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Q: I am about to select a major in engineering and would like to know the best major to select in order to excel in Nanotechnology. I hear that Nanotechnology holds enormous promise and can be helpful in areas from cleansing the air to treating bacterial infections. What schools, domestic and international, would you recommend?
Nanotechnology is a relatively new collection of fields, all characterized by analysis, design and synthesis of structures whose dimensions are roughly 1 to 100 nanometers. The term Nanotechnology has been used recently within diverse fields such as Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Electrical, Mechanical and Chemical Engineering, and sub-disciplines such as robotics. Nanotechnology was invoked in many different projects and sub-disciplines, including the design of new senors and actuators, drug delivery mechanisms, tissue engineering, design of semiconductor and optoelectronic devices, and a host of consumer goods applications. This is not a comprehensive list - you may be able to learn more in the Nanotechnology Now website (http://www.nanotech-now.com/) and in the portal of the Institute of Nanotechnology (http://www.nano.org.uk/whatis.htm).
Opinions on the future of Nanotechnology vary. Some students of the field make bold predictions about a technological revolution that will be invoked by Nanotechnology. Others predict a more moderate rate of progress, involving gradual emergence of useful products and processes based on Nanotechnology. At the other extreme there are skeptics who claim that Nanotechnology is just a new fashionable name for old fields which have been studied for a while. There is certainly enough interest, energy, projects, investments and expectations in Nanotechnology to mark this field as one of the most dynamic and promising in science and engineering.
The multidisciplinary nature of Nanotechnology means that many universities perform Nanotechnology research and provide education in this field through existing departments, such as Materials Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, BioScience, Chemistry, and Physics. Most of the serious work in Nanotechnology requires solid basis in other disciplines and is done at the graduate level by individuals who already have a Bachelor of Science Degree in a core area of Science or Engineering. We recommend that prospective students who are interested in Nanotechnology consider obtaining their degrees in a core area of Science or Engineering first, and then seek graduate-level education in Nanotechnology. One way to do that is to select an undergraduate program in Science or Engineering within a school where significant research and study in Nanotechnology already take place, and seek activities (such as independent study and senior design projects) that expose the student to Nanotechnology. It appears that within a College of Engineering the most appropriate choices for individuals seeking later specialization in Nanotechnology would be Electrical Engineering, Materials Engineering, and Chemical Engineering.
How does one find institutions with high level of activity in Nanotechnology? One way to do so is to scan some of the journals in the field such as Nanotechnology, IEEE Transactions on Nanotechnology, and the Virtual Journal of Nanoscale Science & Technology to see where the authors are coming from.
Stand-alone B.Sc programs in Nanotechnology (or with strong Nanotechnology flavor) are available in the following institutions, among others: University of Toronto (Division of Engineering Science, Toronto, Canada); University of South Wales (Sidney, Australia), Pennsylvania State University (see http://www.gonano.psu.edu/education/, US), Flinders University (Adelaide, Australia), Louisiana Tech University (US), Drexel University http://www.nano.drexel.edu/) and Michigan Technological University (a minor in Nanotechnology, US). To find information search on line by using the name of the university and the search term "Nanotechnology".
Stand-alone M.S. and Ph.D. programs are available in the following institutions, among others (all in the US) : University of Albany New York (College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering), University of Washington, Rice University, Arizona State University (training within existing Ph.D. programs), and the University of Massachusetts in Amherst.
A comprehensive list of programs in Nanotechnology in academic institutions is provided here:http://www.nanotech-now.com/academic.htm
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Q: Let me please know the potential of Nanotechnology education, and the list of universities offering Masters and Doctoral degree in Nanotechnology.
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Q: I consider several undergraduate programs available in my country with the intent of doing research (and possibly some graduate work) later in the area of nanotechnology in Japan.
I have two questions:
(1) Would it be better for me to study chemical engineering or electrical engineering as an undergraduate?
(2) What are some of the institutions that do nanotechnology research in Japan?
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Q: I am unable to decide between a degree in electrical engineering, computer engineering, and computer science. Please describe the differences?
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Q: I am a senior in high school and I am seriously thinking about majoring in Biomedical Engineering. I wanted to know how much money biomedical engineers make. I also want to know if biomedical engineers do research for cancer because I would really like to be able to do research on diseases and ways to fight/cure them. Where could you get a job in biomedical engineering in Pennsylvania?
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Q: I have just received my Bachelor of Engineering in electronics and communication). I have great interest in Nanotechnology/MEMS. Should I concentrate on MEMS or on Nanotechnology for my Master-level studies? How are job prospects in these areas?
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Q: Can I work on a Master of Science degree in Nanotechnology after getting a Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Engineering degree in chemical engineering?
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Q: Which engineering field should I select for undergraduate studies in order to be able to work later on a Master of Science degree in Nanotechnology?
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Q: I am a second year student in electrical engineering. I have been assigned to write on "the scope of electrical engineering in the 21st century".
Would you please provide me with some guidance?
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Q: BACKGROUND: We live in Sierra Vista, AZ, about 70 miles SE of Tucson. My 17 year old son is a high school senior and wants to become an engineer, but is still undecided which engineering sub-category he wants to specialize in. He is interested in robotics and maybe nanotechnology. He has taken Advanced Placement classes in English, Mathematics and Physics. He already has earned some college credit by signing up for Dual-Credit classes. We are split over 2 options: 1) having him attend for the first 2 years a community college which has a 2-year Pre-Engineering Program, and then have him attend a traditional university for the last 2 years of college; or 2) having him start as a freshman in a traditional 4-year institution.
QUESTIONS:
What, if any, are the pros and cons of both options? Is there an industry bias out there when it comes to hiring an applicant who either completed a 4 year program right away or first did a 2 year program and then finished up a 4 year program?
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