North Carolina Biotechnology Center Award for Biotechnology Support/Service Excellence Award                                                                  

The Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering’s Institute for Research Technologies (JSIRT) received the Biotechnology Support/Service Excellence Award from the North Carolina Biotechnology Center. JSIRT was established in 2019 and its purpose is to serve as a one-stop location to support research and development in biotechnology, materials science, and engineering research through state-of-the-art facilities. With a highly experienced staff and newly acquired equipment, the facility provides services to support the Triad’s biotechnology sector and beyond. Dr. Shyam Aravamudhan is currently the JSIRT Director.

New Equipment Acquisition and Installation

2022 was a remarkably successful year for JSNN in terms of equipment acquisition. With support from the State of North Carolina and NC A&T, JSNN acquired a significant number of equipment to upgrade its facilities. The new equipment include: Raith e-beam lithography system, confocal Raman microscope, mask aligner, a high-performance computing system, and a suite of optical spectroscopy and mass spectrometry instruments. These instruments and others will be available in the coming months to internal and external members of the Joint School’s Institute for Research Technologies.

New Leadership for the Department of Nanoengineering

Following a national search, Dean Sherine Obare announced Dr. Emanuel Waddell as Chair of the Department of Nanoengineering effective August 1, 2022. Dr. Waddell brings a wealth of experiences that are necessary for the Department of Nanoengineering’s future growth. He has spent the last 3 years as a Program Officer at the National Science Foundation. His responsibilities at NSF have included overseeing the Chemical Measurement and Imaging (CMI) program, the NSF Centers for Research Excellence in Science and Technology (CREST) program, and the Historically Black Colleges and Universities- Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP).

Dr. Waddell has been on the faculty at the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) (a R1 University) since 2004. At UAH, he served in a leadership capacity as Associate Dean in the College of Science. In addition, he was the President for the Alabama Academy of Science, and UAH campus director of the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) program. Furthermore, he served as President of the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE), an organization with a membership of over 1000 chemists, chemical engineers, and STEM professionals. As NOBCChE President he was responsible for leading and raising funds for the organization, building partnerships with federal agencies and industry, and creating pathways for success of STEM leaders.

Enrollment Growth at JSNN

From Fall of 2021 to Fall of 2022 enrollment at the Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering grew by 10%.  This is an exciting increase that we hope to sustain in both departments.

NanoImpacts Conference 2022:  Semiconductor Synthetic Biology and Beyond

The NanoImpacts Conference 2022 was held on October 13-15, 2022.  The theme of this year’s conference was Semiconductor Synthetic Biology and Beyond.  The conference featured a host of international speakers and included panel discussions and opportunities for networking.  Additionally, during the conference, the JSNN chapter of the Materials Research Society hosted the second annual NanoArt Exhibition.  On the final day of the conference, JSNN hosted its first STEM Undergraduate Research Symposium with both oral and poster presentations.

JSIRT is a 2022 UEDA Awards of Excellence Finalist

The Joint School’s Institute for Research Technologies (JSIRT) was selected by the University Economic Development Association (UEDA), as one of three Finalists for the 2022 Awards of Excellence in the Innovation category.  UEDA is a non-profit organization established in 1976 to promote economic growth by bringing together higher education institutions, private sector businesses, government agencies, and community development entities across the country.  The three finalists competed at the annual meeting UEDA Summit in San Antonio, Texas. JSIRT was represented by Dr. Sherine Obare, who presented its role. JSIRT was selected as the 2022 Innovation Award of Excellence Winner.

ICONS

The Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering (JSNN) and the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) Soldier Center have created a one-of-a-kind joint collaborative laboratory titled Innovation Collaborative Laboratory for Nanotechnologies

to Empower the Future Soldier (ICONS). The establishment of ICONS was through the vision and leadership of both Dr. Sherine Obare (JSNN Dean) and Dr. Ramanathan Nagarajan (Senior Research Scientist at the DEVCOM Soldier Center (Natick, Massachusetts)). This collaborative lab is established through an Educational Partnership Agreement signed between NC A&T, UNCG and DEVCOM SC. Research projects within ICONS at JSNN are led by Dr. Kristen Dellinger (Nanoengineering) and Dr. Tetyana Ignatova (Nanoscience) and involve an exemplary team of faculty, students, and DEVCOM Soldier Center researchers. The official opening of ICONS took place on November 21, 2022