NANOTECHNOLOGY:
the next Big Thing
for arizona?
A Possible Enabler for Technologies from Bioscience to Aerospace
writinG by :: Kate noLan
anotechnology boosters like
to say, “The next big thing is
really small.”
Perhaps the “next big
thing” can be excused for
leaving an appropriately small footprint in
Arizona’s marketplace so far.
After all, nanotechnology is the
science of manipulating single atoms and
molecules, even inventing artificial atoms,
to enhance technology.
But some sizable bets have been placed
on making the emerging nano industry
one of the state’s next economic engines.
Both The University of Arizona and
Arizona State University have funded
nanoscience research operations.
Mayo Clinic’s research labs, the
Translational Genomics Research Institute
and Arizona corporate giants, such as
Raytheon and Intel, also are involved in
nanoscience.
The hope is that standard nano elements,
such as quantum dots, nanotubes and
nanospheres, can be harnessed to fire
up Arizona’s proven technology winners:
bioscience, aerospace, semiconductors and
telecommunications.
n
energy or semiconductors and we can make
artificial atoms that solve problems,” says
Matt Kim, a physicist who leads the Arizona
Nanotechnology Cluster, a statewide group
that promotes business development in
the state.
The former Motorola scientist runs
Quant Tera, a young Tempe firm that is
working on communications lasers for the
Air Force and has developed a new kind of
laser now being patented.
dimensions–baring new opportunities. For
example, a disease-fighting substance may
be toxic to humans, but restructuring it
atomically through nanotechnology could
eliminate its toxicity.
so how is that going?
“We need applications. Nano alone is just
chemistry, but put nano with bioscience or
high hopes for nano
Kim says it’s hard to gauge nanotechnology
growth because so much of it takes place
in small workshops. An industry trend to
slash research and development budgets is
nudging cutting-edge scientists to become
entrepreneurs, spreading themselves
across a vast frontier that abuts a variety of
existing technologies. But small companies
like Kim’s are growing nonetheless, even if
it means pooling knowledge to succeed.
Success would mean making a discovery
that takes existing technology to a new level.
Nano promises to reduce energy needs,
make stronger materials that weigh less,
speed up communication, attack diseases
on the molecular level and make the digital
universe smarter.
The key to the relatively new science is
that matter behaves differently in nano
Nano alone is just chemistry,
but put nano with bioscience
or energy or semiconductors
and we can make artificial atoms
that solve problems.
-Matt Kim, chairman of the Arizona Nanotechnology Cluster
a few hurdles have yet to be
crossed in arizona.
For instance, a promising application
would be using nanotech to increase
solar energy production. Kim says the
technology is here but that Arizonans
have yet to support the investment needed
to retool for solar, even though solar
ultimately will be more efficient.
Doug Goodman, president of Ridgetop
Group in Tucson, and founder of
the nano cluster, notes that capital
investment currently is tight everywhere
for the early-stage funding that empowers
entrepreneurs.
Some observers express concern that
the state’s rules on intellectual property
at universities may be a stumbling block.
Arizona’s academic researchers technically
can’t own equity stakes in products they
develop. However, both UofA and ASU
have technology licensing groups that
find investors and match researchers to
new opportunities.
“I sense a can-do attitude here,”
Goodman says, minimizing the impact
of the intellectual property issue.
Arizona’s nano industry ranks 16th
in the nation, according to one
study, trailing leaders California and
Massachusetts. But it employs thousands
here, according to the nano cluster, and
even more are involved in research. Still,
few numbers are available to gauge actual
growth and investment.
Goodman says the state is rich in the
kind of human resources—scientists
and engineers—needed needed for
nanotechnology because of its long
legacy as a leader in the semi-conductor,
aeronautics and defense industries.
