The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has awarded $24 million in grants to three universities for the construction of new scientific research facilities. The grants will support the development of a Center for Integrated Precision and Quantum Measurement at the University of California at Berkeley, a Marine Ecosystem Sensing, Observation and Modeling (MESOM) Laboratory at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and an Aquatic Animal Health Facility at the University of Florida.
The Center for Integrated Precision and Quantum Measurement will focus on advanced measurement techniques at the quantum level, including atomically resolved microscopy, quantum nanomechanics, and solid-state magnetometers. The facility will be housed in an underground location in New Campbell Hall on the UC Berkeley campus.
The MESOM Laboratory will be built on the campus of the University of California at San Diego and will integrate the development of physical, biological and chemical sensors to observe and model marine ecosystems. The facility will enable researchers from various disciplines to work together in a single location.
The Aquatic Animal Health Facility at the University of Florida will enhance research and diagnostic capabilities for working with marine mammals, sea turtles, fish and mollusks. The facility will support studies on the interactions between environmental stress and the occurrence of disease in aquatic animal populations.
These new facilities will complement existing research programs at NIST and other agencies, and will provide important resources for understanding complex scientific questions in precision measurement, marine ecology, and aquatic animal health.
Keywords: precision measurement, quantum-level, nanoscale, interferometry, quantum limit
