Nano- & Microfluidics:

During the last decade, micro- and nano-technology has become an important industry. This development has been assisted by a funding policy supporting the design of miniaturized mechanical structures and complex micro-machines through which fluids move. To date, however, little attention has been paid to the actual transport of fluids in these confined geometries, even though the fluid flow on increasingly smaller scales cannot always be properly described by conventional continuum equations: physical phenomena which can be neglected on the macro scale become dominant as the length scale diminishes. On the other hand, systems on scales on which micro effects become sensible cannot yet be treated by molecular methods, owing to the lack of computational power. Hence, there is a definite need for novel theories, numerical methods, and measurement techniques devised to properly describe the confined fluid flow on length scales in the range from 10 and 1000 nm.

This priority program is aimed at bridging the gap between molecular motion and continuum flow by an interdisciplinary effort. Basic research proposals are invited from physics, engineering, chemistry, biology and medical technology. Interdisciplinary projects are particularly encouraged.