NanoInk has announced a curriculum-led product to deliver trained nanotechnologists for the 21st century.
The Nanoprofessor project will develop practical resources for undergraduate education in precise technologies at the nanoscale.
Students will learn through hands-on experience, working with real equipment and an integrated curriculum.
The project will demonstrate a public-private partnership model to build a broader nanotechnology workforce as these extremely precise technologies move from experimental to practical applications.
Currently, the field is populated by PhDs with post-doctoral experience.
The Nanoprofessor project will demonstrate that effective training in nanotech applications can be delivered to students much earlier.
Three elements define the Nanoprofessor project.
The first is a machine that is simple enough for general students to operate at the nanoscale.
NanoInk has accomplished this with its nanolithography platform, the NLP 2000 system, which was launched earlier this year at the Pittsburgh Conference.
The second critical piece is a curriculum grounded in fundamental science and engineering concepts.
An interdisciplinary curriculum will engage students in basic science learning through hands-on manufacturing and experiments with cutting-edge technology at the nanoscale.
The curriculum is being developed by a team of teachers, NanoInk professionals and experts in instructional design.
Each unit and the course as a whole will be evaluated during development and throughout implementation.
The third element is the active participation of educational institutions committed to the advancement of science, technology, engineering and mathematics education.
The educational partners will host the project, receive training for faculty members, and cooperate in the evaluation and dissemination of project outcomes.
The total package is ideally suited to the teaching environment.
The NLP requires no special cleanroom or facilities and has software to control it.
This means that hands-on nanolithography equipment can be operated by an advanced high-school student in a classroom.
NanoInk will couple this instrument with other useful instruments such as a fluorescence light microscope and an educational atomic force microscope (AFM) with consumables to further the hands-on teaching of nanotechnology.
The entire package of a thorough nanoscience and engineering curriculum, and accessible hands-on nanofabrication instrumentation results in a nanoscale science and engineering education package is what NanoInk calls the Nanoprofessor.
The first Nanoprofessor system is to be installed for the new academic year at Dakota County Technical College under the stewardship of Deb Newberry, the director of the Nanoscience programme and also the director of a newly funded NSF Regional Center for Nanotechnology Education, Nano-Link.
