Gala unveils nanotechnology exhibit

UW–Madison and Milwaukee’s Discovery World Museum of Science, Economics and Technology will unveil an exhibit about the cutting-edge field of nanotechnology during an open house on the UW–Madison campus.

Called the Nanoworld Discovery Center, the exhibit will open at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 16, in the atrium of the Engineering Centers Building.

Nanotechnology is the study and design of materials and systems at the nanoscale — the scale of atoms and molecules. Based on researchers’ growing ability to manipulate matter on such a small scale, some believe that nanotechnology has the potential to revolutionize our lives. Already nanotechnology is changing the way we live in small ways, with applications ranging from stain-resistant pants to self-cleaning windows to longer-lasting tennis balls.

The Nanoworld Discovery Center will help public, precollege and college audiences understand that nanotechnology is important to their lives, both now and in the future. Personnel from Discovery World and UW–Madison’s Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) made this the focus of the exhibit by highlighting current applications of nanotechnology and the role they play in society.

The exhibit collaborators relied on the scientific expertise of the MRSEC and the museum’s exhibit design expertise to create the first exhibit of its kind on campus. Funding was provided by the Ira and Ineva Reilly Baldwin Wisconsin Idea Endowment and the National Science Foundation.

Individuals who have led the development of the exhibit, including Paul Krajniak, executive director of Discovery World, and Wendy Crone, director of the MRSEC education effort, will make brief remarks during the open house.

Parking will be available in the Lot 17 ramp, adjacent to the Engineering Centers Building. For more information about the free exhibit and the open house, e-mail gmzenner@wisc.edu or call 263-7128.