Small size - large impact - Nanowerk

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results and outcomes are applied to the development
and commercialization of new materials, new equipment,
new products, new systems, new processes, and new
services, or to make significant improvements of existing
products. These goals are reached through the systems of
multiple disciplines and the creation of methods for the
use of integrated knowledge. The successful application
of Type-II Basic Research requires a high level of
creativity in selecting, integrating and applying
knowledge and theories.
Type-II Basic Research is often a high-risk activity for
researchers, as the results can easily erode with rapid
changes in socio-economic needs. Yet even when R&D
activities fail, they provide universal knowledge that
can be applied to other projects. This underlines the
importance of preserving and disseminating knowledge
gained to promote natural R&D effectively; the research
community must accumulate all of its R&D knowledge,
including that from Type-II Basic Research, and share
it publicly.
It is important that government and industries share the
risks for the effective commercialization of R&D efforts.
Commercial restraints limit industry involvement in
Type-I Basic Research, leaving the universities as the
major players in this sphere. Public institutes such
as AIST should also play major roles in this field.
To improve R&D activities in public institutes and
contribute to future sustainable development, AIST
places its highest priority on the pursuit of coherent
and concurrent research series ranging from Type-I
Basic Research to Product Realization Research based
on intensive Type-II Basic Research. Each research unit
in AIST continues to work towards the establishment
of an integrated research system that enables researchers
from different scientific backgrounds to participate
in scenario-oriented projects that address the needs
of society.
Q&A: Nanotechnology business startups
in AIST
What are the business opportunities in nanotechnology for your
company/industry segment?
Nanotechnology is one of the most important fields
of study at AIST, together with Materials S&T and
Manufacturing. Ten organizational units within the
institute work closely with nanotechnology on many
levels. These include:
Five research centers established within the
Nanotechnology, Materials & Manufacturing unit –
the Correlated Electron Research Center, Digital
Manufacturing Research Center, Nanoarchitectonics
Research Center, Diamond Research Center, Research
Center for Advanced Carbon Materials; four research
institutes – the Nanotechnology Research Institute,
Materials Research Institute for Sustainable Development,
Research Institute for Computational Sciences, and
Advanced Manufacturing Research Institute; and one
research initiative – the Micro-Space Chemistry Lab.
The development of atomic architectonics and new
techniques for the extremely precise machining of solid
materials now enable us to construct infinitesimally
small assemblies. This innovative technology is expected
to open new frontiers for development in the fields of
IT, biotechnology, and environmental technology from
a universal perspective. Through its development of
nanotechnologies for materials and manufacturing, AIST
is working to eliminate environmental abuses, improve
safety and reliability, and realize digital manufacturing
on a practical level.
What are the challenges in producing/marketing
nanotech-products?
The AIST Innovation Center for Startups (AIST-INCS)
is the key organization within AIST for nanotechnology
business startups. The demand for venture startups
to create new markets and industries has recently been
increasing in Japan. People place especially strong hopes
in fast-growing technology-based venture companies
(high-tech startups) in view of their potential to create
high-value-added industries and high-quality
employment opportunities for the revitalization
of the Japanese economy.
To establish a platform for creating high-tech startups
based on the technology seeds of universities and public
research institutes, AIST set up the AIST Innovation
Center for Startups (AIST-INCS) in October 2002 as
part of an initiative entitled “Strategic Research Base
Upbringing”, a five-year project subsidized by the
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and
Technology with the Special Coordination Fund for
Promoting Science and Technology. AIST supports
venture businesses mainly through systems for
consulting, R&D, and regulation-setting for venture
creation. AIST-INCS is responsible for these incubation
systems within the Institute.
AIST-INCS comprises four organizations: the business
development practice force, the Office of Business
Development, the Research Office for Business &
Innovations, and the Planning Office of Business &
Innovations. Among the 15 businesses proposed in fiscal
2004, four fall within the scope of the Nanotechnology,
Materials & Manufacturing field: DDS technology using
liposomal nanoparticles for missile drag, Super Ink Jet
Technology for a minimal manufacturing system, and
GaAs/AlGaAs Quantum Wire Technology.