Skip to main content

NUANCE: Nanoscale Characterization Experimental Center

History of NUANCE

NUANCE (Northwestern University Atomic and Nanoscale Characterization Experimental Center) was conceived and founded in 2001–02 by Professor Vinayak P. Dravid during the presidency of Henry S. Bienen, with the support of Provost Lawrence B. Dumas. From its inception, NUANCE was built as more than shared instrumentation: it was designed as an integrated ecosystem for experiential learning, research excellence, staff scholarship, and community engagement—grounded in the principle that deep understanding comes from doing.

I. Origins and Scale Transformation

NUANCE began with EPIC (Electron Probe Instrumentation Center) as the first and sole facility in early 1990’s, initially featuring only two to three major instruments and serving a small early user community largely rooted in the founding laboratory. Following the creation of NUANCE Center over 24 years, it grew deliberately into an integrated, multi-facility ecosystem spanning EPIC, SPID, Keck-II, BioCryo, and NUFAB.

NUANCE today reflects a quarter century of purposeful institution-building:

II. Educational Innovation: Experiential Learning as Core DNA

NUANCE’s experiential learning philosophy predates the Center itself. Beginning in the early 1990s, Professor Dravid pioneered freshman seminar experiences that immersed students in hands-on exploration from their first term. NUANCE later institutionalized this approach at scale—serving as an extension of the classroom and integrating with departmental courses and curricula in characterization, microscopy, fabrication, and bio-imaging.

III. Community and Culture

NUANCE is intentionally designed as a shared intellectual and social commons. NUANCE-Fest—held annually on October 9 (Nano Day)—has become a signature tradition. The Scientific Image Contest, in particular, brings together diverse groups across the university and region, strengthening camaraderie and shared identity among NUANCE users.

IV. People as Infrastructure: Staff Growth and Sustainability

A hallmark of the NUANCE model is investment in people and professional excellence. Facility leaders are long-term research professionals with clear growth pathways and scholarly engagement opportunities. NUANCE also developed mechanisms enabling collaboration and proposal development that support professional advancement and fiscal sustainability—positioning shared facilities as a combined business-and-scholarship model rather than a transactional service.

V. Industry and External Partnerships

NUANCE facilities have served as strategic anchors for industry engagement and regional innovation. Major instrumentation investments have enabled new collaborations, strengthened external partnerships, and supported translational pathways from fundamental discovery to application.

VI. Arts, Culture, and Civic Engagement

NUANCE actively engages with Chicago-area cultural and societal institutions—including the Art Institute of Chicago, the Field Museum, and the Museum of Science and Industry—enabling analytical and imaging collaborations that bridge science, engineering, and the arts. NUANCE also hosts frequent visitors and outreach groups (e.g., school groups, scouts, alumni, and community visitors), making civic engagement a continuous part of its identity.

VII. Catalytic Impact

NUANCE has served as a platform for larger initiatives and regional ecosystems, most notably catalyzing and helping to spearhead the NSF NNCI node SHyNE. These broader programs are best understood as extensions of the NUANCE model at larger scale—enabled by NUANCE’s integrated philosophy, facilities, staff excellence, and community.

VIII. NUANCE as an Institution

Taken together, these elements define NUANCE not as a collection of instruments, but as an institution: a research infrastructure, an immersion-learning environment, a professional ecosystem, a community hub, and a civic partner—built on a unifying philosophy and continually evolving with science and society.