Birck Workshops/Conferences
Attendees had the opportunity on May 8, 2008 to tour the $58 million, 187,000-square-foot Birck Nanotechnology Center (BNC) at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. Highlights included:
• 25,000 square feet of cleanroom facilities, including a vast nanofabrication cleanroom and an operationally integrated biomolecular cleanroom with separate entry, gowning, air handling, and protocol.
• 22,000 square feet of laboratory space, including low vibration rooms for nanostructures research, with temperature control to less than 0.1 °C, and specialized labs for nanophotonics, bio-nanotechnology, molecular electronics, MEMS and NEMS, and other disciplines.
• Support services including ultra-high-purity gases and nanotechnology grade water. Bay-chase design provides utility distribution to the cleanroom while separating maintenance from operation functions.
Special thanks to John Weaver, facilities manager of the BNC, for arranging and hosting the tour, and to HDR Architecture, Inc., and AdvanceTec, LLC, for sponsoring the event.