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Leading scientific figures, pioneers and representatives from key organisations internationally are visiting Sydney for today鈥檚 (AINST) 鈥� and the official opening of its headquarters 鈥� the most advanced facility for nanoscience in the region 鈥� where design, fabrication and testing of devices can occur under one roof.

Officially opening the new Sydney Nanoscience Hub will be Australian Academy of Science鈥檚 President Andrew Holmes AM; senior executives from Microsoft in the United States are also visiting to tour the building and scientists speaking at the as part of the launch include one of Israel鈥檚 top physicists, Moti Segev, whose centre at the Technion is on a project including the University of Sydney and the NSW government.

Nanoscience is expected to be more impactful this century than the industrial revolution was in the 19^th century. But 鈥渢he buildings in which we work, rather than our imaginations, are what鈥檚 been limiting the science鈥�, said Associate Professor , formerly a consultant to the US government organisation DARPA and now the research leader of a quantum flagship in AINST.

More than six years in the making, the Sydney Nanoscience Hub was co-funded with $40m from the , includes teaching spaces alongside publicly available core research facilities that will support 听fundamental research as well as the work of start-ups and established industry.

The Institute hosts some of the capabilities of the Australian National Fabrication Facility and of the Australian Microscopy and Microanalysis Research Facility 鈥� both co-funded by the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS). Researchers at the Institute contribute to two Australian Research Council Centres of Excellence: CUDOS, the Centre for Ultrahigh bandwidth Devices for Optical Systems; and EQuS, the Centre for Engineered Quantum Systems.

, the Director of CUDOS who also heads the photonics flagship at AINST, said photonics (the study of photons 鈥� the building blocks of light) was already delivering real-world solutions: 鈥淧hotonics is the backbone of the internet and underpins a $7 trillion industry,鈥� Professor Eggleton said.

鈥淥ur team has in photonic-based chip processing and we are now working on building a photonic chip 鈥� or a lab on a chip 鈥� that may one day be compatible with mobile phones, enabling them to sense environmental pollution or be used for testing blood samples to diagnose health issues.鈥�

Vice-Chancellor Dr Michael Spence said the University-wide AINST reached across traditional disciplinary boundaries. 鈥淭he Australian Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology continues the University of Sydney鈥檚 tradition in addressing multidisciplinary issues in a unique way to ensure that we are ready to solve the great challenges of science, engineering and beyond,鈥� he said.

AINST Director, Professor , will also head one of five initiating 鈥� in Energy and Environment 鈥� and this month announced a investment valued at $11m from the United Kingdom into a University nano spin-off. 鈥淭here is little doubt that society must progressively transition to non-fossil-based energy,鈥� Professor Maschmeyer said.

Professor , research leader of the Institute鈥檚 quantum measurement and control flagship, said breakthroughs at the nanoscale hold the key to major advances in areas such as and security. 鈥淭he challenge for us over the next few years is to take the physics results that we have probing the basic phenomena of quantum mechanics and see those results turn into technologies.鈥�

Director of the Sydney Nanoscience Hub building Professor said new science would be enabled through this purpose-built facility for nanoscience 鈥� the first in Australia. 鈥淭his is the best building of its kind in our region. It will allow us to听operate research instruments听that enable us to ask questions at the frontiers of science.鈥�

AINST Director of Community and Research, Professor said the 鈥榬ules of the game鈥� in nanoscience were still being worked out.

鈥淧erhaps the most exciting aspect of nanoscience is the potential for new discoveries, including in health and medicine,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e have only scratched the surface of the new knowledge that remains to be revealed.鈥�

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