Center: renewal: NSF-crest center for nanotechnology research and education

The National Science Foundation Division of Undergraduate Education awarded the University of the District of Columbia $4,993,567 on August 1, 2026, for a Phase II Center for Nanotechnology Research and Education (CNRE-II), funded under the STEM Education program (CFDA 47.076).

CNRE-II will integrate research and education to strengthen UDC's research infrastructure and national competitiveness in nanotechnology, semiconductor technologies, advanced manufacturing, sustainable energy, and quantum information science. The center will investigate charge, spin, heat, and chemical species transport across nanoscale materials to enable next-generation technologies beyond conventional electronics. CNRE-II will operate a vertically integrated community college-to-PhD STEM workforce pathway, providing hands-on training in nanotechnology, microfabrication, additive manufacturing, advanced instrumentation, entrepreneurship, and quantum-related technologies. Students, postdoctoral scholars, and early-career faculty will gain research, internship, and commercialization experience through partnerships with federal laboratories and research universities, including NASA, NIST, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and the Kansas City National Security Campus. The center will foster student engagement in STEM through curriculum innovation, undergraduate and graduate research, teacher engagement, and public outreach, including a planned museum of nanotechnology.

Performance occurs in Washington, DC. The award period runs from August 1, 2026, through July 31, 2031.

Abstract

The NSF centers for research excellence in science and technology (CREST) program supports emerging research institutions (ERIS) in operating centers that integrate research and education to elevate institutions to national research competitiveness, advance stem knowledge, and develop the stem workforce. Building on the accomplishments of the phase I center for nanotechnology research and education (CNRE) housed at the university of the district of columbia (UDC), the second phase center known as CNRE-II, will continue to strengthen UDC?S research infrastructure, innovation ecosystem, doctoral education capacity, early career faculty development, and national competitiveness in nanotechnology, semiconductor technologies, advanced manufacturing, sustainable energy, and quantum information science (QIS). CNRE-II will investigate how charge, spin, heat, and chemical species move across materials at the nanoscale to enable future technologies beyond conventional electronics. Synergistically, the center will support a vertically integrated community college-to-PHD stem workforce pathway, providing hands-on training in nanotechnology, microfabrication, additive manufacturing, advanced instrumentation, entrepreneurship, and quantum-related technologies. Students, postdoctoral scholars, and early career faculty will gain research, internship, and commercialization experiences through collaborations with CNRE-II partners at federal laboratories, industry, and research universities, including NASA, NIST, OAK ridge national laboratory, and the kansas city national security campus. CNRE-II will encourage student engagement in stem through curriculum innovation, undergraduate and graduate research, teacher engagement, and public outreach, including a planned museum of nanotechnology. By strengthening UDC?S research and education ecosystem, CNRE-II will expand opportunities for nanotechnology-based stem programs, boost enrollment, support national workforce needs, and establish a sustainable foundation for UDC?S long-term growth as a research-intensive hbcu, while contributing to U.S. Leadership in strategically important technologies. Collaborating with researchers at UDC and its stem partners, including veteran and early career faculty members, postdoctoral scholars, and students, CNRE-II will advance an integrated research program centered on nanoscale transport phenomena governing the transfer of spin, charge, heat, and chemical species across interfaces. The center will pursue four synergistic research subprojects that collectively address fundamental scientific challenges while enabling future quantum-enabled computing, advanced manufacturing, thermal management, and sustainable energy technologies. Subproject 1 will investigate molecular spintronic devices based on patented magnetic tunnel junction?molecule architectures to develop novel memory, logic, sensing, and quantum-information platforms utilizing molecular spin states and custom-designed molecular structures. Subproject 2 will develop powder-based electrochemical additive manufacturing (PEAM), a novel near-room-temperature metal additive-manufacturing process capable of producing unprecedented multifunctional metal and semiconductor composites. Subproject 3 will study multiscale heat exchangers and nano/microchannel architectures for enhanced thermal transport and cooling of high-performance electronic and quantum systems. Subproject 4 will investigate molecular catalysis integrated with tunnel-junction architectures and PEAM-derived materials to improve electrocatalytic and photocatalytic energy-conversion processes. The research integrates molecular synthesis, nanofabrication, additive manufacturing, advanced characterization, computational modeling, and collaborative access to national laboratory user facilities. Cross-cutting interactions among the four subprojects will create an integrated nanoscale engineering ecosystem in which molecular devices, advanced materials, thermal-management systems, and catalytic platforms inform and enhance one another. Expected outcomes include fundamental discoveries, patents, publications, technology prototypes, workforce development, and a sustainable research platform that advances nanotechnology-enabled innovation and chemistry-enabled quantum information science at UDC. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.- subawards are not planned for this award.