The research group of Prof Jon Preece is focused on the interdisciplinary nature of nanoscale chemistry. The group is focused on a number of areas: nanostructuring surfaces via the integration of top-down and bottom-up methodologies, gene delivery based on polycations, nanotribology, liquid crystals and nanoscale electronics (senior investigator in the -nano consortium, an EC funded project).
The Nanoscale Chemistry Research Group is based at the University of Birmingham's School of Chemistry. The predominant feature of the group is it's drive to establish interdisciplinary research which crosses one or more of the traditional scientific and/or engineering boundaries with a common theme of nanosized materials.
Nanotechnology is the creation of functional materials, devices and systems through control of matter on the nanometer length scale (1-100 nanometers), and exploitation of novel phenomena and properties (physical, chemical, biological) at that length scale. (For comparison, 10 nanometers is 10000 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair.)
Nanotechnology is the bringing together of nanoscience - our understanding of the natural world on the nanometer scale, and nanoengineering - our ability to transform the natural world on the nanometer scale - to yield innovative products and processes that meet a human need.
Measures of the quality of a nanotechnology, therefore, are not only the excellence of the underlying nanoscience and nanoengineering but, also the extent to which the resulting nanotechnology improves - in a resource-effective and sustainable manner - the quality of life.
At this early stage it is impossible to predict the exact course the nanotechnology revolution will take and, therefore, its effects on our daily lives. We can, however, be reasonably sure of the following:
(i) that those sectors which currently rely on advanced manufacturing technologies to meet the needs of their customers will, seek to exploit the opportunities presented by new nanotechnologies to improve their competitive position,
(ii) that new nanotechnologies will initially be incorporated into products or processes based mainly on existing technologies,
(iii) that the resulting improvements in performance or efficiency will initially be incremental, and
(iv) that as an increasingly diverse range of nanotechnologies reach maturity, truly novel products and processes based mainly on nanotechnologies will be developed.
