In 1960, Richard Feynman asked the question, “What would happen if we could arrange atoms one by one the way we want them?” Today, the emerging fields of nanoscience and nanotechnology are enabling control of the material world at the scale of atoms and molecules. Nanotechnology is inherently interdisciplinary and allows for new approaches to education through interdisciplinary connections between chemistry, physics, biology and materials science. This broad interdisciplinarity contributes much to the novelty of this new field, and will likely cause widespread change in the way science is pursued in the 21st century. These aspects of nanoscale science have the potential to generate strong interest among students. Silicon chips, gigabyte disk drives, and light emitting diodes - devices that are based on atomically engineered materials - are all around us. These everyday wonders that we depend on would not be possible without the ability to "see" and manipulate materials at the most basic level, the individual atom.This course will introduce students to many aspects of nanoscience and nanotechnology.

Last updated March, 2005

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