Rendering of the proposed $55.7 million Institute for Soft Matter Synthesis and Metrology Research Facility at Georgetown University
The new $55.7 million Institute for Soft Matter Synthesis and Metrology, I(SM)2, at Georgetown University (Washington, D.C.) will be a special research facility included in a planned new Science Research Building on Georgetown's main campus. The project is being partially funded with a NIST Construction Grant Program $6.9 million Award.
The emerging field of soft matter research deals with materials that are neither traditional liquids nor solids, including liquid crystals, gels, colloids, polymers, foams, granular matter and many biological materials. Soft matter is increasingly important in new products and technologies and brings with it new challenges for measurement, characterization and synthesis. In particular, soft matter often is fragile at various points during processing and requires tight environmental controls over factors such as temperature and humidity and, in some cases, light and vibration.
Housed within the new Science Research Building, which will provide the necessary environmental controls for the sensitive measurement technologies needed for soft matter research, the new I(SM)2 will enable expansion of on-going soft matter research by scientists at Georgetown, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and other regional institutions, and promote the development of precision instrumentation for soft matter synthesis and measurement and the training of future generations of researchers in soft matter science.
The project is expected to be completed by summer 2012.
For further information:
Rachel Pugh
Acting Director of Communications, Georgetown University Medical Center
202-687-4328
rmp47@georgetown.edu
