An official website of the United States government.
AFM - Atomic force microscope: A scientific instrument that can generate images of nanoscale details on a physical surface by scanning a tiny, flexible ceramic or semiconductor probe just above the surface
AFOSR - Air Force Office of Scientific Research
AFRI - Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (USDA/NIFA)
AFRL - Air Force Research Laboratory
ALD - Atomic layer deposition: A technique developed in the 1970s for depositing monolayers of a material in a sequential, controlled manner using self-limiting reactions
ARDEC - Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center (DOD/U.S. Army)
ARL - Army Research Laboratory ARO Army Research Office (DOD)
ARO – Army Research Office (DOD)
ARS - Agricultural Research Service (USDA) BIS Bureau of Industry and Security (DOC)
Biomimetic – Engineered structures or devices that imitate biology in their functions or methods of manufacture
BIS – Bureau of Industry and Security (DOC)
Buckyball – A familiar, nontechnical synonym for fullerene
CNT - Carbon nanotube: Carbon molecule with a cylindrical shape. The structure and chemical bonds of CNTs result in unique strength, electrical, and thermal properties
CDC - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (DHHS)
CMOS - complementary metal-oxide semiconductor
CNS - Centers for Nanotechnology in Society at Arizona State University and University of California, Santa Barbara (CNS-ASU and CNS-UCSB) (NSF)
CNST- Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (DOC/NIST)
Colloid - Nanoscale or microscale particles suspended in another medium; colloids include gels, aerosols, and emulsions
Converging technologies – Science at the intersection of nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology, and cognitive technologies
CoR - Community of Research
CPSC - Consumer Product Safety Commission
DARPA – Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
DHS – U.S. Department of Homeland Security
DNA – Deoxyribonucleic acid: the double-helix molecule that provides the basis of genetic heredity, about 2 nanometers in diameter but often several millimeters in length
DNI – Director of National Intelligence (U.S. Department of Commerce)
DOD – U.S. Department of Defense
DOE – U.S. Department of Energy
DOEd – U.S. Department of Education
DOJ – U.S. Department of Justice
DOL – U.S. Department of Labor
DOS – U.S. Department of State
DOT – U.S. Department of Transportation
DOTreas – U.S. Department of the Treasury
DTRA – Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DOD)
Dual use – Technologies that may be used for both military and civilian purposes
EERE – (Office of) Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (DOE)
EHS – environment(al), health, and safety
ELSI – ethical, legal, and societal implications
ENM - Engineered nanomaterial: Material engineered at the nanoscale (between 1 and 100
nanometers
EPA – Environmental Protection Agency
Epitaxial film – A thin crystal layer, perhaps of nanoscale thickness, deposited on the surface of another substance by processes such as vapor deposition
ERC – Engineering Research Centers (NSF)
ERDC – Engineer Research and Development Center (DOD/U.S. Army)
EU – European Union
FDA – Food and Drug Administration (HHS)
FHWA – Federal Highway Administration (DOT)
FOA – Funding Opportunity Announcement
FS – Forest Service (USDA)
Fullerene – A category of roughly spherical carbon nanoscale structures named after Buckminster Fuller’s geodesic spheres
Genetic sequence – The ordered set of nucleotides in a particular sample of DNA or RNA
Genome – The complete set of genetic material contained in an organism, or a separately inherited portion of an organism. For instance, the mitochondrial genome is inherited maternally, whereas the nuclear genome is inherited from both parents
HFCT – Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Technology program (DOE)
HHS – (U.S. Department of) Health and Human Services
I/UCRC – Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (NSF)
IC – Intelligence Community
Intellectual property – Creations of the mind, such as inventions; literary and artistic works; designs; and symbols, names and images used in commerce
ISO – International Organization for Standardization
LED - Light-emitting diode: A semiconductor device that emits light when current flows
through it; the recombination of electrons and electron holes in the semiconductor produces
light through a process called electroluminescence
MEMS – microelectromechanical systems
Molecular electronics – Electronic circuitry, including computer hardware, in which the separate components are individual molecules or small assemblages of molecules. The hoped-for advantages include cost reduction, increased speed, higher bit density, reduced power requirements, and less waste heat
Monolayer – A layer, film, or coating that is only one atom or molecule thick
Moore’s Law – Proposed by Intel founder Gordon Moore in the 1960s, this is a variously stated observation that the density of transistors on an integrated circuit chip has been doubling every 18 to 24 months, or the cost of a transistor has been dropping by half, or that the general capabilities of microelectronics have been improving at an exponential rate
MRSEC - Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers (NSF)
Nanocomposite – A material composed of two or more substances, of which at least one has a nanoscale dimension, such as nanoparticles dispersed throughout another solid material
Nanocrystals – Aggregates of anywhere from a few hundred to tens of thousands of atoms
that combine into a crystalline form of matter
NanoEHS – Environmental, health, and safety implications of nanotechnology
Nanofabrication – General terms for methods to create, assemble, or otherwise form nanoscale structures
Nanofluidics – Science or engineering involving the flow of liquid or gas through nanoscale spaces
Nanomanipulator – A tool for moving individual molecules or nanoscale objects, such as an atomic force microscope
Nanometer – A distance unit representing one-billionth of a meter, or one-millionth of a millimeter, or roughly one-millionth the thickness of an American dime
Nanoporous – Substances that have holes or pores on the nanoscale, used, for example, to separate particles or molecules by size
Nanoscale – The size range roughly 1 to 100 nanometers, where many of the fundamental structures of biology are formed, composite materials may take on their distinctive characteristics, and many important physical phenomena are found
Nanoscience – The study of unique properties of matter at the nanoscale; an interdisciplinary field of science combining physics, materials science, the chemistry of complex molecules, and related disciplines
Nanosensor – A device for sensing radiation, forces, chemicals, or biological agents, in which some portion of a device operates at the nanoscale
Nanotube – Hollow, cylindrical structures, with a diameter usually less than 5 nanometers
NASA – National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NCI – National Cancer Institute (HHS/NIH)
NCL – Nanotechnology Characterization Laboratory (HHS/NIH/NCI
NEHI – Nanotechnology Environmental and Health Implications Working Group (of the NSET Subcommittee)
NERC – Nanosystems Engineering Research Centers (NSF
NGO – nongovernmental organization
NHLBI – National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (HHS/NIH)
NIBIB – National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (HHS/NIH)
NICE – Nanotechnology Innovation and Commercialization Ecosystem
NIDCR – National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (HHS/NIH
NIEHS – National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (HHS/NIH)
NIFA – National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA)
NIH – National Institutes of Health (HHS)
NIOSH – National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (HHS/CDC)
NIST – National Institute of Standards and Technology (DOC
NITRD – Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Program
NNCO – National Nanotechnology Coordination Office
NNI – National Nanotechnology Initiative
NRC – Nuclear Regulatory Commission
NRC-Canada – National Research Council of Canada
NRL – Navy Research Laboratory
NRO – National Reconnaissance Office (IC/DNI)
NSE – nanoscale science and engineering
NSEC – Nanoscale Science and Engineering Centers (NSF)
NSET – Nanoscale Science, Engineering, and Technology Subcommittee of the NSTC
NSF – National Science Foundation
NSRC – Nanoscale Science Research Center (DOE)
NSTC – National Science and Technology Council
NTP – National Toxicology Program (HHS/NIH/multiagency)
OECD – Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
OLED - Organic light-emitting diode: A type of light-emitting diode (LED) in which an organic
compound film emits light in response to an electric current
OMB – Office of Management and Budget (Executive Office of the President)
ONR – Office of Naval Research
OSHA – Occupational Safety and Health Administration (DOL)
OSTP – Office of Science and Technology Policy (Executive Office of the President)
PCA – Program Component Area (of the National Nanotechnology Initiative)
PCAST – President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology
Photolithography – A fabrication technique that utilizes light to etch patterns onto silicon wafers using a mask and light-sensitive resin
Photovoltaic - Conversion of light into electricity using semiconducting materials
Polymer – A chemical compound, typically formed by connecting smaller molecules together
Quantum dot – A nanoscale crystal with a diameter typically between 2 and 20 nanometers having unique electrical and optical properties that depend on its size
RFA – Request for Applications
RFI – Request for Information
Risk assessment – A set of analytic approaches in the decision, risk, and management sciences
RNA – Ribonucleic acid (a single-stranded molecule present in all living cells that has structural similarities to DNA
SBIR – Small Business Innovation Research program
Scanning probe lithography – A technique in which an atomic force microscope or scanning tunneling microscope scratches, indents, or heats to produce nanoscale features on a surface
Scanning tunneling microscope – A scientific instrument that can make images of nanoscale details on an electrically conductive surface by moving a sharp metal probe very close to that surface
Self-assembly – A process in which a given nanostructure spontaneously constructs itself
SI – International System of Units
SSL – solid-state lighting
STAR – Science to Achieve Results (EPA)
STARnet – Semiconductor Technology Advanced Research Network (AFRL, DARPA, industry, universities)
STEM – Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics
STTR – Small Business Technology Transfer Research program
TAPPI – Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry
Toxicity – Extent to which a chemical substance is poisonous or, through chemical action, destroys living tissue
Transistor – A solid-state electronic device based on a semiconductor material that regulates the flow of current between two of its electrodes and therefore is capable of amplifying a signal
USAF – U.S. Air Force
USDA – U.S. Department of Agriculture
USGS – U.S. Geological Survey
USITC – U.S. International Trade Commission
USPTO – U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (DOC)
Vapor deposition – A chemical process commonly used in the semiconductor industry to apply thin films of one substance onto a surface composed of another substance
