Nanotechnology in Education: Nanoeducation

5th WSEAS / IASME International Conference on ENGINEERING EDUCATION (EE'08), Heraklion, Greece, July 22-24, 2008 Nanotechnology in Education: Nanoeducation SEMIH OZEL*, YELDA OZEL** * Computer Science and Electrical Engineering Faculty Bucharest Politehnico University ROMANYA ** Electrical Education Department, Technical Education Faculty Marmara Universitty TURKEY Abstract: - The emerging field of nanoscience and nanotechnology are becoming more and more popular everyday. Nanotechnology is truly interdisciplinary; it involves manipulating and controlling individual atoms and molecules to design and create new materials, nanomachines, and nanodevices for application in all aspects of our lives. Recent advances and envisioned developments in enabling nanotechnology provide challenges to academia in educating and training a new generation of skilled engineers and competent scientists. These engineers and scientists should possess the ability to apply knowledge of mathematics, science, and engineering in order to design, analyze and fabricate nanodevices and nanosystems, which are radically different when compared with traditional technological systems. In this paper, the current status of the progress and developments in nanotechnology and nanoeducation is briefly reviewed, from the perspective of its applications. Strategies for teaching nanotechnology are also presented with a few basic samples. Key-Words: - Nanoscience, Nanotechnology, Nanoeducation 1 Introduction at the nano length-scale. Atoms and molecules, or Nanotechnology and research on this area are becoming extended atomic or molecular structures, are considered more and more popular everyday. The emerging field of to be the basic units, or building-blocks, of fabricating nanoscience and nanotechnology is leading to a future generations of electronic devices, and materials. technological revolution in the new millennium. The At the nano-meter length scales, many diverse enabling application of nanotechnology has enormous potential to disciplines and associated technologies start to merge, greatly influence the world in which we live. From because these are derived from the rather similar consumer goods, electronics, computers, information properties of the atomic- or molecular- level building and biotechnology, to aerospace defense, energy, blocks. For example, on the one hand, the DNA environment, and medicine, all sectors of the economy molecular strands are these days proposed as the self- are to be profoundly impacted by nanotechnology. In the assembling templates for bio-sensors and detectors, United States, Europe, Australia, and Japan, several molecular electronics, and as the building blocks of all research initiatives have been undertaken both by biological materials. On the other hand, some synthetic government and members of the private sector to inorganic materials, such as carbon, boron-nitride or intensify the research and development in other nanotubes or nanowires, may also have similar nanotechnology. [1] functionalities in some respects, but could also be Hundreds of millions of dollars have been committed. exceptionally strong and stiff materials. The cross- Research and development in nanotechnology is likely to correlation and fertilization among the many constituent change the traditional practices of design, analysis, and disciplines, as enabling technologies for molecular manufacturing for a wide range of engineering products. nanotechnology, are thus essential for an accelerated This impact creates a challenge for the academic development. community to educate engineering students with the Researches and developments in nanotechnology will necessary knowledge, understanding, and skills to change the traditional practices of design, analysis, and interact and provide leadership in the emerging world of manufacturing for a wide range of engineering products. nanotechnology. [2] This impact creates a challenge for the academic Nanotechnology deals with materials, devices, and their community to educate students with the necessary applications, in areas such as engineered materials, knowledge, understanding, and skills to interact and electronics, computers, sensors, actuators, and machines, provide leadership in the emerging world of ISBN: 978-960-6766-86-2 372 ISSN: 1790-2769 5th WSEAS / IASME International Conference on ENGINEERING EDUCATION (EE'08), Heraklion, Greece, July 22-24, 2008 nanotechnology [4]. Recent advances and envisioned such as nanotubes and fullerenes; the ability of the developments in enabling nanotechnology provide scanning probe and the development of manipulation challenges to academia in educating and training a new techniques to image and manipulate atomic and generation of skilled engineers and competent scientists. molecular configurations in real materials; the These engineers and scientists should possess the ability conceptualization and demonstration of individual to apply knowledge of mathematics, science, and electronic and logic de vices with atomic or molecular engineering in order to design, analyze and fabricate level materials; the advances in the self-assembly of nanodevices and nanosystems, which are radically materials to be able to put together larger functional or different when compared with microdevices and integrated systems; and above all , the advances in microsystems. Atomic and molecular comprise computational nanotechnology, i.e., physics- and nanodevices and nanosystems, exhibit distinctive chemistry- based modeling and simulation of possible quantum phenomena and unique capabilities that must nanomaterials, devices and applications. It turns out that be utilized. Therefore, advanced theories, methods, tools at the nanoscale, devices and systems sizes have shrunk and technologies should be comprehensively covered sufficiently small, so that, it is possible to describe their and effectively delivered [5]. behaviors fairly accurately. The simulation technologies have become also predictive in nature, and many novel 2 General Framework of Nanotechnology concepts and designs have been first proposed based on modeling and simulations, and then were followed by In the simplest terms, the subject of nanoscience their realization or verification through experiments [3]. technology is defined as the science and technology of the direct or indirect manipulation of atoms and 3 Current Status of Nanoeducation molecules into functional structures, with applications Many attempts have been pursued to develop that were never envisioned before. The prefix “nano” interdisciplinary engineering and science curricula that corresponds to a basic unit on a length scale, meaning will allow undergraduate and graduate students to 10−9 meters, which is a hundred to a thousand times successfully enter and master the engineering and smaller than a typical biological cell or bacterium. At the science fields [7, 10]. To meet academic and industrial nanometer length scale, the dimensions of the materials challenges, different curricular, program, tracks and and devices begin to reach the limit of 10 to 100s of course models have been introduced. It becomes atoms, wherein entirely new physical and chemical increasingly difficult to achieve educational objectives effects are observed; and possibilities arise for the next and goals without a coherent unified theme. Recent generation of cutting-edge products based on the advances and envisioned developments in enabling ultimate miniaturization or so called “nanoization” of the nanotechnology provide challenges to academia in technology. The earliest impetus to the scientific and educating and training a new generation of skilled technological possibility of coaxing individual atoms engineers and competent scientists. These engineers and into the making of useful materials, devices and scientists should possess the ability to apply knowledge applications was given by the late Nobel- prize winning of mathematics, science, and engineering in order to physicist Richard Feynman, in a land mark lecture: design, analyze and fabricate nanodevices and “There’s Plenty of Room at the Bottom,” delivered at the nanosystems, which are radically different when American Physical Society (APS) meeting at Cal Tech compared with microdevices and microsystems. Atomic in 1959, in which he said, “The problems of chemistry and molecular comprise nanodevices and nanosystems, and biology can be greatly helped if our ability to see exhibit distinctive quantum phenomena and unique what we are doing, and to do things on an atomic level, capabilities that must be utilized. Therefore, advanced is ultimately developed - a development which I think theories, methods, tools and technologies should be cannot be avoided”. Indeed, scanning probe microscopes comprehensively covered and effectively delivered. (SPMs), in recent years, have already given us this The academic community is reacting slowly to prepare ability in limited domains, and spurred a tremendous the workforce for emerging opportunities in growth in the pursuit of nanotechnology in the last two nanotechnology. Currently, a small number of decades. A series of scientific and technological universities in the USA, Europe, Australia and Japan discoveries and progresses in a variety of areas in 1970s offer selective graduate programs in nanoscience and and 1980s, and the enunciation of visionary scenarios by nanotechnology in collaboration with research centers. Eric Drexler in a possible molecular nanotechnology- In the United States of America,

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