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"Our objective is to work on creating a broad technology base for Alaska," said Dave Woodall, director of the new Center for Nanosensor Technology.
Creation of the center, spurred by $11.5 million in federal funding, received approval from the University of Alaska Board of Regents in December.
"Our program is to design and build very tiny sensors that can be applied to Alaska needs," Woodall said.
Such sensors, called nanosensors, could be used to track animals and relay current data about them for research projects. They could also take measurements for environmental or pipeline uses and may have applications in mineral exploration, he said. The sensors could also be used to track products during shipment, gauging freshness of perishable foods.
The key to manufacturing nanosensors, the size of a human hair in cross-section, for commercial use is a process called fluidic self assembly, Woodall said. The process, developed and patented by Alien Technology of Morgan Hill, Calif., suspends nanosensors in a fluid and then "flows" them into designated receptor sites.
Nanosensors are expensive now, but research by UAF scientists will help reduce the cost and size of nanosensors to boost their commercial viability, he said.
Research work could begin soon. The first lab, about 5,000 square feet, will be in the Natural Sciences Building, and $5 million of lab equipment is to arrive in April, Woodall said.
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UAF has received funding from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, which supports technology that could have potential military payoffs, he said. The center would require about $22 million during four years, he said.
Another partner in the program is North Dakota State University. Other industry partners include Supercomputing Technology Inc. of Santa Barbara, Calif., and Northrop Grumman Corp.
The most important partner is Alien Technology, he said.
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Project partners will develop an ultra-low-power battlefield sensor communication system that would provide critical information to troops. NDSU officials have plans to build a $10 million, 75,000-square-foot facility on their campus to house the research and development.
Alien Technology managers and scientists visited UAF to evaluate its infrastructure.
The four-year program could show start-up of nanosensor manufacturing in the second year, Woodall said.
"Our goal is to build the technology here and get Alaskans involved," he said.
By next year the Center for Nanosensor Technology could have its own facility, he said.
Woodall, a UAF engineering professor, is dean of the College of Science, Engineering and Mathematics. In the 1990s he was associate dean and director of research for the University of Idaho College of Engineering. He earned a doctorate degree in engineering physics from Cornell University.
Other Alaskans realize the potential impact the center could generate for Alaska.
"What we're hoping is that for commercialization we'd have spin-off technology from research," said Dean Owen, executive director of the Fairbanks Economic Development Corp.
These spin-off technologies could lead to high-tech businesses at a possible research park in Fairbanks, he said.
"It could really have some positives for us," Owen said.
Jamie Kenworthy, Alaska Science & Technology Foundation executive director, believes the effort may face challenges but represents a progressive step.
"We're starting down a road we should take," he said.
He has played only a small part, helping identify possible research park incubator clients.
"I'm impressed the university could put together such a consortium and get DARPA funds for it," Kenworthy said, referring to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency funding. Securing such funds shows that center proponents can compete nationally, he said.
High-tech research parks often are tied geographically and technically to universities, forming a symbiotic relationship, he said. Most research universities have a nearby commercial research park, he noted.
Such research parks include the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and the Research Triangle area with nearby Duke University, North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. In Austin, Texas, home of Dell Computers, the university works with a research park specializing in software, Kenworthy said.
Woodall envisions the university becoming a magnet for high-tech research and business, perhaps in a research park.
"The local economic development community seems very excited about it," said Woodall, who is working with the FEDC on research park possibilities.
The nanosensor project also affords prime research opportunities for faculty and students, he said. A research park could provide jobs for Alaskans, including UAF graduates, he said.
"It won't help in the next year but maybe five years from now," Woodall said.
The project also represents an effort to respond to UA President Mark Hamilton's mandate for increased effectiveness in combining technology and commercialization, Woodall said.
