There is a concerted effort underway to bolster education and training in nanotechnology in the US as an essential component of National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI). To achieve substantial and lasting impact this activity necessarily reaches across all audience levels: K12, two-year college, four-year college, graduate degree level, professional, and public. Education and training is critically important to the National Nanomanufacturing Network (NNN) since a trained workforce is the key ingredient of a nation that leads through innovation and manufacturing.
The direct link between education and a thriving national enterprise cannot be over emphasized. The recently passed reauthorization of the America Competes Act (H.R. 5116) underscores the importance of education programs in manufacturing, innovation, and entrepreneurship, as a complement to the vital science technology education and mathematics (STEM) educational activities. To be thoroughly effective, impacting both jobs and the economy, these programs need to be guided with a close partnership between educational institutions, industry, and government. Alongside the Subcommittee on Nanoscale Science, Engineering and Technology (NSET) that has guided the NNI for the last ten years, the new Interagency Working Group on Manufacturing Research and Development coordinated by National Science and Technology Council of the Office of Science and Technology Policy in the White House can play an important leadership role.
For a longer period of time, universities and colleges across the nation have implemented an array of nanotechnology education programs and curricula for students at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Much of this has been seeded through funding from the NSF, either as education activities associated with nanotechnology research centers and networks, or as stand-alone educational programs. Each of the 18 NSF Nanoscale Science and Engineering Centers (NSECs) provide nano-specific courses and research training for both undergrad and grad students. During the last decade, these centers have built up a strong portfolio of nanoscale science and engineering curricula. A considerable amount of undergraduate training takes place through summer Research Education for Undergraduate (REU) activities and other activities throughout the year. Graduate research education is an integral part of an NSF center’s mission. The unique laboratory facilities for making and characterizing nanoscale materials and devices at the NSECs are a foundation upon which professional careers are launched. Frequent interactions with industrial scientists, engineers and executives provide students a pathway for collaboration and jobs. Similarly the university-industry interactions through workshops and training sessions provide a means for industry scientists to learn of recent developments in university research and emerging techniques in nanotechnology. Similarly, the NSF’s Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers (MRSECs) are substantial centers providing education and training. Many of these MRSECs have important components in nanotechnology research, as nanomaterials are integrated through much of materials science today. A number of Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) programs exist that a focus specifically on nanotechnology education. These programs provide graduate training that transcends traditional disciplinary boundaries and requires teamwork so that students can become leaders in science and engineering.
Several nanotechnology networks have emerged over the last decade, each of which provide education, training, professional development and industry-university partnership opportunities. The Network for Computational Nanotechnology created NanoHUB, which besides being a leading NSF cyberinfrastructure project focused on simulation, also provides a wealth of nanoscience educational resources including lectures, courses, and simulation tools. The NanoEd portal, hosted at Northwestern University, similarly provides curricula for formal nanoscience education. The National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network (NNIN), which operates major research user facilities at 14 universities across the nation, also provides important training and education opportunities. The NNIN Education Portal is a place to find information about facilities training for graduate students, undergradate students, professionals and others. The NNIN organizes seminars and international workshops that provide training in new nanotech research and nanofabrication techniques. The National Nanomanufacturing Network (NNN) provides many workshops geared specifically toward the advancement of nanomanufacturing and cooperation between universities, companies, and government labs. Centers affiliated with the NNN provide seminars, courses and training sessions with a focus on commercially-scalable nanomanufacturing processes and related techniques. The NNN’s informatics project, InterNano, serves as an information resource on nanomanufacturing to students and professionals alike.
Since many equipment items for fabrication and characterization of nanoscale materials and devices are quite expensive, some companies have started to develop lower-cost equipment that would be suitable for academic teaching laboratories. NanoProfessor is a product line from the Northwestern University spin-off company NanoInk that provides atomic force microscopy (AFM), dip-pen lithography, and other capabilities at a cost that is substantially lower than that of full scale research instrumentation. The availability of USB optical microscopes and other emerging equipment opens of new avenues of nanoeducation curricula for K12, two-year colleges, science museums, colleges and universities.
Although there are many more educational activities, funded through various federal and state programs, that could be discussed, one can see that there is an important critical mass of nanoscale science and engineering education programs taking place in the U.S. It is important that a new wave of education and training in best practices to translate this knowledge into products complement it, specifically education in 21st century innovation, entrepreneurship and manufacturing.
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