BOSTON, Mass., March 24 -- The Photonics Center at Boston University announced it has begun building a $1.5 million NanoPhotonics Laboratory, scheduled to open this September. The facility will enable engineers and developers from different industries and areas of specialization to integrate advances in nanophotonics, nanobiosystems and nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) into application-focused platforms. The lab will be available for joint product development partnerships with government agencies and corporations, as well as the center’s business accelerator companies. Photonics Center systems engineer Ze’ev Feit will manage the lab, which is expected to produce a number of breakthrough applications in the fields of homeland security, medical diagnostics and nanoscale sensory and imagery systems, said Bennett Goldberg, a Photonics Center professor who will be a principal investigator at the new facility. "The collaboration between fields in this facility will allow us to develop the kind of platforms that right now we can only dream of," Goldberg said. "Nanoscience is such a young field of study that there are virtually no off-the-shelf tools that researchers can use. This laboratory will be at the forefront of developing these tools." The 1000-square-foot NanoPhotonics Laboratory will feature ultraclean Class 100 workstation enclosures and both permanent and revolving project workstations. It will also provide space for longer-term specialized projects and have the capabilities for nanomaterials characterization and qualification for advanced processes; nanoscale imaging of single molecules and subcellular processes; integration systems for atto-gram measurement of biological species in nanomechanical, nanoelectric and nanophotonic detection platforms; and dip-pen and cantilever-based nanolithography robotics for the precise positioning of biological and biochemical binding agents. "The NanoPhotonics Laboratory will provide the tools and capabilities to effectively push nanoscience and nanotechnology research in the direction of commercial opportunities," said Donald Fraser, director of the Photonics Center. "We fully anticipate partnering with a number of corporations and government agencies to co-develop and accelerate these nanotech opportunities into real-world applications and products." For more information, visit: www.thephotonicscenter.com