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Ruby
Michael Faraday discovered colloidal “ruby” gold, demonstrating that nanostructured gold under certain lighting conditions produces different-colored solutions. -
Field Emission Microscope
Erwin Müller, working at Siemens Research Laboratory, invented the field emission microscope, allowing near-atomic-resolution images of materials. -
Semiconductor Transistor
John Bardeen, William Shockley, and Walter Brattain at Bell Labs discovered the semiconductor transistor and greatly expanded scientific knowledge of semiconductor interfaces, laying the foundation for electronic devices and the Information Age. -
Theory and a process for growing monodisperse colloidal materials
Victor La Mer and Robert Dinegar developed the theory and a process for growing monodisperse colloidal materials. Controlled ability to fabricate colloids enables myriad industrial uses such as specialized papers, paints, and thin films, even dialysis treatments. -
Field ion microscope
Erwin Müller pioneered the field ion microscope, a means to image the arrangement of atoms at the surface of a sharp metal tip; he first imaged tungsten atoms. -
Molecular engineering
Arthur von Hippel at MIT introduced many concepts of—and coined the term—“molecular engineering” as applied to dielectrics, ferroelectrics, and piezoelectrics. -
Integrated circuit
Jack Kilby of Texas Instruments originated the concept of, designed, and built the first integrated circuit, for which he received the Nobel Prize in 2000. -
Richard Feynman gave a 1959 talk about nanotechnology.
Richard Feynmen an American physicist lectured, "There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom," at an American Physical Society meeting at Caltech on December 29, 1959, which is often held to have provided inspiration for the field of nanotechnology. -
Moore’s Law
Intel co-founder Gordon Moore described in Electronics magazine several trends he foresaw in the field of electronics. One trend now known as “Moore’s Law,” described the density of transistors on an integrated chip (IC) doubling every 12 months (later amended to every 2 years). Moore also saw chip sizes and costs shrinking with their growing functionality—with a transformational effect on the ways people live and work. That the basic trend Moore envisioned has continued for 50 years is to a la -
Moore’s Law 2
large extent due to the semiconductor industry’s increasing reliance on nanotechnology as ICs and transistors have approached atomic dimensions.1974: Tokyo Science University Professor Norio Taniguchi coined the term nanotechnology to describe precision machining of materials to within atomic-scale dimensional tolerances. -
Scanning Tunneling Microscope was invented
Subsequently, interest in “Plenty of Room” in the scientific literature greatly increased in the early 1990s. -
Quantum dots in a glass matrix
Russia’s Alexei Ekimov discovered nanocrystalline, semiconducting quantum dots in a glass matrix and conducted pioneering studies of their electronic and optical properties. -
Buckminsterfullerene
Rice University researchers Harold Kroto, Sean O’Brien, Robert Curl, and Richard Smalley discovered the Buckminsterfullerene (C60), more commonly known as the buckyball, which is a molecule resembling a soccerball in shape and composed entirely of carbon, as are graphite and diamond. The team was awarded the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their roles in this discovery and that of the fullerene class of molecules more generally. -
Colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals (quantum dots)
Bell Labs’s Louis Brus discovered colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals (quantum dots), for which he shared the 2008 Kavli Prize in Nanotechnology. -
Nanotechnology gained serious attention
“nanotechnology” gained serious attention just before that time, following its use by K. Eric Drexler in his 1986 book, Engines of Creation: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology, which took the Feynman concept of a billion tiny factories and added the idea that they could make more copies of themselves via computer control instead of control by a human operator; and in a cover article headlined "Nanotechnology", published later that year in a mass-circulation science-oriented magazine, OMNI. -
Atomic force microscope
Gerd Binnig, Calvin Quate, and Christoph Gerber invented the atomic force microscope, which has the capability to view, measure, and manipulate materials down to fractions of a nanometer in size, including measurement of various forces intrinsic to nanomaterials. -
Richard Feynmen's Death
After Feynman's death, scholars studying the historical development of nanotechnology have concluded that his actual role in catalyzing nanotechnology research was limited, based on recollections from many of the people active in the nascent field in the 1980s and 1990s. -
manipulated 35 individual xenon atoms to spell out the IBM logo
Don Eigler and Erhard Schweizer at IBM's Almaden Research Center manipulated 35 individual xenon atoms to spell out the IBM logo. This demonstration of the ability to precisely manipulate atoms ushered in the applied use of nanotechnology. -
Early nanotechnology companies began to operate
Early nanotechnology companies began to operate, e.g., Nanophase Technologies in 1989, Helix Energy Solutions Group in 1990, Zyvex in 1997, Nano-Tex in 1998…. -
Carbon nanotube
Sumio Iijima of NEC is credited with discovering the carbon nanotube (CNT), although there were early observations of tubular carbon structures by others as well. Iijima shared the Kavli Prize in Nanoscience in 2008 for this advance and other advances in the field. CNTs, like buckyballs, are entirely composed of carbon, but in a tubular shape. They exhibit extraordinary properties in terms of strength, electrical and thermal conductivity, among others. -
Nanostructured catalytic materials MCM-41 and MCM-48
C.T. Kresge and colleagues at Mobil Oil discovered the nanostructured catalytic materials MCM-41 and MCM-48, now used heavily in refining crude oil as well as for drug delivery, water treatment, and other varied applications. -
Method for controlled synthesis of nanocrystals
Moungi Bawendi of MIT invented a method for controlled synthesis of nanocrystals (quantum dots), paving the way for applications ranging from computing to biology to high-efficiency photovoltaics and lighting. Within the next several years, work by other researchers such as Louis Brus and Chris Murray also contributed methods for synthesizing quantum dots. -
Nanotechnology Research Directions: Vision for the Next Decade
The Interagency Working Group on Nanotechnology (IWGN) was formed under the National Science and Technology Council to investigate the state of the art in nanoscale science and technology and to forecast possible future developments. The IWGN’s study and report, Nanotechnology Research Directions: Vision for the Next Decade (1999) defined the vision for and led directly to formation of the U.S. National Nanotechnology Initiative in 2000. -
Assembling a molecule
Cornell University researchers Wilson Ho and Hyojune Lee probed secrets of chemical bonding by assembling a molecule [iron carbonyl Fe(CO)2] from constituent components [iron (Fe) and carbon monoxide (CO)] with a scanning tunneling microscope. -
Dip-pen nanolithography
Chad Mirkin at Northwestern University invented dip-pen nanolithography® (DPN®), leading to manufacturable, reproducible “writing” of electronic circuits as well as patterning of biomaterials for cell biology research, nanoencryption, and other applications. -
President Clinton launched the National Nanotechnology Initiative
President Clinton launched the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) to coordinate Federal R&D efforts and promote U.S. competitiveness in nanotechnology. Congress funded the NNI for the first time in FY2001. The NSET Subcommittee of the NSTC was designated as the interagency group responsible for coordinating the NNI. -
Congress enacted the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research
Congress enacted the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act (P.L. 108-153). The act provided a statutory foundation for the NNI, established programs, assigned agency responsibilities, authorized funding levels, and promoted research to address key issues. -
Naomi Halas, Jennifer West, Rebekah Drezek, and Renata Pasqualin at Rice University developed gold nanoshells
Naomi Halas, Jennifer West, Rebekah Drezek, and Renata Pasqualin at Rice University developed gold nanoshells, which when “tuned” in size to absorb near-infrared light, serve as a platform for the integrated discovery, diagnosis, and treatment of breast cancer without invasive biopsies, surgery, or systemically destructive radiation or chemotherapy. -
Towards a European Strategy for Nanotechnology
The European Commission adopted the Communication “Towards a European Strategy for Nanotechnology,” COM(2004) 338, which proposed institutionalizing European nanoscience and nanotechnology R&D efforts within an integrated and responsible strategy, and which spurred European action plans and ongoing funding for nanotechnology R&D. -
Nanoscience and Nanotechnologies: Opportunities and Uncertainties
Britain’s Royal Society and the Royal Academy of Engineering published Nanoscience and Nanotechnologies: Opportunities and Uncertainties advocating the need to address potential health, environmental, social, ethical, and regulatory issues associated with nanotechnology. -
College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering
SUNY Albany launched the first college-level education program in nanotechnology in the United States, the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering. -
DNA-based computation and “algorithmic self-assembly
Erik Winfree and Paul Rothemund from the California Institute of Technology developed theories for DNA-based computation and “algorithmic self-assembly” in which computations are embedded in the process of nanocrystal growth. -
Nanoscale car
James Tour and colleagues at Rice University built a nanoscale car made of oligo(phenylene ethynylene) with alkynyl axles and four spherical C60 fullerene (buckyball) wheels. In response to increases in temperature, the nanocar moved about on a gold surface as a result of the buckyball wheels turning, as in a conventional car. At temperatures above 300°C it moved around too fast for the chemists to keep track of it! -
Lithium-ion battery with a common type of virus
Angela Belcher and colleagues at MIT built a lithium-ion battery with a common type of virus that is nonharmful to humans, using a low-cost and environmentally benign process. The batteries have the same energy capacity and power performance as state-of-the-art rechargeable batteries being considered to power plug-in hybrid cars, and they could also be used to power personal electronic devices. -
NNI Strategy for Nanotechnology-Related Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) Research
The first official NNI Strategy for Nanotechnology-Related Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) Research was published, based on a two-year process of NNI-sponsored investigations and public dialogs. This strategy document was updated in 2011, following a series of workshops and public review. -
DNA-like robotic nanoscale assembly devices
Nadrian Seeman and colleagues at New York University created several DNA-like robotic nanoscale assembly devices. One is a process for creating 3D DNA structures using synthetic sequences of DNA crystals that can be programmed to self-assemble using “sticky ends” and placement in a set order and orientation. Nanoelectronics could benefit: the flexibility and density that 3D nanoscale components allow could enable assembly of parts that are smaller, more complex, and more closely spaced. -
DNA-like robotic nanoscale assembly devices 2
Another Seeman creation (with colleagues at China’s Nanjing University) is a “DNA assembly line.” For this work, Seeman shared the Kavli Prize in Nanoscience in 2010. -
Nanoscale patterns and structures as small as 15 nanometers
IBM used a silicon tip measuring only a few nanometers at its apex (similar to the tips used in atomic force microscopes) to chisel away material from a substrate to create a complete nanoscale 3D relief map of the world one-one-thousandth the size of a grain of salt—in 2 minutes and 23 seconds. This activity demonstrated a powerful patterning methodology for generating nanoscale patterns and structures as small as 15 nanometers at greatly reduced cost and complexity, opening up new prospects -
Nanoscale patterns and structures as small as 15 nanometers 2
for fields such as electronics, optoelectronics, and medicine. -
NNI Strategic Plan and the NNI Environmental, Health, and Safety Research Strategy
The NSET Subcommittee updated both the NNI Strategic Plan and the NNI Environmental, Health, and Safety Research Strategy, drawing on extensive input from public workshops and online dialog with stakeholders from Government, academia, NGOs, and the public, and others. -
Nanotechnology Signature Initiatives
The NNI launched two more Nanotechnology Signature Initiatives (NSIs)--Nanosensors and the Nanotechnology Knowledge Infrastructure (NKI)--bringing the total to five NSIs. -
Strategic Planning
-The NNI starts the next round of Strategic Planning, starting with the Stakeholder Workshop.
-Stanford researchers develop the first carbon nanotube computer. -
Updated 2014 Strategic Plan
The NNI release the updated 2014 Strategic Plan.
