Virginia is for Nanotechnology
Education, Research, Commercialization

Welcome to the Web site of the Virginia Nanotechnology Initiative (VNI). VNI was initiated in 2002 (as INanoVA) with seed funding from the Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) and has remained a program within CIT to work with Virginia’s universities, federal laboratories, industrial partners, and state agencies to promote collaborative nanotechnology research, workforce development, technology transfer, and commercialization. As you look through the following pages, you will see the considerable activity in nanotechnology across the Commonwealth. 

Sustained advancements continue across the Commonwealth, in industry, academia, and government.  Nanotechnology Day at the Virginia General Assembly, sponsored by the Joint Commission on Technology and Science, took place on February 6, 2008 in Richmond.  The day provided the opportunity for those involved in nanotechnology to share real-life experiences with members of the Virginia Legislature. A slide show in the General Assembly Building lobby showcased examples of nanotechnology research, applications, and organization logos, and a room reserved for poster displays from companies, universities, and federal laboratories allowed researchers to discuss nanotechnology with elected officials and their staffs.

JCOTS established the Nanotechnology Authority Advisory Committee as one of its 2007 advisory committees. This group is tasked with providing advice on how an authority would fit into the overall R&D policies and goals of the Commonwealth, the structure of that authority, and how will it be funded.

Other exciting developments include Luna nanoWorks’ March 2006 announcement that a new class of nanomaterials, TRIMETASPHERE™, are available for purchase.  In addition, a program of shared graduate level nanotechnology courses, offered through the Commonwealth Graduate Engineering Program (CGEP), received funding through the highly competitive National Science Foundation’s Partnership for Innovation program. 

I look forward to continuing to work with you to accelerate nanotechnology in Virginia.

Nanotechnology in Virginia
Virginia has active nanotechnology research and education programs at colleges, universities, businesses, and federal laboratories across the Commonwealth.
Areas of strength include nano biomedicine, functional nanomaterials, carbonaceous nanomaterials, and emerging technologies such as fuel cells and functional coatings.

Intellectual property developed at Virginia universities has led to the formation of many small companies. Strong collaboration exists among our academic institutions, industry, and government laboratories: working together to accelerate nanotechnology in Virginia.

The Virginia Nanotechnology Initiative (VNI) is an alliance of interests from academia, industry and the public sector serving the nanotechnology community across the Commonwealth. VNI facilitates collaboration to advance Virginia's nanotechnology research, creates conditions to accelerate technology transfer to industry, furthers educational and workforce training programs in nanotechnology, and seeks to position Virginia at the forefront of nanotechnology innovation.