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This document is a supplement to the President’s 2024 Budget request and serves as the Annual Report for the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI), called for under the provisions of the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act (15 USC §7501). The report also addresses the requirement for Department of Defense reporting on its nanotechnology investments, per 10 USC §2358.
The President’s 2024 Budget requests an all-time record of $2.16 billion for the NNI, with a sustained investment in foundational research that will fuel new discoveries, and increasing investments in application-driven R&D to advance technologies of the future and address national priorities. Cumulative NNI funding since its inception in 2001 totals over $43 billion (including the 2024 request). The President’s 2024 Budget supports nanoscale science, engineering, and technology R&D at 11 agencies. See the graph at right for funding trends since the inception of the NNI. The NNI Supplement to the President’s 2024 Budget documents progress of the NNI participating agencies in addressing the goals and objectives of the NNI. As called for in the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act, the report also reviews current and planned investments of NNI participating agencies by Program Component Area (PCA).
About the cover images (above)
Each year’s NNI Supplement to the President’s Budget features cover images illustrating recent developments in nanotechnology stemming from NNI activities that have the potential to make major contributions to national priorities.
This year’s front cover (above, right side) includes a scanning electron microscope image of halide perovskite crystals grown directly onto surfaces with precise alignment, enabling the fabrication of nanoscale light-emitting diodes (nanoLEDs). The image was initially taken by the Farnaz Niroui Group at MIT, then rendered by a graphic artist to make the final cover art. Credit: Sampson Wilcox, Research Laboratory of Electronics at MIT. The back cover (above, left side) is an electroluminescent image of the nanoLED arrays in operation taken with an optical microscope, where the crystals are not visible at this resolution, but their light emission is visible. Credit: the Farnaz Niroui Group at MIT. Potential applications include light-emitting diodes, lasers, on-chip quantum light sources, photodetectors, and memristors. The work was supported by NSF and used facilities of NSF’s National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure (NNCI). For more information see: https://news.mit.edu/2023/researchers-grow-precise-arrays-nanoleds-0706 and https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-39488-0.
About the inside back cover (above)
Images illustrate examples of NNI outreach activities. The NNI promotes public outreach to students, teachers, the general public, and the NNI community.
Top left – The NNI’s Nano4EARTH National Nanotechnology Challenge is gathering insights from the research community and the public on opportunities for harnessing nanotechnology to address the challenges of climate change (https://www.nano.gov/nano4EARTH).
Top right – The NanoEducators Quarterly Forums, organized through the NNI’s Teachers Network, provide teachers with opportunities for community building, ideas for classroom experiments, and engagement with nanotechnology researchers (https://www.nano.gov/teachersnetwork).
Upper middle right – National Nanotechnology Day is an annual event featuring community-led events and activities on or around October 9 to help raise awareness of nanotechnology, its use in products that enrich our daily lives, and the challenges and opportunities for the future (https://www.nano.gov/nationalnanotechnologyday).
Middle left – The "Stories from the NNI" podcast consists of conversations with experts from K–12 and higher education institutions, government, non-profit organizations, or industry. Shown here are two recent podcasts (https://nano.gov/podcasts).
Lower middle right – The NNI is in the process of refreshing its strategy for nanotechnology-related environmental, health, and safety research, including seeking input from the public and the research community through a public workshop held in 2023 (https://www.nano.gov/2011EHSStrategy).
Lower left – The annual Student Leaders Conference in 2023 included a career pathways panel with academia, industry, and government leaders; a hands-on session on FAIR (Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability, and Reuse) data principles; and a poster session (https://nexttechnetwork.org/slc/).
Lower right – The September 2023 Nanotechnology Infrastructure Leaders Summit included directors and other leaders from user facilities and manufacturing institutes, representing nanotechnology user facilities funded by DOE, NSF, NIST, and NIH; light and neutron centers; and Manufacturing USA institutes (https://www.whitehouse.gov/ostp/news-updates/2023/10/06/readout-of-the-nanotechnology-infrastructure-leaders-summit/).
