An alumnus' gift of $1.3 million will seed a new Center for Nanostructures at Santa Clara University, officials announced today.

The new center will allow Santa Clara to build on its 20-year history of research into micro-electronics and nanotechnology through existing partnerships with NASA/Ames Research Center in Mountain View, Hitachi Global Storage Technology, Hitachi High Technologies America, the Stanford Nanofabrication Facility, and the School of Engineering at the University of California at Santa Cruz.

The Center for Nanostructures will be an interdisciplinary center for research and integrated education in the diverse field of nanoscale science and technology.

Area leaders hope to firmly establish the dominance of Silicon Valley in the competitive, emerging field of nanotech, in which atoms and molecules can theoretically be manipulated into powerful devices smaller than the width of a human hair.

The seed money is a gift from John and Susan Ocampo of Los Altos Hills. John Ocampo is a 1979 electrical engineering alumnus and chairman of Sirenza Microdevices, a Colorado-based telecommunications firm he co-founded with his wife.

``The potential benefits of this technology are far-reaching and match up well with the university's values, which I am proud to support,'' John Ocampo said.

Atom Yee, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, said the gift to the Center for Nanostructures ``will provide excellent opportunities for students and faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Engineering to partner in enhancing nanoscience education and research.''