13 Mar 02. The U.S. Army Research Office announced the selection of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to serve as the newest Army-sponsored University-Affiliated Research Center (UARC) for the Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies (ISN). The ISN will provide the Army with a corps of expertise in the development and application of nanotechnology for the soldier; including the creation of uniforms and materials that could help heal soldiers, protect against bullets, chemical agents or monitor a soldier’s life support processes.
“Soldiers are at the center of Army Transformation. Establishing the ISN is the first step in our journey to achieve revolutionary materials capabilities for individual soldier protection – for both the Objective Force Warrior and Future Combat Systems,” said Dr. A. Michael Andrews II, Deputy Assistant Secretary (Research & Technology) and Army Chief Scientist. “New technologies and developments by ISN in nanotechnology will bring significant progress in the Army’s transformation of soldier equipment.”
ISN’s purpose is to conduct unclassified basic research to advance the state-of-the-art in nanotechnology and to leverage breakthroughs in nanoscience and nanomanufacturing. Nanotechnology is the ability to engineer structures that have at least one dimension of 100 nanometers or less, and assembling these structures into useful macroscopic systems to build materials with combinations of useful properties that have never been possible. The ISN partners with industry and with DoD research organizations to accelerate the transition of its research into products with military and commercial applications.
“The Army research and development community looks forward to working with MIT to develop the soldier capabilities of the future,” said Dr. Robert W. Whalin, Director, U.S. Army Research Laboratory. “MIT’s commitment to nanotechnology research will enhance survivability, agility and lethality enhancements for soldiers.”