New York among top nanotechnology states  Research and work with nanotechnology is stretching across the United States, with the highest concentration of institutions located in California, Massachusetts, New York and Texas, according to a new report, which also identified 138 government laboratories and universities studying this field. In an effort to educate the public about nanotechnology research and development, The Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars launched their findings in an interactive map (a Google mash-up) that displays where in the U.S. nanotech companies, universities, research laboratories and organizations are located.

IBM's new supercomputer massive but fast  The $100 million IBM Blue Gene supercomputer that Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute President Shirley Ann Jackson unveiled Friday afternoon is more powerful than originally planned. And a top official at IBM Corp. said it could grow more powerful still. State Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno, RPI Chief Information Officer John Kolb and IBM Senior Vice President John Kelly joined Jackson for a preview of the new machine at the Computational Center for Nanotechnology Innovations at Rensselaer Technology Park in North Greenbush, where officials got their first look at the banks of microprocessors and circuitry.

Brookhaven nanomaterials center tackles energy research  The new Center for Functional Nanomaterials at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) here will help advance the effort to achieve U.S. energy independence, lab officials said at a dedication ceremony on Monday (May 21). The nanomaterials center is the last of five facilities recently funded by the U.S. Energy Department's Office of Science to develop nanoscale materials to alleviate U.S. dependence on fossil fuels. To that end, the center will incorporate sophisticated devices such as a low-energy electron microscope and a one-of-a-kind scanning transmission electron microscope. With an estimated annual budget of $19 million, much of the center's work will be unclassified, meaning research will be available to other scientists. Public companies will also be able to use the facility on a cost-recovery basis.

AMD: Manufacturing is on time and on schedule  During a meeting with analysts on Monday, AMD's director of Manufacturing Technology, Tom Sonderman, announced that the company is still on schedule to hit its deadlines to complete its transition to 65nm process technology later this year and to introduce its first 45nm on time as well.

IBM extends 32nm process R&D with Freescale  IBM and its Common Platform partners will extend their development relationship down to 32nm, now with Freescale as a member of the inner circle. The group started with just two members at 90nm when Chartered Semiconductor joined forces with IBM. Since then Infineon and Samsung joined in, with Freescale being the latest addition. IBM would not comment on whether other members are expected to join, but the collapse of the Crolles Alliance in France also drew NXP into the IBM camp. In addition, IBM has been working closely with Sony, Toshiba, co-developers of the eight-core Cell processor, and AMD.