The National Science Foundation awarded the University of Massachusetts-Amherst $16 million Monday at the Statehouse to fund the establishment of a nanotechnology research center that stands to help the growth of technology businesses statewide.
The research facility, named the Center for Hierarchical Manufacturing, will launch UMass-Amherst to the forefront of the global nanotechnology research and development efforts, Gov. Mitt Romney said at the event.
“Massachusetts is rapidly becoming the nano-capitol of the world,” said UMass-Amherst President Jack Wilson, sitting with a panel that included Romney, U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Massachusetts Speaker of the House Salvatore DiMasi (D-Boston).
Romney agreed with Wilson, adding that Massachusetts has the largest concentration of biotechnology worldwide.
Michael Reischman, the deputy assistant director of engineering for the NSF — which funds 60 percent of all scientific research in the United States — said the CHM will be one of just 16 nanotechnology centers in the United States. UMass-Amherst will become one of four university research centers focusing on the manufacturing and marketability of nanotechnology.
Praising the proposal, Romney said the CHM will further the research education of students and faculty at the undergraduate, graduate and community college levels, lead to new discoveries and innovations in nanotechnology, create businesses and aid the growth of already existing companies.
Before the announcement Monday, Romney filed a bill that would provide a $5 million contribution from Massachusetts necessary to receive the federal funding.
Kennedy said the CHM is expected to progress research in health care, life sciences and the understanding of global challenges such as global warming. He expressed his gratitude for the NSF’s “support for excellence and recognition of cutting edge technology” in Massachusetts and commended the UMass-Amherst’s “outstanding merit and quality personnel.”
UMass-Amherst has recently established itself as a nanotechnology powerhouse, having received $54 million in research funds since 1997, according to CHM head and UMass-Amherst professor of polymer science and engineering James Watkins. UMass-Amherst’s research program currently has 50 faculty members in eight departments involved in bio and nanotechnology research, Watkins added.
UMass-Amherst alumnus faculty member Kenan Sahin, president of TIAX LLC — a technology development firm in Cambridge — and a partner in the establishment of CHM, said TIAX plans to aid the new research center and will play a major role in product development.