The Oklahoma Network for Nanostructured Materials (NanoNet) project is coordinated by Dr Warren Ford,Department of Chemistry at Oklahoma State University and co-coordinated by Dr Matthew Johnson,Department of Physics at University of Oklahoma.

Since the 1960's, the computing power and packing density of computer chips have followed Moore's Law, doubling in power per unit area roughly every two years. That forty-year trend will run into fundamental limitations in the near future. The wavelength limitation of optical lithography will soon be reached, and even x-ray lithography will be outdated by about 2015. Ultimately, high-speed computing will require the control of matter on the nanometer scale through other means, in particular self-assembly. This technology will also yield novel sensors, fast components for optical communication devices, new industrial catalysts, nanoscale medical devices and new applications not yet imagined. Nanotechnology is both a rich field of scientific discovery and a necessity for our future economic competitiveness. Oklahoma already has strong groups working on carbon nanotubes, colloidal nanoparticles and semiconductor device nanofabrication. Our vision of NanoNet is a network of Oklahoma scientists, engineers and students, enhanced by EPSCoR support for research infrastructure for three key types of systems:
Epitaxial Nanostructures: Atoms deposited on a surface can move spontaneously to form structures that would otherwise be difficult to fabricate. Particularities of their growth dynamics will be used to make nanoscale patterned electronic components.
Colloidal Particles: Nanosized particles have physical and chemical properties different from both their bulk and atomic counterparts. The methods for their preparation will be improved to optimize the optical, electronic, magnetic, and chemical properties. Such semiconductor and polymer particles have applications in optical filters, switches, magnetic devices, sensors, and probes in complex fluids.
Connectors: Nanoscale devices will need connecting wires and switches to provide complex functionality. Carbon nanotubes, electrically conducting and mechanically strong, are the leading candidate. Single wall nanotubes will be produced in bulk, modified chemically, and assembled into prototypical components for a nanoscale computer. We also will investigate how nanotubes and colloidal particles can be embedded in porous materials and connected to functional semiconductor switches and sensors.
Oklahoma research programs in nanostructured materials are not limited to the projects described here. Faculty research benefits from access to the equipment acquired with EPSCoR support and from motivated students attracted by NanoNet. The scientific environment profits from research symposia and courses presented by current NanoNet members (17 physics faculty, 13 engineering faculty and 9 chemistry faculty members, of whom about 10% are at TU and 40-50% each are at OU and OSU). EPSCoR supports new research ideas and interdisciplinary projects and organizes state conferences that bring together academic and industrial scientists and engineers from Oklahoma and neighboring states for discussion and high level presentations.