Physicists, chemists and biologists around the world are focussing on particles and structures on the nanometre scale, as are medics and engineers. The German research network NanoBRIDGE pools German and Russian expertise in order to launch and further expand research and development collaborations between the two countries in nanobiotechnology and applied nanotechnology.
13 German and Russian partners from science and industry have joined forces in the NanoBRIDGE project to build bridges between the nanotechnology expertise of both countries. The bilateral network is funded in this by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) within the framework of the country campaign Russia.
Biomedical and bioanalytical applications of so-called nanoscale systems for solving medical and diagnostics problems are key areas of focus, as is the improvement of mechanical and electronic material properties. Founding members such as Marcotech oHG and CENTech GmbH from Münster, Nanoinitiative Bayern GmbH (member of the nanotechnology cluster) and Smart Membranes GmbH from Halle are all represented in the NanoBRIDGE network, as are German and Russian research institutions and universities. These include Tomsk Polytechnic University, St. Petersburg State University of Information Technology, Mechanics and Optics, Kazan University and the Innovation Development Centre in Moscow.
With workshops, specialist forums and its presence at Russian trade fairs and conferences, NanoBRIDGE lays the foundations for German-Russian partnerships and develops concepts for joint training and further training, for example by exchanging young researchers.
Networks for nanotechnology
With events such as the "German-Russian nanotechnology forum" at the Polytechnic University in Tomsk in 2013 and in St. Petersburg in 2012 and its involvement in the "Open Innovations 2012" technology trade fair in Moscow, the network creates the framework for an intensive exchange between both countries in the field of nanotechnology. Under the guidance of German and Russian supervisors, specific project outlines were set out after the forum in Tomsk and are currently being developed into research projects. Furthermore, short-term stays for students and young scientists at Russian or German partner institutes are to be made possible.
Network representatives strengthened their existing professional contact base at the international conference "Fundamentals of Laser Assisted Micro- & Nanotechnologies FLAMN-13" at the St. Petersburg State University of Information Technology, Mechanics and Optics at the end of June 2013. The topic of discussion at the symposium was micro and nano process technologies in the field of lasers. Conferences and workshops on the subject of "Photophysics of nanoscale systems", "Intensive laser deployment in biology and medicine" and "Industrial applications of fibre lasers" provide the opportunity for intensive exchanges.
Into the future at the speed of light
The research fields of photonics and plasmonics, i.e. technical manipulation and use of light, as well as connecting photonics with the field of electronics, constitute the most important future technologies of the 21st century. They open up the possibility of unforeseen fields of application – from "intelligent" windows that direct the incident light to exactly where the occupants of a room move, and optical computers that compute at the speed of light using plasmonic circuit elements, right up to mankind's dream of being invisible, which could be made possible by manipulating the propagation of light in artificial materials. As Russian scientists have extensive expertise in the field of theoretical modelling of photonic and plasmonic systems, German specialists are very interested in collaborating with them.
