ABSTRACT
The quality of the environment has profound effects on human well-being. The grand challenges that the environmental sciences face in our rapidly changing world can be decisively advanced by applying modern nanoscience and technology. However, the needs of environmental nanoresearchers differ from what one finds in a traditional nanoresearch center. Environmental nanoscience and nanotechnology centers tend to feature laboratory facilities, analytical instrumentation, and an interdisciplinary culture that is very different than the typical nanocenters that are based on nanofabrication and testing facilities. Three examples of unique environmental nanoscience and nanotechnology centers are the Center for the Environmental Implications of Nanotechnology (CEINT), the Center for Sustainable Nanotechnology (CSN), and the Virginia Tech National Center for Earth and Environmental Nanotechnology Infrastructure (NanoEarth). CEINT, CSN, and NanoEarth demonstrate that environmental nanocenters can exist independently and flourish while contributing to the continuing growth of the nanoscience and technology revolution.
