Minnesota Nano Center | College of Science and Engineering

The Minnesota Nano Center, or MNC, is a state-of-the-art facility for interdisciplinary research in nanoscience and applied nanotechnology.

The Center offers a comprehensive set of tools to help researchers develop new micro- and nanoscale devices, such as integrated circuits, advanced sensors, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), and microfluidic systems. The MNC is also equipped to support nanotechnology research that spans many science and engineering fields, allowing advances in areas as diverse as cell biology, high performance materials, and biomedical device engineering.

Have a Project?

The tools and labs of the Nano Center are open for use by all trained and qualified users. We also do custom projects in the areas of microdevices, nanoparticles, and biomedical applications of nanotechnology.

Contact us and find out how we can help you realize your research goals or turn your ideas into new products.

Join the MNC Staff as Our New Maintenance Engineer!

The Nano Center is seeking a new Maintenance Engineer! The Laboratory Maintenance Engineer is an Electromechanical Systems Specialist who works as part of a maintenance engineering team to install, maintain, and repair semiconductor processing equipment.

The Nano Center's staff works hard to support our users and ensure our complex tools are in good condition and running efficiently. We are excited to add a new member to our team of award winning scientists and administrators!

See the posting for this position below:

https://hr.myu.umn.edu/psc/hrprd/EMPLOYEE/HRMS/c/HRS_HRAM_FL.HRS_CG_SEARCH_FL.GBL?Page=HRS_APP_JBPST_FL&Action=U&SiteId=1&FOCUS=Applicant&JobOpeningId=360736&PostingSeq=1&

Education at the Nano Center: Workforce Development

The Minnesota Nano Center is working with the University's Technological Leadership Institute (TLI) and three regional technology companies to expand training of Minnesota's technical workforce for careers in semiconductor manufacturing. The MNC is partnering with Honeywell, Collins Aerospace, and Polar Semiconductor to offer hands-on training in the tools and techniques necessary to manufacture integrated circuits, advanced sensors, and other microdevices. This week, the MNC hosted 60 company staff for their initial session and lab orientation. Future classes will cover the tools of photolithography, thin film deposition, etching, and characterization.

Join MNC Staff at the Coffee Hour!

The Nano Center hosts a coffee hour for current and potential users on the first Tuesday of each month. These informal drop-in sessions offer MNC users the chance to meet with the staff of the Nano Center and discuss their projects or get pointers on using our nanofabrication tools. The Coffee Hour is held 2-3 PM in room PAN 130; the next sessions are November 7 and December 5. See you there!

Poster for Coffee Hour

Acknowledgment of NSF and NNCI

Published papers must acknowledge all sources of financial support. Since MNC receives funds from the National Science Foundation through the NNCI network, MNC users must acknowledge that support on all publications and presentations. Our funding is jeopardized unless everyone complies, so please add the following to your acknowledgement sections:

“Portions of this work were conducted in the Minnesota Nano Center, which is supported by the National Science Foundation through the National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure (NNCI) under Award Number ECCS-2025124."

In circumstances where there is insufficient space for this entire acknowledgement, please be sure to mention "Award Number ECCS-2025124" at a minimum.