The California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI) is one of four Institutes for Science and Innovation established within the UC System in 2000 by the State of California. CNSI focuses entirely on two fields that did not exist 15 years ago, nanoscience (the study of phenomena at the nanoscale) and nanotechnology (the practical applications of nanoscale research). A nano is defined as one-billionth of a meter, about 1/80,000 of the diameter of a human hair. Approximately 3 to 6 atoms will fit inside a nano.

CNSI will be of great benefit to UCLA's overall fundraising efforts. It gives tangible expression to qualities valued by alumni, friends, and donors, qualities that have elevated UCLA to a preeminence among the world's finest research universities. These are:

• Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research and education
• Research into an entirely new and potentially revolutionary area of science and technology
• Application of research to topics of global importance: energy, environment, health, and information technology
• Development of effective means for the rapid transfer of research from lab to marketplace to provide economic and material benefits to California, the nation, and the world
• Creation of an international research center through collaborative agreements with top universities and institutes in Asia, Europe, and North and South America
• Educational programs that provide undergraduate and graduate students the skills to innovate and work in an economy based on nanoscale research

Fundraisers can point to CNSI as an example of UCLA's continuing efforts to provide California with graduates able to strengthen and grow the state's post-industrial, technological economy through new ideas, discoveries, and inventions. In the face of the current global economic decline, these efforts will rely heavily on private philanthropy.

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