UK invests in the nano world by Paula Gould The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research The EPSRC has identified the ‘nano world’ as one of its Council (EPSRC) is one of seven agencies that priority areas for funding over the next few years. distributes funding for research and postgraduate This decision reflects the growth in investment that the Council has already pledged – or, indeed, spent – training on behalf of the UK government. The EPSRC on projects involving dimensions and tolerances in invests around £500 million ($800 million) each year, the range 0.1 nm to 100 nm (Table 1). Funds for with a view to sustaining and enhancing the UK’s nano-research are drawn from separate EPSRC science and technology base. The Council’s support Programmes, reflecting the underpinning and for nanoscience and nanotechnology has almost interdisciplinary nature of the subject (Table 2). The tripled over the past four years. This is partly the Materials Programme has played a particularly result of targeted funding schemes, but also the significant role in supporting this work. Today’s appearance of more ‘nano’ proposals in the standard research into areas such as molecular self-assembly, novel patterning techniques, precision metrology grant applications. The EPSRC now boasts a tools, nanostructured materials, and electro- substantial and diverse research portfolio in mechanical systems could form the building blocks of nanoscience and nanotechnology. tomorrow’s materials science and engineering. There are two main routes though which the EPSRC invests in nanoscience and technology: ‘strategic’ and ‘responsive mode’ funding. The distribution of strategic funding is in line with deliberate policies to support certain areas or activities, and generally follows a specific call for proposals. Candidates most likely to make good use of the money may also be encouraged to apply. The remaining portion, which accounts for the majority of the EPSRC’s investment in nano-oriented work, is allocated via the responsive mode. “We feel that it affords researchers the For further information: greatest flexibility to develop their own innovative ideas and Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, address adventurous research challenges,” says Clive Hayter, Polaris House, North Star Avenue, EPSRC materials programme manager also responsible for the Swindon SN2 1ET, UK URL: www.epsrc.ac.uk coordination of nanotechnology activities within the Council. 28 December 2003 ISSN:1369 7021 © Elsevier Ltd 2003 RESEARCH REPORT Table 1 EPSRC expenditure to date on nanoscience and technology* on directly relevant and underpinning research (data provided by EPSRC). Glasgow, York, Cambridge, Nottingham, and Southampton, as Year Directly relevant Underpinning well as the National Institute for Medical Research. 1997-1998 £11.4 m ($18.2 m) - The Cambridge-led nanotechnology IRC will similarly 1998-1999 £11.5 m ($18.4 m) £107.7 m ($172.3 m) foster interactions between researchers from the university’s 1999-2000 £11.7 m ($18.7 m) £117.1 m ($187.4 m) 2000-2001 £12.8 m ($20.5 m) £133.5 m ($213.6 m) departments of engineering, physics, chemistry, materials 2001-2002 £20.2 m ($32.3 m) £152.8 m ($244.5 m) science and metallurgy, as well as in the life sciences, while 2002-2003 £32.2 m ($51.5 m) £147.1 m ($235.4 m) working in partnership with University College London (UCL) *Note: annual expenditure figures do not necessarily reflect all funds committed to projects. and the University of Bristol. An additional £5 million ($8 “It is the research community itself determining research million) deal has also been signed with the Japanese Funding strategy. But where we identify national priorities, we then Agency to allow IRC members to engage in a five-year act in a strategic manner.” collaboration with the Nanomaterials Institute of Tsukuba. Hayter explains how the Council identified one such As director of the Cambridge-led IRC, Mark Welland is national priority during the late-1990s, following an responsible for its budget, about 30% of which will be assessment of the EPSRC’s strengths and weaknesses in directed towards ongoing ‘core projects’. The projects will nanoscience and nanotechnology. The exercise revealed that focus on nanofabrication, characterization techniques based UK researchers had particular expertise in extreme on scanning probes, theoretical modeling, and smart nanotechnology, nanofabrication, and molecular biomaterials. nanotechnology, he says. However, the assessment noted The remaining 70% will be allocated to shorter-duration how few projects involved cross-disciplinary research. Since ‘exploratory projects’, lasting from a few months to up to the nano realm cuts across subject boundaries, a decision three years. Though precise areas for these exploratory was taken to set up two Interdisciplinary Research projects have yet to be defined, proposals should mesh with Collaborations (IRCs) to facilitate innovative research the IRC’s four main objectives: to fabricate complex three- through collaboration. dimensional structures with molecular precision; to A call for IRC proposals in nanotechnology went out in determine the mechanical and electronic properties of 2000. After much consideration, the panel eventually nanoscale interfaces; to control the growth and self-assembly selected two: a nanotechnology IRC led by the University of of soft layers (such as human tissue) by directed self- Cambridge and a bionanotechnology IRC at the University of assembly on patterned substrates; and to produce Oxford. Each received a promise of £10 million ($16 million) architectures for new devices in biomedicine and information to support a six-year programme of research. The EPSRC technology (IT). Attainment of these aims is expected to pledged the majority of the funding, with additional involve a truly interdisciplinary approach, combining ‘hard’ investment from two other UK funding agencies (the inorganic materials with ‘soft’ organic materials, and drawing Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and on the expertise of all participants. the Medical Research Council) and the UK government’s IRC researchers have already identified a number of Ministry of Defence. possible novel structures and associated applications that might result from the work. These include photovoltaic Pulling together Table 2 Breakdown of funding directed towards the ‘nano world’ from Both IRCs are expected to draw on a critical mass of EPSRC programmes (data provided by EPSRC). researchers, offering a concentration of advanced Materials 52% instrumentation and promoting excellence through research IT and computer science 19% and training in an interdisciplinary environment. Physics 14% Chemistry 6% The bionanotechnology IRC in Oxford will foster links Basic technology*5% between the university’s physics, chemistry, biochemistry, Life sciences interface 2% Other 2% engineering science, physiology, and materials departments, *A joint research councils initiative. while also drawing on expertise from the universities of December 2003 29 RESEARCH REPORT Fig. 1 Scanning tunneling microscope images of (a) a Si surface (where red represents the atoms and green the chemical bonds) and (b) a crystal of titanium disilicide growing on a silicon surface. (Courtesy of Mark Welland, IRC in Nanotechnology, University of Cambridge.) devices that are reliant on molecular chemistry and nanoscale fund a project in 24 hours,” Welland says. “If somebody patterning to engineer charge separation, peptide-based approaches the management committee and says: ‘I want to coatings that are capable of controlling cell adhesion to start this project and I have an exceptional person who can implants, and photonic devices that are grown from directly begin next week,’ we can make a decision right away. And we assembled block copolymers. The list is deliberately have done this already.” incomplete, reflecting the IRC’s desire to pursue promising Despite being envisioned as a virtual center of excellence, research trends and exploit as yet undiscovered phenomena. the nanotechnology IRC has a physical home in a new “We need to place the money very carefully, and we need to purpose-built nanoscience facility in Cambridge. The EPSRC place it in areas that build on our strengths and give us a funding has also helped UCL and Bristol secure additional competitive edge,” Welland says. “Being flexible lets us do investment for new laboratories and offices. These state-of- this. It’s more work, but it does mean we can target areas the-art premises will help enormously in realizing the effectively.” underpinning vision of collaborative working, Welland says. The informality of the funding process and relative “We made sure our facility was designed as something that absence of bureaucracy allows fast decisions to be made. The all departments could have access to,” he says. “This is an IRC can invest in rapidly emerging areas of research, which is interdisciplinary research collaboration. You really do have to essential in such a fast-paced area. The high level of mix chemists, physicists, materials scientists, and engineers, investment in the US, Korea, and Japan, for example, is especially at the postgraduate and postdoctoral level.” generating an intensely competitive research arena. “We can John Ryan, director of the Oxford-led bionanotechnology IRC, agrees that the cross-departmental aspect is an important part of the IRCs. Research at the interface between scientific disciplines can be a lonely enterprise