Growth spurt

Small stuff is big business. According to Prof Hugh Clare, director of the Microsystems and Nanotechnology (MNT) Network, the sector that deals with the very small is working on a larger and larger scale. Starting off as offshoots of many established sectors, including traditional engineering fabrication, microprocessor development, pharmaceuticals and plastics, nanotechnology is now creating its own distinct breed of practitioner. ‘When the dust settles,’ said Clare, ‘I think it’s going to be an industry in its own right.’

Clare’s association with nanotechnology stretches back to his days with Unilever, when he was a founder member of the UK Microsystems and Nanotechnology Manufacturing Association (MMA). After serving as chairman of the MMA for over four years, he was appointed as the first director of the MNT Network in 2004.

‘The history [of the MNT Network] goes back slightly longer than three years, with the publication of the Taylor Report, which said that the UK was in danger of falling behind its competitors in the application of microsystems and nanotechnology,’ Clare said. As a result of the Taylor Report, the government announced a £90m cash injection into microsystems and nanotech. The MNT Network was set up to manage the portion of this investment, £40m, earmarked for capital projects in the area.