Nanotechnology: Education, Research, and Career Opportunities
An Introduction to Nanotechnology presented by the National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network
Nanotechnology is an exciting and rapidly growing area of interdisciplinary science and engineering with major opportunities in careers. The understanding of the educational, scientific and career context of this area is extremely important for young students entering engineering and science. The National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network (NNIN) will sponsor, organize, and conduct a full day session that will focus on providing a lecture and hands-on experience context in nanotechnology. The morning and afternoon sessions will introduce participants to nanotechnology through lecture and demonstrations, and give them the information they need to prepare for a career in nanotechnology. The primary target audience is lower level undergraduates (freshmen and sophomores) although most content will be appealing to levels higher and lower. The goal of this symposium is to introduce students to the concepts of nanotechnology, the career opportunities available in nanotechnology, and the educational requirements to pursue such a career.
Lectures (morning sessions)
- Nanotechnology Concepts and Applications: An introduction to the broad unifying concepts of nanotechnology (size, scale, quantum effects, surface effects, etc) as illustrated with a variety of current applications in both the physical sciences and the life sciences. (45 minutes)
- Nanotech Tools: This section will cover operation of the sophisticated and not so sophisticated tools which allow us to do nanotechnology, e.g. AFM, SPM, SEM, TEM, Lithography, Thin Film Processing. (30 minutes)
- Nanotechnology Education: Nanotechnology is an interdisciplinary and broad field connected to nearly all of the engineering and science disciplines - physics, chemistry, materials science, electrical engineering, chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, life sciences, etc. This section will describe the types of courses that students should take in each of the major fields to be prepared for a career in nanotechnology. (30 minutes)
- Nanotechnology Careers: There are many exciting careers in nanotechnology with opportunities for students at all levels of education. (research scientist, development engineer, product engineer, manufacturing engineer, laboratory technician, equipment support technician, patent lawyer, manager, investor, ..) (30 minutes)
- Nanotechnology Future: Not everything one hears and reads about nanotechnology is real. There are many exciting applications that are here now, and some that are unlikely to ever come to reality. We will examine some of the myth and reality of nanotechnology. (15 minutes)
- NNIN and NNIN REU Program: NNIN is an open national resource for nanotechnology instrumentation and support. The NNIN REU program is the premier undergraduate research program in Nanotechnology, introducing over 60 students per year to a hands-on introductory research experience in one of the NNIN Laboratories. (15 minutes).
Hands on Activities and Demonstrations (afternoon sessions)
Five (5) activity stations will be set up to feature hands on activities demonstrating critical nanotechnology principles connected to the morning session. Typical Hands on and demonstration activities include:
- Atomic Force Microscopy: A look at Graphene at atomic resolution
- Table Top Scanning Electron Microscope or Remote Internet Operated Electron Microscope: A look at the nano-world
- Self-assembly, quantum dots and fluorescent labeling
- Optical properties of quantum dots
- Surface coatings
- Current applications of nanotechnology
The session will be openly structured, with participants coming and going from the session and between stations on their own.
Organizers and Presenters: The sessions will be organized and presented by the faculty, scientific staff, and educational staff of the National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network.
The National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network
Nancy Healy, Ph.D., NNIN Education Program Coordinator, NNIN Education Office at Georgia Tech, nancy.healy@mirc.gatech.edu