A new, $120-million nanotechnology institute in Edmonton must produce quick commercial results to ensure continued support from taxpayers and industry, says the head of the planned research facility.

Dan Wayner, acting director general for the National Institute for Nanotechnology, says a focus on early commercialization of technologies will be critical to creating a world-class research centre which can provide opportunities for both science and business.

“We need to work on research issues that have an opportunity to come to fruition in the first three years or so, partly for visibility and partly for comfort,” Wayner said following a seminar held in Calgary last week sponsored by Partners in Technology, a non-profit organization that acts as a resource for Calgary’s advanced technology community.

“There are a lot of funders who are taking risks in Alberta and at the federal level, and I think it’s important that we show some fruits of our labours.”

The National Research Council facility, to be based at the University of Alberta, will open in the spring of 2005 with joint funding from the federal and provincial governments.

It is anticipated operating costs will top $40 million over the first five years, with the federal government providing $12 million each year thereafter. Nanotechnology is the development of microscopic systems with components on a scale of a billionth of a metre or 1/10,000th the size of a cross-section of human hair. Essentially, nanotechnology can build materials and tools at the atomic and molecular level to be used in a variety of disciplines, including medicine, genomics, electronics and manufacturing.

Jim Edwards, past-president of Economic Development Edmonton, has said the research and industrial development flowing from the new institute has huge potential for Edmonton’s long-term economic future.

But advocates for the new institute warned against a growing tendency to hype the benefits of nano-scale science and engineering.

“There are a few, of course, who wonder if we’re going to be making nanobots and injecting them into our bloodstreams and infecting the world,” said Wayner.

But not being able to deliver on some anticipated discoveries could also lead to a funding backlash, he added.

“We’ve seen that in other areas that have failed to deliver – not on the time scales the researchers have understood, but in terms of expectations . . . through education and outreach, we can keep the public expectations realistic.”

Researchers face the additional challenge of drawing a link between their activities today and their economic impact 10 years from now. “How do we position ourselves so we don’t box ourselves into technologies which have a dead end?” Wayner said.

Chris Lumb, president and CEO of Edmonton-based micromachine developer Micralyne Inc., agreed that prudence is important in a next-generation science such as nanotechnology.

“I think we have to be very careful about the hype of nanotech, despite the fact that it is truly an incredibly promising technology, and it will have all sorts of implications across the spectrum over the next 20 to 30 years,” he told the seminar.

Lumb, whose company is the largest independent MEMS (micro-electrical mechanical systems) manufacturer in North America, predicts nanotech will create breakthroughs in a number of areas, including health care and electronics.

Other applications for nanotech could include more sophisticated artificial or “bionic” limbs, and a gradual evolution from microsystems to the integration of nano-components in many products.

The new institute will focus on three areas of research – life sciences, energy and ICT – and will host 150 employees from the National Research Council, 50 employees from various universities and up to 250 graduate-student researchers.

“Nanotechnology is a growth business, a growth opportunity for Alberta . . . we couldn’t have asked for a better topic area for a research institute,” said Andy Gilliland, regional director for the NRC’s Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP.)

Gilliland is retiring from IRAP to become director of communications and strategic alliances for the nanotechnology institute, which will be seeking a full-time director general within the next year.