Reading assignments and lectures

Try to read or scan some of the following articles week by week. Right-click (PC) to download PPTs.

Lesson 1: History of Nanotechnology

Lesson 2: Fundamentals of Nanoscience

Lesson 3: Crystallography and Material Structure

Lesson 4: Traditional Materials

  • Polymers and plastics
  • Metals and alloys
  • Ceramics and glasses
  • Composite materials
  • Nanoparticles
  • Biomolecules

Lesson 5: Nanostructures

  • Aerogel
  • Biomolecules
  • Carbon structures
  • Dendrimers
  • Hydrogels
  • Nanoparticles
  • Nanowires
  • Quantum dots
  • Self Assembled Monolayers (SAM)
  • Thin films

Lesson 6: Size dependent properties

  • Surface area to volume
  • Number of atoms in a particle

Lesson 7: Nanocarbon

  • Size dependent properties - see course website links, and Nanotechnology for Dummies
  • Lecture 5 (PPT) - NanoCarbon

Lesson 8: Silicon fabrication

Nanofabrication facilities

Semiconductors and MEMS

Lesson 9: Surfaces and Thin films

Lesson 10: Materials Characterization and Analysis

Lesson 11: Midterm and Guest Lectures

  • Take home midterm
  • Lectures (TBD)

Lesson 12: Commercialization of Nanotechnology

  • Semiconductors and electronics
  • Automotive
  • Aerospace
  • Biomedical devices
  • Nanomedicine
  • Clean energy technology
  • Consumer packaged goods
  • Advanced materials

Lesson 13: Bionano and Nanobiotechnology

Lesson 14 - Careers in Nanotechnology

  • Biomedical
  • IEEE
  • NANO A-Z

Lesson 15: Clean Energy Technology

  • Global energy use
  • Fossil fuels and the carbon cycle
  • Clean energy technology
  • Photovoltaics
  • Batteries and fuel cells
  • Lecture (PPT) - Cleantech

Lesson 16 - Advanced topics in NANO

Lesson 17 - Project three presentations

  • Group presentation
  • Final paper
  • Research paper review
  • Vocabulary and concepts
  • Course highlights and takeaways

Final exam and vocabulary list

General Reading

Drexler, K. Eric, “Engines of Creation: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology”; 1987. Doubleday; New York, NY: 298 pp. (11.00 pb) (PDF) - Right Click to Download.

Drexler, K. Eric and Peterson, Chris, “Unbounding the Future: The Nanotechnology Revolution”; 1991. William and Morrow Company Inc.; New York, NY: 304 pp. (10.00 pb)

Ball, Phillip, “Designing the Molecular World: Chemistry at the Frontier”; 1994. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ: 376 pp. (63.00 hc) [Hamilton Books 13.00/(5-15)]; [21 (5-10)]

Crandall, B. C. and Lewis, James (Eds.), “Nanotechnology: Research and Perspectives”; 1992. MIT Press; Boston, MA: 381 pp. (55.00 hc) [49.00 (3-7)]

"NANO - the essentials: Understanding Nanoscience and Nanotechnology


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