NanoEarth Staff Visit MONT and NCI-SW

The National Center for Earth and Environmental Nanotechnology (NanoEarth) is part of the National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure (NNCI). The NNCI consists of 16 nanotechnology facilities across the United States. In April 2024, the Virginia Tech (VT) Center for Sustainable Nanotechnology Laboratory (SuN) Director, Weinan Leng, Ph.D. and NanoEarth’s Postdoctoral Associate, Bipin Lade, Ph.D., embarked on a cross country learning experience. Leng and Bipin traveled from their home base at Virginia Tech to Montana and Arizona to learn about different nanotechnology capacities at two other NNCI sites. 

Leng and Lade explored the Montana Nanotechnology Facility (MONT) and the Nanotechnology Collaborative Infrastructure Southwest (NCI-SW), as part of the first staff exchange for the NNCI’s Nanoscience in the Earth and Environmental Sciences Research Community (Nano EES-RC). During their journey, they toured facilities, met with nano scientists, and discussed cutting edge instrumentation and research.

MONT, housed at Montana State University (MSU), provided a deep dive into the sophisticated analytical and imaging techniques at their facilities, along with substantial interactions with leading experts and instrument specialists. Leng and Lade toured six labs and facilities at MONT, including the Imaging and Chemical Analysis Laboratory (ICAL), Mass Spectrometry, and Cryo-TEM. Leng’s favorite part of MONT was touring their clean room facilities, as NanoEarth does not have one on-site. Lade enjoyed witnessing silicon wafer patterning for semiconductor research in the Montana Microfabrication Facility.

The NCI-SW visit, housed at Arizona State University (ASU), encompassed a broad spectrum of topics from environmental pollution assessment to advanced material analysis and nano-engineering, reflecting their cutting-edge research and core facility capabilities. Leng and Bipin enjoyed ten different sessions including laboratory tours, talks, and collaboration discussions at NCI-SW. Leng’s favorite part was touring ASU’s large scale and unique waste treatment system. Lade enjoyed learning about research and characterization of environmental samples, especially methods for microplastic analysis using micro-FTIR and pyrolysis GCMS. The knowledge shared on advanced techniques, best practices and different research environments directly related to his current micro and nano plastic research.

Leng and Lade both enjoyed their time at MONT and NCI-SW, made valuable professional connections, and look forward to future collaborations with other NNCI sites. This trip was funded in part by the NNCI Coordinating Office’s staff exchange funding program. In return, NanoEarth has offered to host visitors from other Nano EES-RC sites, as the current budget includes funds to facilitate this exchange.