Univ of Illinois Micro + Nanotechnology Lab 2016 Highlights Report | Page 4

MNTL provides an environment in which greatness is expected and achieved .

DIRECTOR ’ S MESSAGE

Brian T . Cunningham
In semiconductors , the most interesting physics occurs at the interfaces between dissimilar materials , where p-n junctions form diodes , quantum wells confine photons , and metals launch carriers into transistors . Likewise , interesting new science occurs at the interfaces between disciplines , where electromagnetics meets biochemistry , new material configurations enable devices with previously impossible capabilities , and where new optical devices impact clinical medicine .
MNTL serves as the interdisciplinary research home for faculty and students who actively seek out the boundaries of what is possible at the nanometer scale , while also exploring the impactful science that occurs when electrical engineers , material scientists , plasma physicists , mechanical engineers , chemists , and chemical engineers come together . MNTL is not only a building comprised of offices and labs , but it is also a facility where undergraduate students , graduate students , postdocs , and visiting scientists from a dozen departments come to be trained in the arts of epitaxial crystal growth , semiconductor device fabrication , cell culture , optoelectronic device characterization , mobile point-of-care systems for disease diagnostics , and much , much more .
The interactions that take place through our shared-use laboratories , seminars , workshops , symposia , and Industry programs bring people together with a diverse array of life experiences , scientific training , and perspectives . Combined with world-class facilities , excellent students , and highly accomplished faculty , MNTL provides an environment in which greatness is expected and achieved .
I invite you to explore this Highlights Report for the evidence to back up the assertions I just made . Within these pages , you will see how we are creating the technologies that are certain to make enormous impacts on our society . Semiconductor materials and devices that are at the foundation for faster wireless data transmission , higher bandwidth optical fiber communication , advanced LED lighting , high-efficiency solar cells , and flexible electronics represent only some of the areas in which breakthroughs have occurred this year .
As the University of Illinois opens the first-ever Engineering-based College of Medicine in 2018 , MNTL technologies are being developed for genomics-enabled cancer precision medicine , mobile diagnostic tests for sepsis and infectious disease , augmented reality vision for surgeons , engineered tissue , machines comprised of live cells , and new forms of medical imaging .
In addition to the achievements and professional recognitions accumulated by MNTL faculty and students in the past year , we also highlight several new faculty . We are looking forward to the impact that Professors . Viktor Gruev ( ECE ), Peter Dragic ( ECE ), Larry Lee ( ECE ), and Yurii Vlasov ( ECE , Materials Science , Bioengineering ) will have as they establish their research programs .
Like a quantum well in a semiconductor laser , the interdisciplinary boundaries at MNTL raise the “ potential ” of every person engaged in research here , enabling us to “ emit ” great science with high intensity and a society-changing direction .

MNTL provides an environment in which greatness is expected and achieved .

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