Category Archives: News

Holly Leddy wins NNCI Education and Outreach Award

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Our congratulations go out to Holly Leddy for winning a national award from the National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure (NNCI) in the category of Education and Outreach.

Holly is a Research and Development Engineer at Duke’s Shared Materials Instrumentation Facility. Holly was recognized for the vital role she plays in planning and implementing the RTNN’s education and outreach programs. Each year she leads Girls STEM Day @ Duke where girls participate in hands-on science and engineering activities. The event aims to show the girls and their parents that a career in STEM is within their grasp. The huge success of this event was in large part due to Holly’s leadership and tireless hours of hard work. 

Keep up the good work!

A Giant Tool to See the Tiniest Things

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The cryo-TEM housed in Duke’s Shared Materials Instrumentation Facility was recently featured in Duke’s Research News. This instrument helps researchers resolve the complex structures of proteins. The cryo-TEM can capture hundreds of thousands of images of these small molecules, and power software is employed to reconstruct the structures in three-dimensions. To learn more, read the full news article.

Celebrate Nano at the NC Science Festival

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As part of the NC Science Festival, the RTNN will be at the Chapel Hill Public Library on Saturday, April 13th from 1-3 pm. Get a crash course on nanotechnology using a portable scanning electron microscope (SEM) and light microscopes to examine bugs, flowers, and other materials up close. Participants are encouraged to bring their own samples to view. Other hands-on activities will help visitors relate to nanoscale phenomena and get an idea of techniques used to make things on this size scale. Join us to make nano ice cream, try on a clean room suit, design a photomask and more!

For more information, visit the event page on the NC Science Festival Website.

Undergraduate Internship Opportunity at Smart Material Solutions

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Smart Material Solutions, Inc. (SMS) is seeking two REU students for 10 week paid summer internships. SMS is a small NC State startup in Raleigh, NC that is developing an advanced nanomanufacturing process called nanocoining. The patented process can seamlessly nanopattern drum molds for roll-to-roll manufacturing hundreds of times faster than competing technologies like electron-beam lithography.

Internship 1: Nanocharacterization This intern will use SMS’s molds to create nanostructured polymer films and perform nanocharacterization to compare the 3D shapes of the nanofeatures in the diamond die, indented mold, and replicated polymer film. This student will receive training on several characterization techniques such as SEM, AFM, and confocal microscopy. SMS prefers a student with a background in materials science, chemical engineering, nanotechnology, or a related field.

Internship 2: Thermal Control System The second REU student will create a temperature control system for SMS’s custom ultrasonic resonant actuator. SMS is interested in hiring a student with a strong background in mechanical engineering, thermal systems, and data acquisition.

For more information, please review this flier. To apply, send your resume to miller@smartmaterialsolutions.com and specify which internship interests you.