Thinking (very) small, Engineering faculty and students think on the nano level to solve the world’s big problems.

Engineering professors Arijit Bose and Geoffrey Bothun like to tell their students that thinking small is big here. For the research that students and faculty undertake in nanoscience promises to redefine how we do everything from administer drugs, to clean up oil spills, to power cars.

“It’s the next big technological revolution, being able to create such small and smart particles,” Bothun says.

In this field, small means particles 1,000 times smaller than the thickness of a strand of human hair. Smart means particles that tackle problems autonomously.

To build such particles, several College of Engineering professors and students are reaching out across the University and across the state. In 2010, Congress chartered the Rhode Island Consortium for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, a partnership between URI and Brown University. Co-headed by Bose and Brown Professor Robert Hurt, the consortium brings together leading minds across disciplines to promote research and apply it to real-world problems.

Formally launched last year, the consortium includes 20 faculty from across the University armed with a $1.25 million federal grant. About 50 students from the College of Engineering and other URI colleges participate in research related to the group.

Much to their delight, they have found much to be explored.

Bose, Bothun and their students recently discovered how to use nanoscience to steer potent drugs to their intended targets so they stay clear of healthy cells, which could vastly improve cancer treatment.

Another team led by the professors is developing nanoparticles that can break down oil released into water.

Meanwhile, engineering faculty and students are partnering with the chemistry department to study materials critical to the development of batteries that power electric vehicles.

“What is interesting about these projects is that we are trying to solve big problems with very small things, and the implications of our research can be quite significant,” Bose says.