Research

The Kavli Nanoscience Institute (KNI) is an intellectual hub and facilitator of novel research and technology at the nanoscale. For two decades, faculty, students and scientists from a broad range of disciplines have leveraged KNI resources to pursue cutting-edge nanoscience-based exploration and enterprises that propel human understanding and the advancement of society.

KNI-affiliated researchers represent five of the six academic divisions at Caltech, including Biology and Biological Engineering (BBE), Chemistry and Chemical Engineering (CCE), Engineering and Applied Science (EAS), Geological and Planetary Sciences (GPS), and Physics, Mathematics and Astronomy (PMA), as well as NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory which is managed by Caltech.

The KNI community drives discovery across vast and interrelated fields: materials science, electrical engineering, nanophotonics, optomechanics, quantum engineering, sustainable energy systems, bio- and medical engineering, neuroscience, and beyond. Below is a sampling of current research areas our scientists are investigating.