Course Description

Nanotechnology is one the most powerful engines of innovation, developing breakthrough solutions to long-standing, real-world problems every day. Foundational to the 21st-century industrial revolution, nanotechnology enables the next generation of a wide range of technologies ranging from flexible electronic displays, highly efficient solar cells, and super batteries to self-cleaning surfaces and skin-rejuvenating cosmetics – just to name a few! Vitally, nanotechnology also facilitates affordable, global access to clean water, personalized healthcare, and a higher overall standard of living.

Nanotechnology is already impacting the global economy, and within the next few years, annual revenues generated from nanotechnology-enabled products and services are expected to reach the trillions of dollars, affecting millions of jobs.

About the Course

This course is designed to provide an eye-opening introduction to this exciting new field of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics ("STEM") and to help prepare you for a future professional career in nanotechnology/STEM.  In about 4 weeks, you will learn the fundamentals of what nanotechnology is, how it works, what its myriad applications are, and how you can continue your nanotechnology education journey.

Prerequisites

• This course is designed for high school students who have completed at least 1 year (typically 2 semesters) of Chemistry, Biology, and Algebra.
• Students are expected to be familiar with the metric system, scientific notation, and unit conversions. (A brief refresher will be provided within the course.)
• Students are also expected to have basic computer skills, including the knowledge of how to use internet browsers, email, and spreadsheet software.

By the end of this course, successful participants will be able to:

• Define and explain the meaning of key terms such as
• “nanotechnology,” “nanoscience,” “nanoengineering,” “nanoscale,” “nanomaterials,” and the prefix “nano-.”
• Classify materials as “nanomaterials” based on certain criteria and properties.
• Describe and explain the unique characteristics of nanomaterials with respect to their bulk counterparts.
• Express the size of nanomaterials in nanometers, and compare their size to those of other materials/objects.
• Understand the size, shape, characterization, properties, and applications of various nanomaterials.
• Define the term “orders of magnitude” and explain how they are used, calculate the order of magnitude of any physical quantity, and compare the size of various physical quantities using orders of magnitude.
• Compare and contrast the resolution limits of the human eye, optical microscopes, and modern electron and probe microscopes; define and provide examples of the terms “magnification,” “resolution,” and “scale bar”; derive the true size of an object based on microscopy images and scale bars.
• Explain the differences between biotechnology and nanotechnology.