NEWS RELEASE: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE               DATE: 09/20/06 CONTACT: LESLIE SCHALER, COMMUNICATIONS ASST., (413) 545-0162 UMASS AMHERST LIBRARIES TO ASSIST CENTER FOR HIERARCHICAL MANUFACTURING Amherst, MA – The UMass Amherst Libraries has been involved in the planning of the Center of Hierarchical Manufacturing (CHM), an initiative established by UMass Amherst and made possible through a five-year, $16 million grant from the National Science Foundation.  The CHM’s mission is to move nanotechnology from laboratory innovation to components and devices that can be manufactured. The Library will assist with disseminating information to the technical community, including scientists, researchers, inventors, and manufacturers.  Nanotechnology is a branch of science and engineering devoted to the design and production of extremely small electronic devices and circuits built from individual atoms and molecules.  The CHM’s research focus is Nanoscale Manufacturing: tools and processes for fabricating engineered nanoscale materials and particles, and assembling them into larger-scale structures, devices, and systems.  Twenty-four researchers from UMass Amherst and partner institutions will concentrate on nanoelectronics, bionanotechnology, and new materials and processes. Over the next few years, the UMass Amherst Libraries will develop and maintain a dynamic, web-based clearinghouse as the source of reliable data and information for the Nanomanufacturing research and development community, teachers, students, and the general public.  Work will begin this fall at the Integrated Sciences and Engineering Library with a team consisting of a science librarian, a web developer, and student assistants. The principal investigators, Michael Wright, Managing Director of the Mass Nanotech Institute, James Watkins, Chemical Engineering, and Mark Tuominen, Physics, recognized that the Library could assist with disseminating information to the community.  Jay Schafer, Director of Libraries, offered the assistance of the Library.  The successful implementation of MassBedrock by the Library was considered an important asset in winning the grant proposal.  MassBedrock was a Web portal of timely, freely available information for those doing and supporting business in Massachusetts, which operated from 1999-2005.  For more information, contact Anne C. Moore at 545-0148 or annem@library.umass.edu