Nanotechnology – US Forest Service Research & Development

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Small and the Technology of Small

Nano is small, really, really, small. It comes from a Greek word meaning dwarf. One nanometer (nm) is one billionth of a meter (1 meter = 39.4 inches).

A nanometer is much, much smaller than a spot on a lady bug. An ant is about 5,000,000 nm (0.2 inches) long; human hair is about 100,000 nm (0.004 inches) wide; and an atom is approximately 1 nm.

Nanotechnology is the understanding and control of matter at dimensions between approximately 1 and 100 nanometers, where unique phenomena enable novel applications. Unusual physical, chemical, and biological properties can emerge in materials at the nanoscale. Nanotechnology also encompasses any nanoscale systems and devices and unique systems and devices that are involved in the manufacturing of nanoscale materials.

As an enabling technology, nanotechnology has the potential to benefit all aspects of forestry and forest products: from plants, forest management, harvesting, forest operations, wood-base products, application of wood-based products to the understanding of consumer behavior. In international conferences, scientists have briefly touched upon the ideas of using nanotechnology enabled products in resolving issue of international interest such as climate change (nanotechnology enabled sensors for example), energy efficiency (nanotechnology enabled catalysts for example) and water resources (nanotechnology enabled water harvesting for example). The forest products industry has identified nanotechnology as one of the technologies that will enable new products and product features.

The industry has goals to create new bio-based composites and nanomaterials, and to achieve improvement in the performance-to-weight ratio of paper and packaging products through nanotechnology and nanotechnology-enabled new paper features such as optical, electronic, barrier, sensing thermal and surface texture.

Due to its ability to reduce carbon footprints of petroleum based products, renewable forest-based nanocelluloses, together with other natural-occurring nanocelluloses, have been the subject of active research and development internationally. Often requested by user industries, nanocellulose has found its way in the research and development of plastics, coatings, sensors, electronics, automobile body and aerospace materials, medical implants and body armor. In the future, we can claim plastics, cellular telephones, medical implants, body armors and flexible displays as forest products.

Lux Research estimated that by 2015, US$3.1 trillion worth of products will have incorporated nanotechnology in their value chain. Successful realization of this technology using sustainable forest-based products will increase use of materials from renewable resources and decrease reliance on petroleum-based products and other non-renewable materials. With adequate investing in Forest Service nanotechnology R&D, the forest products industry envisions replacing the 300,000 jobs lost since 2006 with skilled workers, many of them in rural America - using materials we can grow, transport, and assemble into finished products in the United States more efficiently than nearly anywhere else in the world.

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Nanotechnology - US Forest Service Research & Development

Nanoscale neural network developed with Japan and US researchers – News – The University of Sydney

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Optical micrograph image of the nanowire network from the study.

The neuromorphic network was created by self-assembled nanowires that form numerous contacts between adjacent nanowires, with each contact exhibiting a synaptic-like response to electrical stimulation. A synapse is a junction between nerve cells.

Nanowires are measured in nanometres, which are a billionth of a metre in size. The nanowires used were made of a silver and polymer composite material. The average diameter of the nanowires used was 360 nanometres, or 0.00000036 metres wide. A human hair is about 100,000 nanometres wide.

The synthetic synapses used collectively regulated the overall functionality of the entire network. The research team investigated the process of electrical signal transmission across preferred paths in the complex network by time-resolved electrical resistance measurements.

This revealed continuous fluctuations that enable electrical signals to exploit multiple transport pathways across the network and spontaneously adapt to changing transmission routes. This process leads to emergent network properties related to learning, memorisation and forgetting of input signals.

Based on this discovery, the research team is now developing next-generation memory devices and neuromorphic information processing systems using nanowire networks. While current AI technology is based on an assumed model of brain-type information processing, this research provides a glimpse into what brain-type information processing actually is. The team hopes that the outcomes of this research will lead to new data processing capabilities beyond the reach of AI.

At Sydney Nano, Professor Kuncic is working with colleagues on aGrand Challenge projectto unlock the neural interface. Along withProfessor Gregg Suaningin theSchool of Biomedical Engineering, the multidisciplinary team is looking to unlock the neural code through the convergence of neural biology and electrical stimulation with nanotechnology.

The aim of the project is to harness the combined capacity of neural biology, electrical stimulation and nanotechnology to transform and restore neurons from a state of disease or dysfunction to a state of robust performance indistinguishable from normal function.

The research was funded by the International Centre for Materials Nanoarchitectonics, National Institute for Materials Science, Japan.

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Nanoscale neural network developed with Japan and US researchers - News - The University of Sydney

Gov. Cuomo Announces International Nanotechnology Partnership Between New York and Israel – Video

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Gov. Cuomo Announces International Nanotechnology Partnership Between New York and Israel
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to establish an international partnership between New York State and th...

By: TheNanoCollege

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Gov. Cuomo Announces International Nanotechnology Partnership Between New York and Israel - Video

Beyond the Data: Preventing Adverse Health Effects from Nanotechnology – Video

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Beyond the Data: Preventing Adverse Health Effects from Nanotechnology
In this CDC Grand Rounds - Beyond the Data video, Dr. John Iskander and Dr. Paul Schulte discuss the emergence of nanotechnology from science fiction to real life: How small is small when talking...

By: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

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Beyond the Data: Preventing Adverse Health Effects from Nanotechnology - Video

Practical Nanotechnology Today: Concepts to Applications by Prof. Joydeep Dutta – Video

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Practical Nanotechnology Today: Concepts to Applications by Prof. Joydeep Dutta
AIT Technology Event - http://www.consulting.ait.asia/TechEventMain.aspx 10 - 11 July 2013 In his presentation, Practical Nanotechnology Today: Concepts to A...

By: AIT Consulting

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Practical Nanotechnology Today: Concepts to Applications by Prof. Joydeep Dutta - Video