SEAS announces new nanotech master's degree

The School of Engineering and Applied Science has developed a new master’s degree program in nanotechnology that will combine classes from Engineering, Wharton and the School of Arts and Sciences.

The new degree, which is currently accepting applications until June 1, will open doors for students interested in pursuing nanotechnology. The $1.5 trillion industry generates two million new jobs per year, according to a SEAS press release.

In order to eventually contribute to the workforce, nanotech students will be required to take courses in many different areas, including commercialization, biology and engineering entrepreneurship, said Dawn Bonnell, the program director.

The nanotech master’s program is accessible to people from a variety of backgrounds such as biology, geology and business, Bonnell said.

The program is unique because it will be highly individualized. Advisors will help students choose among a group of electives and select courses that will further the student’s academic goals, Bonnell said.

Some students will come to this program because they want a change from specializing in other areas to engineering, and others will come because they want to focus on an area of nanotech, Bonnell explained.

Since nanotechnology can be applied to medicine and environmental studies, it is significant that the specialized programs can be constructed around these topics, he added.

“One of the problems when you get an undergraduate degree in engineering is that a bachelor’s degree isn’t very valuable,” said Robin Marcenac, a Wharton and Engineering junior and marketing director and web administrator of the Penn Nanotech Society.

Since nanotech is becoming more popular, having a master’s degree would give any student an advantage in the field, Marcenac added.

The Nanotech Society has done some marketing to get the word out about the program, he explained. A lot of the publicity the program is garnering can be attributed to the building of a new nanotech hub on campus — the Krishna P. Singh Center for Nanotechnology — Marcenac explained.

For students interested in nanotechnology, this program will allow them to combine interests from across the Engineering School and enjoy the hybrid classes, said Mike DeLiso, Engineering senior, president of the Nanotech Society and submatriculant in the nanotech master’s program.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.