Equipment: MRI: Track 1 Acquisition of a micro/nanofabrication tool for fabricating three-dimensional devices, enabling cleanroom-free research, education, and training in East TX

This project features the acquisition of a three-dimensional (3D) fabrication instrument, the NanoOneBio, with sub-micrometer resolution for The University of Texas at Tyler (UT Tyler). Currently, there is no equipment in East Texas capable of performing micro/nanofabrication in 3D without the need for a cleanroom. The NanoOneBio instrument will facilitate advanced basic and translational research, along with research-intensive training, to develop micro/nanostructured devices for optics, electronics, mechanics, and tissue engineering.

The research will benefit UT Tyler and five regional institutions, including one rural-serving institution, two historically black colleges and universities, and two Hispanic-serving institutions, significantly advancing microelectronics and semiconductor research and commercialization in East Texas. Numerous postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, undergraduates, and high school students will receive training, preparing them for careers in emerging micro/nanotechnology, advanced materials, and semiconductor devices.

This effort aligns with the CHIPS and Science Act and strengthens the U.S. semiconductor workforce. The project will particularly focus on increasing the representation of a broad range of students in education and research. The instrument will also enhance educational impact by being integrated into coursework.

The specific goals of the supported research are to fabricate 3D micro/nanostructured devices for various scientific and engineering domains, spanning photonics, electronics, mechanics, and tissue engineering. In the field of micro/nanophotonics, the NanoOneBio will be used to define metastructures and tunable structures to address research questions in fields ranging from in vivo sensing to endoscopy and spectroscopy.

In micro/nano electronics and mechanics, it will be used to develop devices with new sensing, actuation, energy harvesting, metamaterials, and nanofluidic techniques. In advanced bioprinting, the instrument will be used to develop new types of organs-on-chips with realistic blood vessels and built-in sensing and actuation features. These research endeavors will enable novel advances in the fields of healthcare, sustainable agriculture and precision farming, and environmental monitoring.

Results from the research will be disseminated in peer-reviewed publications and at scientific meetings.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.