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| Ask an Engineer: Frequently Asked Questions |
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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?
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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.
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
Nano technology (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. One way to find institutions with high level of activity in Nanotechnology 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.
There is a continuing debate about the merit of stand alone educational programs in Nanotechnology. Some believe that such programs are essential to expand a dynamic field, others prefer that Nanotechnology remain a specialization within existing programs.
Stand-alone B.Sc programs 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.nanotech-now.com/academic.htm
Here is how a similar answer was recently answered in "Google
Answers": http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=36661
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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 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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