New College opens Optical Spectroscopy and Nano-Materials Lab

On Friday, Jan. 6, New College of Florida will officially open its lab, which was funded by a grant from the U.S. Army Research Laboratory. The $1.7 million, multi-year grant will be used to conduct nanotechnology research at New College.

Nanotechnology is the science used in advanced and compact electronics and can be applied in the computer and robotic industries, the medical field for diagnostics and targeted drug delivery, in high-speed optical communication systems, and in the search for new energy sources. Last year’s Nobel Prize in physics went to a researcher in the area of carbon nanotubes.

Few, if any, other undergraduate liberal arts colleges in America currently possess the equipment to provide students the opportunity to perform nanotechnological research, according to a press release by New College officials.

“Our students are doing graduate level work,” Professor of Physics Mariana Sendova said. “The top research universities are thrilled to have New College graduates in their graduate school programs.”