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Nanotechnology is not just a new buzzword but it is now reaching "critical mass" for the next "Industrial Revolution." On a foundation of electronics and instrumentation, students take a "Fantastic Voyage" to the center of molecular circuits where science and technology converge at the nanometer level. Engineering Technology graduates with nano scientific instrumentation skills are destined to be the most sought after cutting-edge technologists.

Nanotechnology at present focuses on research and development in the manipulation of matter at the atomic and molecular levels. This provides an unprecedented ability to create building blocks for advanced products such as new classes of devices as small as molecules and machines as small as human cells. The future holds continued improvement in electronics for information technology; higher-performance, lower-maintenance materials for manufacturing, defense, transportation, space, and environmental applications; accelerated, biotechnical applications in medicine, health care, and agriculture; and extending the limits of sustainable development.

• Scientific Method and General Laboratory Metrology
• Cross-Discipline Integration & Management of Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Electronics
• Enabling Technologies (Probe Microscopy, Precision Positioning, High Vacuum, Deposition, Lithography)
• Characterization and Simulation of Nano Scale Structures, Devices, and Systems
• Fabrication and Manufacturing Processes to Produce Bulk Materials and Products
• Nano Applications in Medicine & Health, Materials & Manufacturing, Environment, Energy, Military
• Socio-Technical Impacts (Economic Disruption, Industrial Revolution, Health & Ethics, National Security)

The convergence of nanotechnology with information technology, modern biology and social sciences will reinvigorate discoveries and innovation in almost all areas of the economy.

This degree option complements the current A.A.S. in Engineering Technologies degree. The current Industrial Instrumentation and Automation program utilizes 'full size' sensors to detect pressure, temperature, light, sound, etc. for monitoring and controlling process; while the Nano Scientific Instrumentation program explores how nanoscale sensors and switches have uses far beyond what might be expected from typical/traditional devices. Instead of sensing pressure, temperature, electrical current or sound, nanosensors are much more useful for smart detection and adaptation on the atomic or molecular level. This evolving technology is invaluable for advanced materials, information technologies, semiconductors, sustainable energy, and targeted medical treatments such as cancer.

Nanotechnology is a broad term identifying materials and systems where the components and structures exhibit novel and significantly improved physical, chemical, electrical, and biological properties, phenomena, and processes because of their small nanoscale size. Structural features in the range of 1 to 100 nanometers (10^-9 to 10^-7 meter) determine important changes to the behavior of isolated molecules or of bulk materials.

For comparison, a human hair is about 100,000 nm in diameter, while a smoke particle is about 1,000 nm in diameter. The smallest nanoparticles, only a few nanometers in diameter, contain only a few thousand atoms. These particles, called quantum dots, can possess properties that are entirely different from their parent materials.

The National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) calls something "nanotechnology" only if it involves all three of the following:

• Research and technology development at the atomic, molecular or macromolecular levels, in the length scale of approximately 1 - 100 nanometer range.
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• Creating and using structures, devices and systems that have novel properties and functions because of their small and/or intermediate size.
• Ability to control or manipulate on the atomic scale.

• Top-Down Technology Approach
• Bottom-Up Science Approach
• Scanning Probe Microscopes
• Electron Microscopy
• Molecular Structure & Interactions
• Nanodevice Design
• Photo-Lithography & Nanoscale Printing
• Dip-Pen Lithography
• Vapor & Electro-Deposition
• High Vacuum Systems
• Plasma Techniques
• Combustion Process
• Cavitation Process
• Nano Positioning
• Clean-Room Protocol
• Bio-Photonics
• Thermographics
• Spectrophotometry
• Nano Applications
• Nano Socio-Technical Impact & Ethics

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• Associate in Applied Science - Nano Scientific Instrumentation Program Plan of Study