Applied using lithographically patterned electrodes, the orientation of the nanowire is controlled by the alternating fields while the direction of translation is controlled by the constant fields. The technique has been referred to as "electric tweezers". At the University of Texas at Austin, Fan has used this approach to move components and construct and manipulate nanomotors. Fan's approach has enabled her team to design and build nanomotors that are substantially smaller, faster, and longer lasting than previous nanomotors. In Nature Communications (2014), they describe the bottom-up assembly of arrays of nanomotors. Each nanomotor consists of only three parts: a quadrupole microelectrode for a stator, a nanomagnet for a bearing, and a nanowire for a rotor. The resulting nanomotor is less than 1 micrometer in all dimensions, making it 1/500th the size of a grain of table salt. Significantly, it is small enough to fit inside a human cell. It is able to spin at much higher speeds than previous nanomotors. It can run at speeds up to 18,000 rpm, comparable to the rate of a jet engine. The duration of rotation such nanomotor is as long as 15 hours. With a titanium nanobearing, one can run for as long as 80 hours with a total 1.1 million rotation cycles. Previous nanomotors could run at 500 rpm or less for seconds or minutes. The speed and direction of the nanomotor's movement through liquid can be controlled using electric tweezers. Experimenters were able to turn the nanomotors on and off and cause their rotation to occur in either a clockwise or counterclockwise direction. They were able to arrange the nanomotors in a pattern and direct their movements in a synchronized way. Raman spectroscopy can be used to quantitatively monitor the placement of the nanomotors and their rate of rotation in real-time. Fan's nanomotor is the first to be capable of releasing a drug from its surface at a controllable rate. The surface of the rotor can be coated with a biochemical, which will be released in accordance with fluid boundary layer theory as the rotor spins. As the rotor moves faster, more of the biochemical is released, Potential applications as a controllable drug delivery mechanism include moving through the body to deliver insulin in diabetes, and attacking individual cancer cells. Fan has applied for a number of patents relating to this technology, several of which have been granted. Fan is also involved