Center of Integrated Nanomechanical Systems

The goal of COINS is to develop and integrate cutting-edge nanotechnologies into a versatile platform with various ultra-sensitive, ultra-selective, self-powering, mobile, wirelessly communicating detection applications. The success of this mission requires new advances in nano-electro-mechanical devices, from fundamental building blocks to enabling technologies to full device integration. During the past 3.5 years, we have set our Center on a path towards achieving this goal by developing four major research programs, in the areas of Energy, Sensing, Mobility, and Electronics/Wireless. Each of these programs encompasses research projects spanning the full spectrum of basic through to the applied level, and each program has a set of criteria that has been established for use as a means of determining which projects to support, in order to assure optimal project alignment.

To date, we have achieved a number of important milestones, some of which are showcased in the Research section of this site. The success demonstrated by these major advances shows that the combination of expertise (10 Departments) within the COINS program as well as the partnerships that have been established form a unique and key multidisciplinary collaborative environment. The benefits to society of the COINS program are the following:

(1) It will lead to such major enhancements in environmental monitoring technology that completely new possibilities will emerge due to better spatial and temporal resolution, and

(2) It will fundamentally change the way we are able to respond to proliferation events or serious natural catastrophic events by providing much more accurate information on conditions, allowing for substantially better countermeasures and security.