Multidisciplinary Undergraduate Nano-Science, Engineering and Technology Course

Abstract

Using basic fundamentals, engineering and science encompass continuously evolving technologies. In response to these changes and emerging opportunities, engineering and science curricula evolve revisiting program objectives, goals and outcomes. By integrating various disciplines and tools, nanotechnology-centered engineering and science provides a multidisciplinary approach to these needed curricula changes needed to meet societal challenges and industry needs. Extensive advances in biotechnology, electronics, energy sources, information technology and nanosystems, have brought new challenges to academia. As a result, many engineering and science schools have revised their curricula to offer relevant courses. At the RIT, a cross-listed (Electrical Engineering and Physics) multidisciplinary sophomore-level Nano-Science, Engineering and Technology (NanoSET) course has been developed and offered with support from the National Science Foundation. This course is offered as a restricted science elective within the Electrical Engineering curriculum, while students from various science and engineering departments can take the course as a science or free elective. This paper reports the course goals, objectives, emphasis, coverage, accomplishments, dissemination and assessment. Strategies for interactive team-teaching, material delivery and coverage are reported. We articulate our innovative practice and strategies for teaching nanotechnology inside and outside of the classroom through lectures, workshops and laboratories. We emphasize the need for large-scale coherent efforts in defining and developing nanotechnology at the college, institutional and multi-institutional levels. To pursue the nanotechnology-centered developments and educational innovations, a number of obstacles and impediments should need to be overcome, and serious long-term commitments are needed.