There are about seventy faculty with active nano or quantum research programs at UVa. Annual sponsored research in these fields was recently estimated at $15 million per year, with over $20 million recent investment in instrumentation, and a slate of cutting edge courses are offered or under development.

The Institute has identified five initial research thrust areas that build upon existing excellence at UVa, and that have the potential to help define the scientific and technological futures in these fields:

1. Atomic-scale engineering of electron charge and spin – enabling new generations of computational devices
2. Nanoscale control of the biological function of living cells – accelerating the regenerative capabilities of the human body
3. Multifunctional nanostructured systems – engineering of new structures and systems for new applications
4. Ultrafast interrogation and control of nanoscale dynamics – probing and manipulating dynamics within the atom
5. Nanoscale control of chemical reactions - providing enormous potential benefits to the environment and the chemical industry

Underpinning these research thrusts are two cross-cutting platforms that span all of our activities:

1. Advances in fabrication, computation and measurement at the nanoscale – building the “nano toolbox”
2. Educational, societal, and ethical frontiers – training the leaders of tomorrow and advancing research in the service of society