Researchers Size Up Nanomaterials

Malibu, Calif.-based HRL Laboratories LLC has launched a program to develop nano-materials for high-volume production applications.

Nano-based materials can provide significant performance benefits over traditional materials, but current fabrication technologies for the material are limited in speed and scalabillity,

HRL researchers will focus on new methods to rapidly build nanometer-level materials to the millimeter-scale sizes that are compatible with existing manufacturing processes. There are one million nanometers in a millimeter.  

HRL (formerly Hughes Research Laboratories) is co-owned by General Motors Co. and The Boeing Co. The new research program is funded by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and Air Force Research Laboratory.