Formula Nano

About

Formula Nano is dedicated to designing, building, and racing molecular machines at the nanoscale. We are an engineering student design team at the University of Waterloo working towards competing in the next international Nanocar Race. Teams compete to race single molecules using a specialized scanning tunneling microscope.

Team members can focus on the synthesis and characterization of molecular components in the lab or on simulating and optimizing the nanocar using computational models, exploring two important pillars of nanotechnology engineering.

With about 100-1000 atoms and a lateral size of a few nanometers, a nanocar is a molecule with a distinguishable front and rear. Its chemical structure allows the nanocar to move on a surface when electrons flow through it from the STM tip. The propulsion mechanism can be either inelastic (related to the excitation of vibrational modes or to current-induced structural changes) or dipolar, resulting from the repulsion or attraction between the nanocar and the STM tip.

Team

Chemistry

Focuses on conducting experiments and finding new ways to synthesize our molecules

Computation

Specializes in finding properties of our molecules in silico through DFT and other computational chemistry methods.

Business

Handles the strategic planning, marketing, and financial aspects of the whole team.

Ryan Miller

Ryan Miller

Computation Lead

Mark Ositashvili

Mark Ositashvili

Chemistry Lead

Luke Sinka

Luke Sinka

Chemistry

Ria Baijal

Ria Baijal

Chemistry

Nathan Frey

Nathan Frey

Chemistry

Alexandre Dufresne-Nappert

Alexandre Dufresne-Nappert

Computation

Matthew Athanasopoulos

Matthew Athanasopoulos

Computation

Eric Folino

Eric Folino

Computation

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