The CNR-NANO research activities will be developed within the National Enterprise for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology NEST at the Scuola Normale Superiore, the leading Italian higher education institute for physics and exact sciences. NEST is a research and training centre where physicists, chemists and biologists investigate scientific issues at the nanoscale. This knowledge is exploited to develop innovative nano-biotechnological tools, nanoelectronic and photonic devices and architectures.
The BEC Center involves staff researchers of INO-CNR (a national research institution in optics) and of Trento University. It is located in the village of Povo, in the suburbs of Trento in north-east Italy.
The BEC Center now hosts around 30 researchers. Since the mid-90’s the BEC Center has played a key role at the highest international level in the theoretical studies of quantum gases of ultracold atoms. Sandro Stringari, the founder of the center, and Lev P. Pitaevskii, appointed to the center, are among the most renowned scientists in this field.
The Istituto Officina dei Materiali (IOM) of CNR, headquartered in Trieste, is an interdisciplinary research center that combines material synthesis, advanced characterizations and numerical simulations, focusing on the study and development of innovative materials and devices at the micro- and nano-scale. Several Laboratories and Facilities are hosted, maintained and implemented, which make a rich and complete set of complementary tools and methodologies including atom-by-atom synthesis, fine analysis, materials and device functionalization, in order to tackle multidisciplinary scientific issues and to develop novel technologies.