Advanced Materials & Nanotechnology

nanotechnologyAdvanced materials and nanotechnology, combined, form an inter-disciplinary area of research and development. Together they can develop into improved or new properties in products and engineering processes.Tailoring the properties of materials on a molecular level offers the potential for improvement in device performance for applications across the entire range of human activity. This ranges from medicine to cosmetics and food, from information and communications to entertainment, from earth-bound transport to aerospace, from future energy concepts to environment and climate change, from security to cultural heritage. As a result, advanced materials and nanotechnology is unlike any of the other sectors of clean technology and sustainability investment. There are very significant potential economic benefits from advanced materials and nanotechnology technology.

How does nanotechnology directly relate to Clean Technology?

Clean technology products are normally referred to as products that attempt to solve global problems related to resource constraints. Nanotechnology solutions could be applied to some of the following cleantech issues:

  • Energy Generation and Supply
  • Efficient Energy Consumption
  • Automotive (Fuel Cells and Batteries)
  • Energy Storage
  • Water Purification and Desalination
  • Agricultural Production of Food
  • Remediation of Harmful Waste, Chemicals, and Materials
  • Replacing Toxic Materials with Non-Toxic Alternatives
  • Packaging (Biodegradable and Recyclable Materials)

PROFILES:

  • Caltech – Kavli Nanoscience Institute
  • USC – Viterbi School of Engineering – Advanced Materials
  • UCLA – Engineering – Materials Science and Engineering