Advisory: College level science, e.g., chemistry, physics, and biology, or equivalent is recommended.
Three hours lecture, (hybrid / online).
Introduction to the underlying principles and applications of the emerging field of nanotechnology. Intended for a multidisciplinary audience with a variety of backgrounds. Introduces scientific principles and theory relevant at the nanoscale dimension. Discusses current and future nanotechnology applications in engineering and materials, physics, chemistry, biology, electronics and computing, energy and medicine.
The student will be able to:
Students should have a good working knowledge of chemistry, and the ability to read and be able to learn about technology quickly. Familiarity with Web searching, especially for peer-reviewed articles, is essential. Desire to explore new technologies related to a particular domain, such as electronics, energy, medicine, etc., is a key success factor.
Project one - Technology review
In the first assignment you'll review a commercial application of nanotechnology. It should be a product or technology that is being prepared for market, but it doesn't have to be on the market yet. You'll review the technology, the product, how nanotechnology is addressing a specific need, including the 'problem-solution pair'. Your assignment should focus on four key areas; first the company, second, the technology, third, the device or product itself, and fourth, the size of the market. Think of these four perspectives as corners of a square, and tell your story from the middle of the square. All four corners are important. The goal of this assignment is to learn about the most current nanotechnology that is closest to the market, and to understand how young companies are approaching the needs of the market with the most current technologies available.
Your assignment should be about 1,000 to 1,500 words, meaning from three to five pages in length. Write an executive summary if you wish. Start your assignment by picking a product or application of interest, then researching the technology, with an emphasis on the problem that is being solved. Take time to understand the size of the market, the magnitude of the problem, and some rough estimate of the value of the technology. There are qualitative and quantitative measures of technology value, including the value of having 'first mover advantage'. As with the midterm, this assignment will be graded on effort, and presentation. Be sure to spell and grammar-check your assignment.
Project two - Technology innovation
The second assignment is very much like the first, with one big exception. You are choosing the application, and can 'invent' your technology. You have to be reasonable though. An acceptable assignment would recognize the need for a much improved solar energy panel, with a roughly 10x improvement in the cost per performance ratio. You would identify key losses in silicon, a more efficient quantum efficiency, etc. You could also look at high performance particle for controlled drug delivery inside a body, say when attached to certain cells. A less likely assignment might be cold fusion, perpetual motion, etc. For this assignment you'll focus much less on the company, and much more on the technology that's needed to solve the problem, and try to identify the value of that problem. Big problems are worth more. Energy, waste, medicine, are all good applications. This assignment may be difficult, as you'll want to have a technology today that might not exist for years, or decades, and it might not even be a practical technology. Your assignment should be about 1,000 to 1,500 words, meaning from three to five pages in length. Write an executive summary if you wish. Your assignment will be graded on 'practical imagination', good research, and effort, including presentation.
Midterm / writing assignments
Each week you'll answer two fairly detailed questions, which are also 2/25 of the midterm. If you submit the weekly assignments punctually, you will have completed the midterm assignment. There will be additional extra credit points available as well.
Grading
Grading is on a cumulative point basis, following a typical academic schema:
90 - 100 = A, 80 - 89 = B, 70 - 79 = C, 60 - 69 = D, and less than 60 points = F
Reading
Nanotechnology - A Gentle Introduction to the Next Big Idea, Ratner and Ratner, Prentice Hall PTR, 1st edition (2002) - Amazon
Stuff and bother
If you are in the physical class and miss two or more classes without contacting the instructor, you may be dropped. Stay in touch with us by email and or voice as needed. 10 to 25% points per week may downgrade late assignments late. Don't plagiarize; use Web citations anytime you are using one or more sentences verbatim.
Our backgrounds and teaching philosophy:
Jill Johnsen – Faculty Foothill College
Materials science and engineering degrees from UC Davis and post doctoral research at the Exploratorium; with 5 plus years experience in nanaomaterials engineering. My experience includes academic research in fuel cells and electroceramics. My philosophy is ‘how things work', and bringing strong materials engineering rigor to understanding nanotechnology.
Robert Cormia – Faculty, Foothill College, CTIS Division
My background is in technology, with over 20 years experience in chemistry, materials analysis, and surface science. I moved to Internet technologies, including e-commerce, web design, and more recently, XML and ontology development. I teach bioinformatics, and am working with the Foothill College nanotechnology program. My philosophy is student success, however you define that success.
Advice:
Stay up with the reading and weekly writing assignments; don't put off the two major assignments (case studies). Read listservs and post reviews of interesting articles in the ETUDES forums, be involved, go to professional meetings when you can, and submit them as weekly contributions.
Office hours:
Monday thru Thursday early afternoon (by appointment please) and email rdcormia@earthlink.net (M-S).
Copyright © 2007 - 2008 Robert D. Cormia - September 23, 2007