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6 A D V A N C E D M A T E R I A L S & P R O C E S S E S | S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 9 NANOTECH CONSORTIUM ANNOUNCES FOUNDERS MIT.nano recently announced that 11 companies joined the facility’s con- sortium as founding members. Since opening in October 2018, the new en- tity has been preparing to support na- noscale researchers from departments, labs, and centers across the MIT cam- pus. Formation of a corporate consor- tium is an important step in this effort, says faculty director Vladimir Bulović. Companies that join the new consor- tium will help guide technical pursuits at MIT in two ways: First, their expertise in specific industries and global mar- kets makes them valuable advisors on real-world challenges and how to de- liver solutions at scale. Second, as sup- pliers of advanced tools and processes for industry, research, and manufactur- ing, member companies will be able to guide the selection of installed equip- ment to support the interests of users. In return, member companies will benefit from an ongoing relation- ship with MIT.nano. A key advantage is early awareness of innovative technolo- gies emerging fromMIT. Members could translate this awareness into formal re- search collaborations with faculty, com- pany-specific seminars, support for MIT startups, and other opportunities. Com- panies may also place an employee on campus as a visiting scientist. Found- ing members include Agilent Technolo- gies, Analog Devices, Dow, Draper, DSM, Edwards, IBM Research, Lam Research, NCSOFT, NEC, and Waters. mitnano.mit. edu/mitnano-consortium. PARTNERSHIP EXPLORES MINING SUSTAINABILITY Colorado School of Mines and Universidad Nacional de San Agustín (UNSA) in Arequipa, Peru, are joining forces to take on one of the most im- portant issues facing communities around the world: How to manage the mining of natural resources in a manner that is sustainable, supports local econ- omies, and minimizes environmental damage. The partner universities es- tablished a new Center for Mining Sus- tainability that will apply data-driven, MIT.nano opened its doors in October 2018. RESEARCH TRACKS interdisciplinary science, technology, and innovation to help develop a more sustainable future, with the aim of be- coming an international benchmark for research in sustainable mining. Projects are already underway to protect water resources, improve mine safety, reduce risk from geologic haz- ards, and improve mining processes. For example, in Peru, small-scale min- ing accounted for approximately 23% of the country’s total gold production in 2018. A broad categorization of min- ing that ranges from subsistence min- ers with a shovel and gold pan to larger outfits equipped with basic machinery, artisanal mining suffers from danger- ous conditions, high environmental impacts, and limited resources. The solutions being developed by research- ers in Colorado and Arequipa should have worldwide applications, explains center director Paul Santi, professor of geology and geological engineering at Mines. “Really what we want to do is to make Mines and UNSA the place where the world looks to solve problems relat- ed to small-scale mining,” says Santi. “Inmany cases, they are the same prob- lems we have from abandoned and leg- acy mines here in Colorado—the envi- ronmental impact of today’s artisanal and small-scale mining in Peru is simi- lar to impacts from historic mines in the Rocky Mountains.” miningsustainability. mines.edu . Researchers fromColorado School of Mines visiting Peru.