The U.S. National Science Foundation National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure (NNCI) network provides researchers across the nation with access to state-of-the-art resources necessary to participate in the nanotechnology revolution.
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What is the NNCI?
The NSF NCCI is a nationwide, shared-use network of 16 user facility sites and their affiliated partners — including other universities, colleges, national labs and nonprofit foundations.
The network's university-based sites provide researchers from academia, industry and government access to leading-edge tools, training and expertise within all disciplines of nanoscale science, engineering and technology.
The network coordinates its activities through the NNCI Coordination Office located at Georgia Tech.
NNCI sites
NSF CNS is a shared-use core facility at Harvard University for nanoscale research. The center focuses on the study, design and fabrication of nanoscale structures and their integration into large and complex interacting systems.
Visit the NSF Center for Nanoscale Systems.
NSF CNF provides access to micro- and nanofabrication facilities, resources and expertise at Cornell University to advance science, engineering and technology at the nanoscale.
Visit the NSF Cornell Nanoscale Science and Technology Facility.
NSF KY Multiscale focuses on combining micro/nano fabrication processes with cutting-edge additive manufacturing technology through diverse facilities, instrumentation and expertise at the University of Louisville and the University of Kentucky.
Visit the NSF Kentucky Multi-Scale Manufacturing and Nano Integration Node.
NSF MANTH provides researchers in Philadelphia and the surrounding mid-Atlantic region access to state-of-the-art fabrication and characterization facilities and nanoscience expertise at the University of Pennsylvania and Community College of Philadelphia.
Visit the NSF Mid-Atlantic Nanotechnology Hub.
NSF MiNIC supports interdisciplinary research in nanoscience and applied nanotechnology through a collection of laboratories, instrumentation and expertise at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.
Visit the NSF Midwest Nanotechnology Infrastructure Corridor.
NSF MONT serves users in the Rocky Mountains and Northern Great Plains, offering access and expert training in fabrication and advanced characterization and broad-based nanoscience education and outreach from Montana State University and Carleton College.
Visit the NSF Montana Nanotechnology Facility.
NSF nano@stanford provides access to world-leading fabrication and characterization facilities and expertise at Stanford University in nanoscale science, engineering and technology.
Visit NSF nano@stanford.
NSF NCI-SW serves as the Southwest regional hub of the NNCI, supporting nanoscale science, engineering and education in partnership with Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University, Rio Salado College and Science Foundation Arizona.
Visit the NSF Nanotechnology Collaborative Infrastructure Southwest.
NSF NNF offers open and affordable access to state-of-the-art facilities, training and expertise at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in nanoscience, nanotechnology, material science and engineering.
Visit the NSF Nebraska Nanoscale Facility.
NSF NNI supports micro/nano research, scalable prototyping and workforce development through a collection of fabrication and characterization facilities spanning the University of Washington and Oregon State University.
Visit the NSF Northwest Nanotechnology Infrastructure.
NSF RTNN supports nanoscience and nanotechnology research and education by providing access to state-of-the-art facilities and technical expertise at North Carolina State University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Duke University.
Visit the NSF Research Triangle Nanotechnology Network.
NSF SDNI leverages specialized resources and expertise at University of California, San Diego, enabling transformative research and education in nanobiomedicine, nanophotonics and nanomagnetics.
Visit the NSF San Diego Nanotechnology Infrastructure.
NSF SHyNE Resource provides access to the state-of-the art research facilities and technical expertise at Northwestern University and University of Chicago in soft materials and soft-hard hybrid nano-systems.
Visit the NSF Soft and Hybrid Nanotechnology Experimental Resource.
NSF SENIC supports nano-fabricationnanofabrication and nano-characterization research by combining the expertise and infrastructure strengths of Georgia Tech Institute for Electronics and Nanotechnology and the Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering.
Visit the NSF Southeastern Nanotechnology Infrastructure Corridor.
NSF TNF focuses on nanodevice manufacturability, fabrication and characterization in partnership with three prominent facilities from Tthe University of Texas at Austin.
Visit the NSF Texas Nanofabrication Facility.
NSF NanoEarth supports research on Earth and environmental aspects of nanoscience and nanotechnology through diverse facilities, laboratories, instrumentation, and expertise at Virginia Tech and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.
Visit the NSF Virginia Tech National Center for Earth and Environmental Nanotechnology Infrastructure.
Opportunities for undergraduates
Eleven of the 16 NNCI sites offer summer Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) programs in nanotechnology, with projects ranging from solid state physics and electronic devices to materials science and biology/biomedical engineering.
The NNCI site REU program consists of an intensive 10-week summer research experience where students can work closely with faculty and other researchers, receiving mentorship and building their professional network. REU participants receive stipends and assistance with housing and travel.
Related funding
Major Research Instrumentation Program
Supports requests for up to $4 million from NSF for the development or acquisition of multi-user research instruments that are critical to the advancement of science and engineering.
Mid-scale Research Infrastructure-1
Supports the design and implementation of research infrastructure — including equipment, cyberinfrastructure, large-scale datasets and personnel — whose total project costs exceed NSF's Major Research Instrumentation program but are under $20 million.
Mid-scale Research Infrastructure-2
Supports the implementation of research infrastructure — including equipment, cyberinfrastructure, large-scale datasets and personnel — whose total project costs fall between $20 million and $100 million.