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MIT's Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies Adds New Industrial
Partners
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., May 22, 2003 – The Institute for Soldier
Nanotechnologies (ISN), a $50 million joint research collaboration
between the United States Army and the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology to create nanotechnology innovations that dramatically
improve the survivability of individual soldiers, today announced
the addition of six new industrial
partners with the ISN. The six new companies join DuPont,
Raytheon, and Partners Healthcare, three Founding Industrial
Partners, to work closely with the ISN and the Army science
and technology community to produce field-ready nanotechnologies
that will revolutionize soldier protection and survivability.
In addition to Dow Corning, which joined the ISN as a Major
Industrial Member (MIM), the ISN announced Triton Systems,
Dendritic Nanotechnologies, Inc., Nomadics, Inc. and Carbon
Nanotechnologies, Inc., as Small Business Industrial Members
(SBIM), and W.L. Gore and Associates as an Interested Industrial
Participant (IIP), bringing to nine the number of industrial
partners involved in the ISN’s research and development
efforts. The ISN received several proposals from companies
interested in developing MIT technologies for military as
well as civilian markets. The purpose of the industrial partners
is to transition promising results of ISN basic research into
practical products that can be produced affordably in large
quantities for soldiers.
The announcements were made during a formal ribbon cutting
and dedication ceremony commencing the official opening of
the ISN’s new 28,000-square-feet laboratory complex at
500 Technology Square. Attendees included over 300 people
from MIT, the U.S. Army, and industry, including Dr. Charles
M. Vest, President of MIT; Major General John C. Doesburg,
Commanding General, U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering
Command (Provisional); and Dr. A. Michael Andrews II, Deputy
Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology/Chief Scientist,
U.S. Army.
“Our industrial partners are a key part of accomplishing
our mission. We need their expertise in transitioning technology
in order to turn basic science into real products for real
soldiers,” said Professor Ned Thomas, Director of the
ISN and the Morris Cohen Professor of Materials Science and
Engineering.
Current ISN research focuses on several key soldier capabilities,
including protection from bullets, blasts, and chem/bio threats;
automated medical monitoring and treatment; improved performance;
and reduced load weight. Industrial partners will bring special
technology expertise to the ISN, and will help to commercialize
new laboratory innovations.
Delaware-based DuPont is a high-technology
company involved in a wide variety of materials, including
advanced fibers, electronics, bio-based materials, protective
materials, nonwovens, and polymers. The company provides the
ISN with expertise in product conceptualization, process development,
and manufacturing.
With headquarters in Lexington, MA, Raytheon
is a major U.S. defense contractor with extensive knowledge
of soldier technology needs. The company provides the ISN
with expertise on detectors and sensors and on the integration
of diverse technologies into practical working systems to
protect the soldier.
Partners Healthcare,
based in Boston, includes the Massachusetts General Hospital,
Brigham and Women's Hospital, and the Center for the Integration
of Medicine and Innovative Technology (CIMIT). Affiliated
physicians provide the ISN with clinical expertise to facilitate
discovery, development, and testing of new technologies to
provide medical treatment to soldiers, including direct intervention
in the battle space.
Dow Corning, which specializes
in silicone and silicon-based products and technologies, will
contribute their capabilities in the design of interfaces,
electronics, and materials with special mechanical and photonic
properties. They will collaborate with the ISN on new variants
on their silicon products as well as new nanotechnologies.
Triton Systems, a materials
company located just outside Boston, has particular interest
in transparent ballistic protection materials that achieve
their strength from the dispersion of nanoparticles into polymers.
They will be helping the ISN pursue new breakthroughs in this
area for possible use as protective face shields and other
soldier equipment.
Dendritic Nanotechnologies, Inc.,
a dendrimer company based in Michigan, will focus its partnership
with the ISN on polymers with highly branched structures that
can be used to isolate specific biological or synthetic nanostructures.
Such polymers may have applications as sensors for chemical
and biological threats, for example.
Nomadics, Inc., is an Oklahoma
company with labs in Cambridge, MA, that specializes in chemical
sensors. They will help the ISN develop new generations of
sensors that can accompany the dismounted soldier to monitor
his health as well as alert him to threats in the environment
such as chemical or biological weapons.
Carbon Nanotechnologies, Inc.,
a leading manufacturer of single-wall carbon nanotubes based
in Houston, will work with the ISN on commercializing new
ballistic and electronic materials that make use of carbon
nanotubes. These nanotubes are theorized to provide revolutionary
strength to materials. The ISN seeks to generate new generations
of ballistic materials that realize this potential.
W. L. Gore and
Associates, Delaware-based makers of GORE-TEX® fabric,
will not participate directly in ISN research but will be
a part of the ISN industrial community. Gore's products are
currently used to protect soldiers from a wide range of environmental
conditions.
Contact:
Franklin Hadley
Phone: 617-324-6413
Email: fhadley@mit.edu
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