researchers. Four buildings are currently under construction on the campus.
Rice University has selected Addison-based McCarthy to build its $1.5 million Nanofabrication Facility on the school’s Houston campus. The project is comprised of a 3,000-sf renovation and remodeling of existing space in Abercrombie Hall to create Class 100 and Class 1000 clean rooms and support. Occupancy is slated for March 2004.
Nanomanufacturing company Molecular Imprints is planning to expand its operations in Austin, Texas with the lease of 19,000 sf near its current 16,000-sf location. Molecular Imprints will also open new distribution centers in Germany and Japan for its semiconductor chip imprinting machinery.
The Georgia Institute of Technology will construct the Nanotechnology Research Center on its Atlanta campus as early as next year, with official occupancy to follow in three years. Funded by a $36-million pledge from an anonymous donor, the facility will be sited where the university’s old nuclear reactor building now stands.
The Strategic Partnership for Research in Nanotechnology has been granted $10 million in funding from the Senate to establish a network of nanotechnology research centers. The Strategic Partnership for Research in Nanotechnology is a consortium comprised of The University of Texas at Dallas, The University of Texas at Arlington, The University of Texas at Austin, and Rice University.
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute opened the Rensselaer Nanotechnology Center on Sept. 15, 2003. The center is one of six Nanoscale Science and Engineering Centers designated by the National Science Foundation. The facility houses an atomic force microscope and equipment for studying nanotubes.
Arizona State University is constructing Phase I of the Arizona Biodesign Institute (AzBiodesign). Architectural firms Gould Evans and Lord, Aeck & Sargent planned, designed, and are now overseeing construction for the facility, which will house interdisciplinary research in biotechnology, information technology, and nanotechnology. The first 172,000-sf, $69-million phase of AzBiodesign will feature a flexible open lab concept allowing for rapid module reconfiguration to respond to the changing nature of research programs.
The University at Albany SUNY has selected M+W Zander to design and construct the new Nanotechnology Design and Research Center. M+W Zander U.S. Operations, a subsidiary of M+W Zander, Stuttgart, will plan and construct the entire complex with an area of 20,000 square meters including a cleanroom with an area measuring 3,500 square meters. The order volume of the first project phase, which is scheduled for completion in early 2004, amounts to $15-million. The new research complex is intended for R&D of pioneering processes and technology used in semiconductor manufacture.
