In 1959, Richard Feynman delivered a lecture entitled “There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom.” In that lecture he pointed out that the science and technology of the 20th century was generally dwelling on the features of matter at the macroscopic scale, and there were many factors of 10 smaller entities that could be explored and eventually utilized for technological purposes.

We are now engaged in that exploration of physical properties of matter leading down to the scale of single atoms. The physics of the very small is what we call Nanophysics.

As objects get smaller, their quantum mechanical properties become more prominent. small grapheneThey also display properties that are sometimes governed by the position or motion of a single atom or electron.

These situations produce qualitatively new physical properties, as well as unique opportunities for novel and potentially disruptive technologies.

Our Center has broad and comprehensive talent to understand nanophysics through both theory and experiment.

QMC scientists are actively engaged in nanoparticle synthesis and physical property measurement, surface physics, molecular electronics, as well as nanotube and graphene physics.