There are a number of nanoscience courses on-line now through at least two NSF-funded sites: NanoHUB and the NanoEd Resource Portal. Why would you be interested? Because nearly 400 nano-enabled products are already on the market, and nanotech is going to be effecting many aspects of peoples' lives in the very near term. For more information, read on:

Introduction to Nanoscience & Nanotechnology

Encompassing nanoscale science, engineering and technology, nanoscience and nanotechnology involve the study, imaging, measuring, modeling, or manipulation of matter at the nanometer scale. While the term “nano” is derived from the Greek word for “dwarf”, in scientific use, the prefix “nano” means “one billionth” (10^-9). There are one billion nanometers—each smaller than ten atoms in width—in one meter [1].

The definitions of nanoscience and nanotechnology vary and are developing a generic quality pertaining to anything particularly small. However, the Royal Society (UK) offers this: “Nanotechnologies are the design, characterization, production and application of structures, devices and systems by controlling shape and size at nanometer scale”. Likewise, the National Nanotechnology Initiative (US) defines nanotechnology as “the understanding and control of matter at dimensions of roughly 1 to 100 nanometers, where unique phenomena enable novel applications”.

It is well-recognized that, at the nanoscale, ordinary rules of physics, biology and chemistry do not necessarily apply. Color, electrical conductivity, thermal properties or tensile strength may differ in fundamental ways from the properties of matter at larger scales. For example: carbon nanotubes are stronger than, lighter than and more resistant to damage from physical forces than steel, and yet they possess elastic properties (they can bend and snap back to their original shape).

According to Dr. Jonah Erlebacher of Johns Hopkins University, nanoscience principles have been employed for thousands of years [2] It was only with the advent of advanced microscopy tools such as the scanning tunneling microscope (STM) in 1981, the atomic force microscope (AFM) in 1986, and the transmission electron microscope (TEM) that clear images of nanoscale objects were achievable. Electron beam, or "e-beam" lithography is now used for special applications within the electronics industry; so-called “laser tweezing” or optical trapping is a touch-less method of examining atoms, biologicals and colloidal particles [3]. Despite its ancient roots, the concept of nanoscience was not articulated until a December 26, 1959 address to the American Chemical Society by Richard Feynman in “There’s Plenty of Room at the Bottom”. Even then, he referred to “miniaturization” rather than nanotechnology. That term was first used by Norio Taniguchi fifteen years later [4]. Concept and tools joined in frenetic advancement of nearly every discipline related to the sciences and engineering [5].

Lux Research reported that, in 2006, $12.4 billion world-wide was invested in nanotechnology research and development. Over 10,000 patents have been filed, 68% of these were American. The US Patent Office has created a Cross Reference Digest as part of its nanotechnology classification project.

The world’s governments are investing heavily in nanotechnology. Spending reached $6.4 billion ($1.78 billion in the US) in 2006. Globally, corporations contributed $5.3 billion toward nano R&D (nearly $2 billion of which was in the US)[6]. Lux reported that venture capital for nanotech enterprises exceeded $650 million in 2006[7].
In an earlier report, Lux Research (Lux Research, Inc. 2004. “Sizing Nanotechnology’s Value Chain” New York:Lux Research, Inc.) noted that nano-related products fall into three categories:

● Nanomaterials: unprocessed nanoscale structures such as nanoparticles and nanotubes

● Nanointermediates: products such as coatings or memory chips with nanoscale features, and

● Nano-enabled: finished goods incorporating nanotechnology. In 2006, this category alone represented $50 billion in sales[8]. The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars has compiled an inventory of 380+ such [9] currently available on the market.

“Sizing Nanotechnology’s Value Chain” also offered the prediction that, by 2014, all computers and consumer electronics, nearly a quarter of pharmaceuticals and approximately 20% of cars would incorporate nanotechnology. Correspondingly, the estimated 6,250 nanotech job positions would swell between 2004 and 2014 as the number of nano-enabled product manufacturing jobs increased to meet the demand.

To meet the acute need for a scientifically-literate workforce, programs are being instituted to incorporate nanoscience into existing curricula. At least two of these, the National Center for Learning and Teaching in Nanoscale Science and Engineering and the NanoSense Project are funded by the National Science Foundation. The first seeks to reach students from the middle school through all college levels; the second emphasizes the education of high school students. Both offer professional development opportunities for educators.