Chemistry's Dr. Laura Wright explains the new Automic Force Microscope to student Sarah Klapman.

"When people hear the word 'nanotechnology' they think about very small objects, but to a chemist, nano-sized objects are very large," observes Timothy Hanks, professor of chemistry and director of Furman's nanoscience initiative. "We are used to dealing with molecules, but one of the most important areas of science right now involves the assembly of large arrays of molecules into functional devices. It's a technological revolution, and Furman is part of it."

Furman is indeed a part of the revolution. During the 2001-2002 school year, the Department of Chemistry was awarded three grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to support research and education in nanoscience. The grants support the purchase of new equipment, pay for student stipends, and help pay for individual research projects involving Furman, as well as faculty and students from regional colleges and research scientists from local industry.

During the 2001 fall term, Hanks and fellow Chemistry Professors Jeff Petty and Laura Wright learned that their proposal to the NSF for an atomic force microscope (AFM) had been funded.

Wright, director of the microscopy laboratory, notes that the $200,000 instrument is actually the second AFM at Furman. "AFM and related techniques are at the core of nanoscience and technology. We were able to show NSF that our projects were so strong, and so extensive, that a second instrument was justified."

Ongoing experiments study not only materials produced at Furman but also involve collaborations with Clemson University, Mitsubishi, Michelin, and other academic and industrial labs. "It's a tremendous facility," says Wright. "We're able to explore a world that was unimaginable ten years ago."

A few months after receiving the equipment grant, the chemistry department received word that NSF's Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program had designated Furman as an REU site for nanoscience. NSF will provide $180,000 over three years for summer research stipends for students. In addition, the grant provides support for three visiting faculty members.

"Student research has been the capstone experience of our undergraduate educational program for decades," says Hanks, who wrote the proposal with Professors Jeff Petty and Moses Lee. "This grant helps us to enhance that activity for our own students and also allows other institutions to take advantage of Furman's extraordinary equipment holdings and research expertise."

While the REU grant supports three visiting faculty, the chemistry department managed to find additional funds to support faculty/student teams from West Georgia State University, Erskine College, Claflin College and the University of North Carolina, Asheville.

Furman's most recent nanoscience award from NSF was announced in the spring of 2002. Hanks and William Pennington of Clemson University were awarded  $395,000 over three years to synthesize and characterize a class of 'nanoporous' crystalline solids.  Hanks explains that this branch on nanoscience involves designing molecules that naturally assemble in a predetermined manner to give crystals with unusual chemical and optical properties.
 
"Bill and I draw out the molecules on paper, then our students go to the laboratory and create them. We're artists, or maybe fiction writers, our students are the nano-construction engineers."

Whatever the job titles, the arrangement seems to be working. The collaboration has produced fifteen research articles over the past five years as well as numerous student presentations at professional meetings. They have received funding from the Research Corporation, the Petroleum Research Fund and NASA for their work.

"There are several reasons for preparing nanoporous organic solids," says Hanks, "but NASA was most interested in their application to non-linear optics and optical computing." The idea of computing with light rather than with electricity is one of a variety of new technologies that workers in the nanoscience community are contemplating.

According to Hanks, it is important for both students and science faculty to be involved with cutting edge scientific problems. "Science is about creating new knowledge, not just reading about what others have done."

Professor Hanks grew up in South Dakota and received his Ph.D. at Montana State University. After completing his postdoctoral research at the University of Minnesota, he moved south joining Furman in 1990. He has published more than 40 papers in chemical and chemical education journals and has delivered invited lectures to audiences on four continents. In September of 2002, Furman University named Hanks the Henry Keith and Ellen Hard Townes Professor of Chemistry.