What is the Nanotechnology Institute?

The Nanotechnology Institute^TM (NTI) is changing the way the Greater Philadelphia Region advances new, transformative technologies.

From Discovery to Commercialization, the NTI is the region’s first partnership created to be a catalyst for nanotechnology development, commercialization and company formation. Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania, the University of Pennsylvania, and Drexel University created the NTI in 2000. The NTI has helped produce more than 357 Intellectual Property assets, created or assisted more than 22 young companies, and attracted more than $200 million in public and private investment to the region.

Today, with core funding from Pennsylvania’s Ben Franklin Technology Development Authority, the NTI has grown into a comprehensive organization incorporating twelve academic research institutions centered around a common framework of Technology Development, Intellectual Property (IP) Management, Sponsored Research Agreements and new company formation. By providing funding, intellectual property and commercialization assistance to companies and researchers, the NTI expedites the rate at which revolutionary technologies are brought to market, changing our world and fueling our economy.

The NTI is a catalyst for nanotechnology commercialization through the following efforts:

• Using nanotechnology to develop new products and services
• Orchestrating the creation and efficient transfer of intellectual property from universities into area companies and new businesses
• Helping educate and build a skilled local workforce
• Organizing, communicating and marketing the nanotech assets of the region with a unified voice

Consumer spending on nanotechnology is predicted to reach over $2.6 trillion by the year 2015. Through its participation from other member institutions, strong research foundations, federal research funding, core research programs, and commercialization and outreach activities, the NTI has become a model for researching, developing and commercializing nanotechnology.