One of the projects that I am excited to be working on is with the NACK center – Nanotechnology Aplications and Career Knowledge located at Penn State Univerisity.   Because of this, I get to read about lots of cool things that are being done with nanotechnology.

I saw this interesting article from Reuters:  Scientist Make Advances on “Nano” Electronics.  

 Two U.S. teams have developed new materials that may pave the way for ever smaller, faster and more powerful electronics as current semiconductor technology begins to reach the limits of miniaturization.  One team has made tiny transistors — the building block of computer processors — a fraction of the size of those used on advanced silicon chips. Another has made a film material capable of storing data from 250 DVDs onto a surface the size of a coin.

How will this change the world of electronics in ten years? 

Also, we will be holding two webinars with the NACK Center on February 27 and March 6.  The first is Intro to Nano:

This presentation will introduce you to some major concepts in nanotechnology, some meaningful applications, how fabrication is performed, and how one can benefit from gaining nanofabrication skills. It is meant to be a first introduction to the material for audiences that have little background knowledge of nanotechnology. Nanotechnology is enabling many fields to improve the knowledge and processing capabilities with innovative methods of fabrication at the nanoscale. The nanoscale is between 0-1000 nanometers but most of the unique properties are observed when structures have dimensions under 100 nm. This incredibly small size brings some new challenges but many beneficial rewards. We have selected three main discussion areas to share with you including: altering material properties, alternative medical treatments, and the impact on the food industry.

The second is Ways to Incorporate Nanotechnology into Your Program:

 Nanotechnology courses are relatively new to many programs. This webinar is designed for educators who are interested in learning more about nanotechnology and have a desire to incorporate nanotechnology into their coursework or into programs at their educational institutions.

Come register for the webinars to learn more about this fascinating new technology that will be changing our lives in so many ways.

 

Mark Viquesney