Buoyed by the ever-advancing ability to characterize,
control and fabricate materials at the nanoscale, the interdisciplinary field
of nanotechnology is becoming pervasive in every aspect of our lives. The
potential application areas of nanotechnology range from semiconductor
electronics, smart materials, energy solutions to biological diagnostics. Nanotechnology
research in our department similarly ranges in its diversity and extends from
simulations to understand phenomenon at the nanoscale to the engineering
processes for generating nanomaterials and nanoarchitecture. Researchers are
applying molecular dynamics and Monte Carlo simulations to understand structure
and dynamics of fluids confined to the nanoscale that are important for
developing novel gas storage applications and enhancing our molecular view of
wear at the nanoscale. Similarly, population balances approaches are being
employed to investigate the role of various mechanisms, such as nucleation,
growth, coagulation, capping, and ripening of nanoparticles in influencing
particle size distribution to develop better and efficient nanoparticle synthesis
methods. Aggregation and 3D nanoparticle array formation is being modeled with
thermodynamic and statistical mechanics approaches. Novel technologies are
being pioneered for high throughput synthesis of metal nanoparticles and
semiconductor nanowires in large scales. Extending these for generation of
functional nanoscale architectures with guided self-assembly to form 2D and 3D
superlattices is a key theme of the current work in the department. Researchers
in our department are also interested in biological processes at the molecular
level to understand underlying mechanisms. Design and characterization of
polymers at the nanoscale has led to the development of new materials with
unique structure, properties, and functions.
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