George Mason University launching “Nano-Imagine” initiative with $3.75 million in funding
This article about a nanotechnology initiative brought back memories from nearly 20 years ago when the old Technology 2020 organization collaborated with Oak Ridge National Laboratory to spearhead an initiative focused on nanotechnology. It was stimulated by construction underway at the time on the lab’s Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences.
Fast forward nearly two decades, and DC Inno (subscription required) reports that George Mason University is launching a new program to catalyze the growth of the nanotechnology industry in Northern Virginia as a result of $3.75 million in grants.
Dubbed “Nano-Imagine,” the initiative’s goals include training 185 workers who are ready to enter the nanotech job market in its third year and forming three new start-ups through the resources that will outfit the recently constructed nanofabrication facility at the university’s Manassas campus.
Two-thirds of the funding came from Go Virginia Region 7, the local chapter of the commonwealth-funded initiative led by the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development. The balance was provided from a combination of funds from George Mason, Prince William County’s Department of Economic Development, and employer partners Micron Technology Inc., which has a Manassas manufacturing plant, and BAE Systems Inc.
