Galan Moody leads successful effort to secure $1.3 million for advanced 3D printing A new age of 3D printing is here, even though the initial technology for what is also known as additive manufacturing arrived less than 20 years ago. UC Santa Barbara is stepping into the era with a $1.15 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to purchase the most cutting-edge 3D printing technology available: a 3D rapid nanoprinting system based on two-photon photolithography. The equipment will enhance the capabilities of the already widely recognized UCSB Nanofabrication Facility (aka the “Nanofab” or “Nanotech”). “The unique capabilities of this system open the door to new approaches to nano- and micro-manufacturing of complex structures and devices that are no longer constrained by geometry nor confined to two-dimensional planes,” the authors wrote in their proposal. By securing the grant, lead PI Galan Moody, UCSB professor of electrical and computer engineering, and four co-PIs — Marley Dewey (bioengineering), Andrew Jayich (physics), Sumita Pennathur (chemical engineering) and Andrea Young (physics) — are ensuring that UCSB can take a leadership role in pushing the boundaries of what the new technology can do. “There are just a few universities in the U.S. that have tools with these capabilities,” said Moody. Recent advances have brought 3D printing to the realm of the very small, supporting an array of applications by enabling on-chip 3D printing of microstructures, a capacity that will benefit researchers in many disciplines. “Ten-nm-resolution lithography is available at off-campus commercial foundries,” Moody said, “but none is capable of creating complex 3D structures with nanoscale resolution and high speed for high-throughput prototyping, which are required for next-generation devices. Being able to make structures in true three dimensions opens new capabilities.” Five researchers, five uses The principal investigators’ research reflects the diverse focuses of potential