In the human body, a joint is a junction of two bones that permits movement. On Monday, November 9th, North Carolina A&T State University and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro officially broke ground on their own joint venture that will allow Greensboro’s major institutions to move as one body.

The Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering (JSNN) is a joint academic unit between A&T and UNCG and will be a 100,000 square-foot research facility located at the South Campus of Gateway University Research Park.

“Both of these great universities have always played a significant role in the life and well being, and economic prosperity of this region,” said Erskin Bowles, President of the University of North Carolina System. “But I am convinced that with the combined brain power, and the talent, and the state-of-the-art facility, along with the great equipment, that what we’re going to do here to change tomorrow in this town I love so much is hard to imagine.”

However, nothing is imaginary about the potential opportunities for students that the JSNN will provide. Its mission, as stated by the school, is to train students to conduct basic and applied research in nanoscience and nanoengineering.And the JSNN has already acquired a piece of equipment worthy of international envy – the helium ion microscope.

“It’s the fourth of its kind in the United States,” said James Ryan, Founding Dean of the JSNN.

“The other three are at Harvard, NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) and UCSD (University of California at San Diego). It’s about $2.5 million worth of equipment. Our intent is to have leading edge technology in order to attract industries and economic partners.”

The JSNN’s four areas of focus will be nanobiology, nanometrology, nanocomposite materials, and bioelectronics.

Initially the school will only offer a professional master of science degree and a Ph.D in nanoscience before expanding the degree program.

Nanotechnology is scientifically engineering the arrangement of atoms and molecules in materials, enabling novel applications with customized properties. That means giving boring materials the ability to do cool things.

Businesses from each end of the spectrum are using nanoscientists in everything from pharmaceuticals, defense and sporting goods.

And it’s big business as well.

The projected economic impact of nanotechnology on the global economy is $3.1 trillion by 2015 according to Lux Research.

University officials expect that over the next 20 years, Gateway University Research Park as a whole will contribute $250 million to the economy of the region.

“This joint initiative creates a tremendous opportunity to take full advantage of successful research that has the potential for patent discovery and will lead to small companies handing out jobs for the future,” said Chancellor Harold Martin.

“It’s a great example of two universities that are strong in particular areas coming together and actually being able to do more,” said UNCG Chancellor Linda Brady.

“This was really an initiative on the part of the chancellors of the two universities, but the faculty is really what drives this effort.”

Doing more together is exactly what has been on the agenda for the cross-town universities for years.

Gateway University Research Park is a 501©3 not-for-profit entity conceived in 2006 to manage and operate the joint collaboration between A&T and UNCG for the purposes of research and economic development within the Triad.

University officials hope for it to serve as a bridge from successful commercial application to scientific research.

“The nanoscience and nanoengineering industries are a direct pathway to the future of major technological breakthroughs in the areas of nanobiology, nanometrology, nanocomposite materials and bioelectronics,” said John Merrill, Executive Director of Gateway University Research Park. “Gateway University Research Park is once again making history by positioning the Triad region for growth in these arenas.” 

• Malcolm Eustache