About the Center

Imaging science is a diverse and naturally multidisciplinary field that encompasses various technologies and methodologies aimed at capturing, analyzing, and interpreting images. Nanoscale imaging techniques allow the visualization and characterization of objects and structures at the nanometer scale. It is a dynamic research area that utilizes approaches from engineering, physics, chemistry, mathematics, and computer science to unravel the visual world and provide invaluable insights for scientific research, healthcare, and industry. These methodologies employ various principles and technologies to achieve high-resolution imaging, including super-resolution optical imaging, electron microscopy, scanning probe microscopy, and computer vision. These approaches have revolutionized nanoscale imaging, enabling researchers to explore and understand the world at the atomic and molecular level. Further advancements of these techniques will contribute to important breakthroughs in nanotechnology, materials science, biology, biomedicine, and many other fields.

A major challenge hampering new, groundbreaking innovations within nanoscale imaging is that such efforts at Rice and beyond currently are driven independently by different research groups that are scattered between different departments and buildings on campus, without the critical interdisciplinary collaboration that will accelerate discovery.

The vision of the Center for Nanoscale Imaging Sciences is to create an inclusive community here at Rice, bring researchers together and inspire high-impact collaborative efforts to push the frontiers of nanoscale imaging, and improve our visibility both nationally and internationally to make Rice a nexus for nanoscale imaging sciences. The vision is that this Center will grow and evolve into an externally funded Rice Institute.

The Center mission is to connect researchers with common goals and complementary expertise across department and school boundaries. The Center will stimulate, enable, and incentivize the integration and correlation of diverse approaches and collaborative efforts across different fields to address key outstanding questions related to e.g., big data, smart microscopes, and multi-modal approaches that go beyond the scope of a single research group. The Center will also closely interact with the Rice Shared Equipment Authority to advise and advocate for the next generation of shared equipment. The Center will also provide students with professional development opportunities and increase the impact and visibility of our research.