NIMS has been selected to participate in the World Premier International (WPI) Research Center Initiative, a program sponsored by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), as one of five institutions and the only Independent Administrative Institution (IAI).

NIMS's project is called the International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (MANA). In the MANA project, a variety of innovative new technologies in a wide range of fields, including the environment and energy, information technology, medicine, and biotechnology, among others have to be realized. Please see our webpage more details.