Overcoming technical obstacles to the cost-effective manufacturing of products made with components the size of atoms and molecules. That will be the operating principle of a new nanotechnology center within the U.S. Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology.
The center was announced March 20 by Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez in a speech to the Detroit Economic Club. The center, he said, "will help the private sector develop innovative products like more efficient batteries, lighter-weight and higher performing materials for aircraft and autos, and smaller computer chips to power digital devices."