To realize efficiently the goals of COINS, a carefully designed and integrated plan combining the talents of 30 investigators spanning 10 different disciplines (applied physics, bioengineering, chemical engineering, chemistry, ecomonics, electrical engineering and computer science, materials science and engineering, mechanical engineering, molecular and cell biology, and physics) has been established. These investigators together with their graduate students and postdocs, our industrial partners, scientific and industrial advisory boards, and external academic collaborators form a highly unique team that is working together to achieve our goals.