{"id":21410,"date":"2017-09-18T09:53:06","date_gmt":"2017-09-18T13:53:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/college.unc.edu\/?p=21410"},"modified":"2024-07-02T16:36:53","modified_gmt":"2024-07-02T16:36:53","slug":"nano-course","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/?p=21410","title":{"rendered":"New free online course focuses on making and examining materials on the molecular scale"},"content":{"rendered":"
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“Nanotechnology: A Maker\u2019s Course” is being taught by faculty from Duke University, UNC-Chapel Hill and NC State.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Engineers from across the Research Triangle are planting large ambitions for very small ideas in the minds of makers worldwide.<\/p>\n

Nanotechnology: A Maker\u2019s Course<\/em><\/a> is a new free series of classes being offered through Coursera, a platform where anyone, anywhere can learn from the world\u2019s top universities and education providers.<\/p>\n

Taught by faculty from Duke University, UNC-Chapel Hill and NC State, the new online course opens a wealth of opportunities for people to learn about and use machinery involved in making high-tech products and studying materials on a molecular scale.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to ignite the imagination of people across the world and make nanotechnology accessible to everyone,\u201d said Nan Jokerst<\/a>, the J. A. Jones Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Duke and lead instructor for the course. \u201cNot only do we show what our instruments and tools can do, we provide free access for people to come and actually use them. There\u2019s no other online course like it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nanotechnology: A Maker\u2019s Course<\/em> features a series of six-to-eight-minute videos describing different instruments and what they do, followed by videos of graduate students or faculty demonstrating how to use them.<\/p>\n

The tools generally focus on two areas of nanotechnology \u2014 characterization and fabrication. Characterization deals with measuring and analyzing microscopic features, like using a scanning electron microscope to reveal the tiny details of an ant\u2019s head. Fabrication focuses on actually making things, like patterning atoms and molecules into the minute features of integrated circuits.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are often intimidated by the word nanotechnology, and this course was designed to make nanotechnology accessible to the public,\u201d said Carrie Donley, director of the Chapel Hill Analytical and Nanofabrication Laboratory (CHANL) <\/a>in UNC’s College of Arts & Sciences. \u201cWe’re doing this by describing the tools used to fabricate and characterize nanoscale materials. We hope that this course will help educate the public about nanotechnology, convince a few students to take up careers in nanoscience, and inspire people to become \u2018Nano Makers\u2019 and come use our facility for themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to Donley, UNC’s James Cahoon, associate professor of chemistry, is also an instructor of the course.<\/p>\n

The videos highlight sophisticated technology available at Duke Engineering\u2019s Shared Measurement Instrumentation Facility (SMiF) <\/a>\u2014 photolithography, electron microscopy and Micro-Computed Tomography (MicroCT) scanning, which can produce complete 3-D internal and external views of solid objects, to name a few. They also feature instruments from UNC’s CHANL and NC State\u2019s Analytical Instrumentation Facility and Nanofabrication Facility, among others.<\/p>\n

The skills demonstrated are generally applicable in a wide range of industries, such as fabrics, cosmetics, composites, automotive fuel cells and batteries, water filtration, pharmaceuticals and computer fabrication.<\/p>\n

\"\"
“People are often intimidated by the word nanotechnology, and this course was designed to make nanotechnology accessible to the public,” said Carrie Donley, director of UNC’s CHANL.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThese facilities are extremely high-tech, but everyone can use them, from high-school students to local businesses,\u201d said Jokerst, who is the executive director of SMIF. \u201cThe videos focus on demonstrations and plain-English explanations and feature a widely diverse set of demonstrators so everyone can visualize themselves as a NanoMaker. Our goal is to make all people, regardless of their background, aware of these opportunities and what they\u2019re capable of.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Coursera series is supported by the Research Triangle Nanotechnology Network (RTNN) \u2014 a National Science Foundation-supported collaboration<\/a> among Duke, UNC and NC State focused on providing public access to university facilities with leading-edge fabrication and characterization tools, instrumentation and expertise within all disciplines of nanoscale science, engineering and technology. Jacob Jones, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering Principal Investigator of the RTNN at NC State adds, \u201cThe RTNN has incredible resources and this course is one of the most impactful ways we aim to bring these resources to researchers across the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

For people able to visit the Research Triangle, the RTNN offers training and use of the tools and machines featured in the videos. For free use, those interested can submit one-page proposals and be awarded training and facility usage time to complete their projects. This offers small businesses the chance to create a prototype or local researchers to build a case for a larger grant proposal. For those nowhere near North Carolina, the instruments can be accessed with RTNN Staff support remotely via the internet.<\/p>\n

The RTNN also has a local outreach arm, where members of the group take a scanning electron microscope out to local schools to raise interest and awareness. Handouts targeted for middle school and high school classrooms provide in-class activities with hands-on activities at RTNN facilities during a field trip. Summer camps and programs are also available for students who can make the trip.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe really wanted to answer the question of, \u2018How can you become a nanotechnology Maker?\u2019\u201d said Jokerst. \u201cOur goal is to build our user base. As Sir Francis Bacon famously said, \u2018Knowledge is power,\u2019 and we want more people to have the knowledge of what\u2019s possible through our programs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Story by Ken Kingery, Duke University’s Pratt School of Engineering<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nanotechnology: A Maker\u2019s Course” is a new free series of classes being offered online through Coursera and taught by faculty from Duke University, UNC-Chapel Hill and NC State. The course focuses on machinery involved in making high-tech products and studying materials on a molecular 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