The nanoworkshop has been initiated following a £1.4 million SRIF (HEFCE) award followed by multi-million pound investment from the University of Manchester, EPSRC & The Wolfson Foundation and was officially opened by Lord Sainsbury on 7th April 2003.

The collaborative nature makes the facility really unique and has already initiated a large number of projects from many departments. Emphasis will be on a niche area in nanotechnology, which lies between the so-called "bottom-up" and "top-down" approaches and remains probably the least explored, yet most close to possible applications.