The $100 million Computational Center for Nanotechnology Innovations (CCNI), based at the school's Rensselaer Technology Park in Troy, New York, is designed to further the research in shrinking the devices used by electronics manufacturers, including computer chips, and to provide a place where other industries can explore future uses of atomic-scale technology.

At the heart of this effort is an IBM BluGene supercomputer, which, when built, will be able to perform some 70 trillion calculations per second, a speed that will rank the supercomputer as the most powerful on any university campus.

Smaller, Faster Chips

"To do simulations on how molecules react, which is the essence of nanotechnology, researchers need the computing power that BlueGene delivers," said Herb Schultz, marketing manager for BlueGene at IBM. "There are so many applications for this that will be emerging in the next decade."

Schultz suggested that putting the supercomputer to work on computational problems -- such as ways to extend Moore's Law -- will open new opportunities for an array of industries.

Moore's Law is the observation made in 1965 by Intel cofounder Gordon Moore that the number of transistors per square inch on integrated circuits will double roughly ever year, meaning that chips will continue to get smaller and more powerful.

The ability to design and manufacture smaller, less expensive, and faster semiconductors, said Schultz, is crucial to extending Moore's Law.

"This will be a primary focus area at CCNI," said Schultz. "There is a limit to how small the wires on a semiconductor can be, and we hope to use nanotechnology to create new switching gates, for example, that will impact both the chip size and speed."

Industrial Strength Research

The research center also will be an important resource for companies of all sizes to use massive computing power and the expertise of those working there to study areas such as fluid dynamics and next-generation aviation frames and engines, Schultz said.

Among the microtechnologies that might be headed to the world of consumer technology from the new research center are superfast nanocapacitors and nanoscale memory cells, which would have application for flash memory used in personal computers, digital cameras, and other consumer products.

In addition to IBM and RPI, other partners involved in creating the supercomputing center include Cadence Design Systems, a provider of electronic design software, and chip manufacturer AMD .