Introduction

At the Catalan Institute of Nanotechnology (ICN) we consider personel development both from a professional and personal point of view. Our goal is to ensure that each ICN member, acting within their chosen role, contributes effectively to the overall objective of the ICN to become an international and institutional scientific centre of reference. The professional career and the personal path of each ICN member is developed by upholding and identifying with the values and mission of the institute, participating in training programs, learning from colleagues and by the individual desire of each person to develop expertise within their area of knowledge.

ICN Mission

The Catalan Institute of Nanotechnology (ICN) aims to achieve a level of research excellence in the area of nanoscience and nanotechnology with the goal of becoming an institute of international reference. All human resources, materials, structural and management, and all the initiatives and activities of the ICN are aimed to the fulfillment of this mission.

In particular, the ICN nonprofit, specific purposes:

• The research of new properties of matter that arise from its state of aggregation at the nanoscale.
• The development of new methods of synthesis, fabrication, manipulation and analysis of aggregates and structures of nanometer dimensions.
• The development of techniques for the measurement, manipulation and characterization of nanostructures.
• The promotion of collaboration of scientists from different disciplines (physics, chemistry, biology, engineering, etc.) in order to integrate their contributions.
• The training of researchers and skilled personnel in the field of nanotechnology.
• Technology transfer and support for the creation of technology-based companies of high added value.
• Any other purpose related to the research in nanoscience and nanotechnology.

ICN Vision

Nanotechnology is a new area of research and development. Its scientific interest is based on the understanding of new phenomena and in the discovery of new properties of materials at the nanoscale, focusing on the control of these properties and their potential application to virtually all sectors of society.

To date, most efforts in the field of nanotechnology have been oriented to the understanding of phenomena and the construction of new tools for characterisation and control at the nanometric level, i.e., research efforts have been invested mainly in developing scientific knowledge.

However some commercial applications of nanotechnology are already in the market and sales of nanotechnology derived products are expected to grow dramatically over the next decade. This has attracted the attention of governments and industry stakeholders in developed countries, as well as those of active developing countries. Many programs, initiatives and plans have been prepared at national and international levels to help define the actions to be taken and to organise the complexity involved in the rapid emergence of nanotechnology in society.

Within this context, the Catalan government created the ICN as part of its broader strategy for developing Catalonia´s high tech, knowledge based industries. The goal is to attract talent from the world over, to come to Barcelona and partake of this voyage of discovery, pushing the frontiers of theoretical and experimental science, as well as applying new found knowledge to real world problems.