Researcher Honored for Experimental Work in Nanotechnology

  • Published
  • By Maria Callier
  • Office of Scientific Research
ARLINGTON, Virginia --  Dr. Óscar Custance, an Air Force Research Laboratory-funded researcher working at the National Institute for Materials Science in Japan, earned the 2009 Feynman Prize for Experimental Work in Nanotechnology. He shares the honor with team members and Osaka University Professors Yoshiaki Sugimoto and Masayuki Abe. Published in Nature, Science, and other prestigious scientific journals, their work has demonstrated a level of control in the identification and positioning of atoms on surfaces at room temperature, a capability that opens entirely new avenues for manufacturing atomically precise structures. The contributions of Dr. Custance and his colleagues towards atomic-scale precision could eventually lead to more effective catalysts for the production of hydrogen fuel.

The trio received the honor for their pioneering experimental demonstrations of mechanosynthesis--specifically, for their use of atomic-resolution dynamic force microscopy (also known as noncontact atomic force microscopy) in the vertical and lateral manipulation of single atoms on semiconductor surfaces. For the past 2 years, AFRL's Asian Office of Aerospace Research and Development has supported Dr. Custance's efforts to create catalysts that employ atomic-scale precision techniques to place active atoms at an exact location on or near the surface of a model system. For his research purposes, Dr. Custance is examining the system of nanosized particles of gold on cerium dioxide, or ceria. Once believed relatively inert, gold has recently undergone redesignation as an excellent catalyst.

Awarded by the Foresight Institute annually since 1993, the Feynman Prizes in Nanotechnology recognize researchers whose recent work has most advanced Nobel Laureate Dr. Richard Feynman's ultimate vision for nanotechnology--namely, its use towards molecular manufacturing (i.e., the construction of atomically precise products via molecular machine systems). Presentation of the 2009 prizes will occur in January 2010 at Foresight Institute headquarters, near Palo Alto, California.