Engineering School aims to stir interest in nanotech

Unbreakable golf balls, paper-thin plasma TV screens and video-stream cell phones have one thing in common -- they are all made possible by nanotechnology.

Penn celebrated this quickly expanding branch of engineering yesterday with poster displays, Philadelphia pretzels and informative PowerPoint slide shows during Nanotechnology Day, held in the Towne Building.

Nanotech -- the study of the behavior of molecules on a shorter-length scale -- is being applied in everything from security to clothing design to medicine, and Penn students got an introduction to the field at yesterday's fair.

"These are all posters that are some general aspects of nanotechnology and how it impacts your life today and how it might impact your life in the future," Materials Science Professor Dawn Bonnell said.

In addition to the colorful, descriptive posters, a large-screen slide show featured recent New York Times articles about nanotech and an explanation of how the science can be used to depict a photograph of Engineering Dean Eduardo Glandt eight times around the diameter of a single strand of hair.

"There are people who didn't know what it was all about" before today, said Benjamin North, a biochemistry and biophysics graduate student who is working on nanotech research through Penn's Medical School.

North added that the fair was designed as an outreach program for undergraduates and the public.

But, while yesterday may have been the official day to celebrate nanotechnology, Penn students and faculty are constantly delving deeper into the field.

"Penn is a leader in all of the different areas that are going to drive [the nanotechnology] revolution," Bonnell said.

Associate Professor of Materials Science Karen Winey added that nanotechnology has become an increasingly important branch of engineering because scientists and the general public have developed new ways to think about problems.

"We used to want to build things bigger and faster," she said. "Now we just want to build them smaller."

Sixteen graduate students are engaged in nanotech research through Penn's 2-year-old Center for Science and Engineering of Nanoscale Systems.

Also, investment in nanotech is part of University President Judith Rodin's five-year strategic plan, according to Bonnell, who is the center's director.

While Penn researchers have been probing the world of the small-scale for over 10 years, undergraduates are just getting their feet wet in the field this year.

Last month, the Engineering School announced a new nanotechnology minor, which will include two required courses and four related electives.

Along with the minor, a new undergraduate course, "Introduction to Nanotechnology," will be offered for the first time this spring, with a focus on the applications of nanotech, rather than all of the physics behind it.

"You're going to get a sense of the potential of the technology," said Winey, who will be teaching the course. "This stuff is really cool, and it's going to make you want to be an engineer and make you want to be at the forefront of technology."

Just as undergraduates begin to study nanotech in the classroom, a student group is being formed to foster extracurricular interest in the growing field.

Last month, undergraduates and graduate students from across the University founded the Penn Nanotechnology Professional Group.

"It's a way for students to learn beyond the classroom," said chemical engineering graduate student and PNPG President Richard Law. "We want to educate students on the cutting-edge nanotechnology research that goes on at Penn."

And, according to the group's vice president, Sunava Dutta, undergraduates are responding enthusiastically.

"A lot of undergraduates have come to me regarding research positions, executive positions and general interest in the sessions that we'll be holding every month," the Engineering junior said. "Because it's a new field, there's a lot of scope. That's why we're getting a lot of interest."

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