SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- The Faculty of Engineering at the University of Alberta proudly announces a collaboration with Sun Microsystems, Inc. and the Government of Alberta to establish the Center of Excellence in Integrated NanoTools. The creation of a Center of Excellence in Integrated NanoTools will position Alberta as a world leader in the development of nanotechnology and provide researchers with a nanotechnology design infrastructure to develop microchips, microsystems, and nanodevices. "Nanotechnology is a strategic field of research with tremendous interdisciplinary benefits," said Dr. David Lynch, Dean of Engineering. "The Center of Excellence in Integrated NanoTools will support and integrate nanoresearchers in a variety of disciplines including information and communication technology, energy, and manufacturing." "Sun's Global Education and Research commitment to work with higher education institutions around the world, especially in the areas in high performance computing, has yielded tremendous results," said Kim Jones, vice president, Global Education and Research, Sun Microsystems, Inc. "I believe our relationship with Alberta will result in great advances in the area of nano technology that will have dramatic impact both locally and around the world." The Center of Excellence in Integrated NanoTools will provide an environment for researchers to use state-of-the-art software tools and hardware for the design and understanding of nanosystems. The center will serve as a resource for training and consulting for members of the nanocommunity involved in the integration of nano- and other compatible tools into future products. "We're investing heavily in nanotechnology because, as a platform technology, it has the potential to change so much for the benefit of the Alberta economy and the Alberta people," said Honorable Victor Doerksen, Minister of Alberta Innovation and Science. "We're proud to have attracted the support of a leading company like Sun Microsystems." A memorandum of understanding was signed January 31, 2003 and solidified plans to establish the Center of Excellence in Integrated NanoTools. Alberta Innovation and Science will contribute $500,000 (CDN), the University of Alberta will provide $700,000 (CDN) worth of in-kind contributions, and Sun Microsystems intends to make an in-kind contribution of more than $2 million (CDN) in Sun(TM) hardware, Sun(TM) Open Network Environment (Sun ONE) software, Sun StorEdge(TM) storage systems and services.