The Swiss Nanoscience Institute (SNI) at the University of Basel is a center of excellence for nanosciences and nanotechnology. It was founded in 2006 by the University of Basel and the Swiss Canton Aargau in order to support research, education, and technology transfer in the nanosciences and in nanotechnology in Northwestern Switzerland. The SNI emerged from the National Center of Competence in Research (NCCR) Nanoscale Science, which was founded in 2001 with the University of Basel as leading house.