Molecular engineering

This approach, in which observable properties of a macroscopic system are influenced by direct alteration of a molecular structure, falls into the broader category of “bottom-up” design.

Given the highly fundamental nature of molecular interactions, there are a plethora of potential application areas, limited perhaps only by one's imagination and the laws of physics.

This often gives rise to fundamentally new materials and systems, which are required to address outstanding needs in numerous fields, from energy to healthcare to electronics.

"[1] This concept was echoed in Richard Feynman's seminal 1959 lecture There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom, which is widely regarded as giving birth to some of the fundamental ideas of the field of nanotechnology.

The discovery of electrically conductive properties in polyacetylene by Alan J. Heeger in 1977[2] effectively opened the field of organic electronics, which has proved foundational for many molecular engineering efforts.

Molecular engineering deals with material development efforts in emerging technologies that require rigorous rational molecular design approaches towards systems of high complexity.
An EMSL scientist using the environmental transmission electron microscope at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. The ETEM provides in situ capabilities that enable atomic-resolution imaging and spectroscopic studies of materials under dynamic operating conditions. In contrast to traditional operation of TEM under high vacuum, EMSL's ETEM uniquely allows imaging within high-temperature and gas environments.