Tag Archives: NanoProfessor

nano tech 2013 in Tokyo

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I usually mention International Nanotechnology Exhibition and Conference held in Tokyo as it is one of the larger nanotechnology shows in the world. Last year, over they recorded over 45,000 visits, 649 exhibitors, and 802 booths during the three day show which was held Feb. 14 – 17, 2012 according to the report on 2012 show.

This year’s nano tech 2013 will run from Jan. 30 – Feb. 2, 2013 and thanks to the folks at NanoInk for reminding me of the show in their Jan. 10,2013 news release,

NanoInk, Inc.® is pleased to announce that its NanoFabrication Systems and NanoProfessor® Divisions will be exhibiting and making presentations at the 12th International Nanotechnology Exhibition and Conference, from Wednesday, January 30 through Friday, February 1 in Tokyo, Japan. The conference will be held at the East Exhibition Hall 4, 5, 6 & Conference Tower at Tokyo Big Sight. NanoInk’s NanoFabrication Systems and NanoProfessor Divisions will be at booth number 5F-15. Technical staff will be available to provide demonstrations of the NLP 2000 System, and answer questions about NanoInk’s Dip Pen Nanolithography® (DPN®) technology, applications, and products for both research and education.

On Friday, February 1, at 11:30, Dean Hart, chief commercial officer for NanoInk, will be making a presentation in the Main Theater (East Hall 5) titled, “Meeting the Nanotech Workforce Needs Through Hands-On Education.” Following that, Saju Nettikadan, applications director for NanoInk, will be making a presentation at 13:00 in the same location titled, “New Advances in Applications Using Dip-Pen Nanolithography.”

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The NLP 2000 is also the cornerstone of NanoInk’s NanoProfessor Division, which is the global leader in handson undergraduate nanotechnology education. In just over 24 months, the NanoProfessor Nanoscience Education Program has been chosen to serve as the foundation for hands-on undergraduate nanotechnology education by over 20 institutions in five countries. It alternates between classroom lectures and engaging, handson nanoscale lab work. The NanoProfessor curriculum includes a textbook authored by leading nanotechnology experts, covering the topics of Nanotechnology Instrumentation, Imaging and Nanofabrication Techniques, Nanophysics, Nanochemistry, Nanobiology, and Perspectives on Environmental, Health, and Safety within Nanotechnology. In conducting the hands-on lab experiments, students work with state-of-the-art, nano-centric instrumentation including NanoInk’s NLP 2000 Desktop NanoFabrication System.

You can read the full news release here.  I did previously note that NanoInk’s NanoProfessor Nanoscience Education Program had come to the University of Calgary (Alberta, Canada)  in an April 12, 2011 posting.

NanoProfessor education programme comes to the University of Calgary

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In what appears to be a Canadian first, the University of Calgary has purchased a nanotechnology curriculum, NanoProfessor, from a company that also sells nanofabrication products, NanoInk. From the April 11, 2011 news item on Nanowerk,

NanoProfessor™, a division of NanoInk, Inc.® focused on nanotechnology education, announced today that the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada is the first school in Canada to implement the NanoProfessor Nanoscience Education Program. The University of Calgary’s Nanoscience program aims to provide participants with working knowledge of nanotechnology and valuable exposure to cutting-edge instrumentation used to fabricate nanomaterials. The NanoProfessor Program helps the University of Calgary meet this objective by providing instrumentation, curriculum, and hands-on labs to expand students’ understanding, skills, and real-world experience needed to succeed in the growing nanotechnology industry.

“We are proud to be the first school in Canada to implement the cutting-edge NanoProfessor Nanoscience Education Program. We are committed to providing our students with a meaningful education based on the principle of learning science by doing science,” said David Cramb, Director of the Nanoscience program at the University of Calgary. “Not only does the NanoProfessor Program enhance our ability to provide students with a practical learning experience, but NanoInk’s NLP 2000 Desktop Nanofabrication System allows us to expand our research capability through the versatility of Dip Pen Nanolithography® (DPN®).”

This reminds me of some of the product placement on television programmes but here the product placement is part of the curriculum. As I recall, Apple pioneered this technology incursion into schools. The idea being that if you give (or sell computers for a good price to schools) so children learn using your equipment they are more likely to purchase it as they look to own it for themselves.

Here’s a bit more about NanoProfessor,

NanoProfessor is an exciting and comprehensive Nanoscience Education Program combining cutting-edge desktop nanofabrication instruments with a stimulating curriculum. Students will be immersed into the rapidly growing field of nanotechnology through real hands-on experience in building custom-engineered nanoscale structures. With an incredible range of new applications from building solar cells to fighting cancer cells, nanotechnology is the future of science and engineering education.

And for more about NanoInk, you can go here.

By the way, I have an interview with David Cramb in my March 8, 2010 posting.

Nano education in Colombia, in Russia and in Iran

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In the last month there have been three nano education announcements. Dexter Johnson at Nanoclast featured a project with NanoProfessor (a division of NanoInk)  in Colombia. From Dexter’s May 26, 2010 post,

According to Tom Levesque, General Manager of NanoInk in the Americas, he visited a school in Bogota, Colombia where about 350 teenagers in conjunction with the NanoProfessor curriculum work with atomic force microscopes [AFM] and end up with better training than many receive at private universities in the country.

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While making available an AFM for 350 kids seems almost as incredible as the idea that these kids have a better education than those at the best private schools, one has to wonder why this program has taken off in foreign countries and has not fared as well in the United States.

I too find the idea of an AFM for 350 kids extraordinary and his point about the initiative (or something else like it) not being widely adopted in the US, as I understand it, holds true for Canada.

Meanwhile, the Russians held an international conference on nanoeducation, May 18 – 20, 2010. From the news item on Nanowerk,

On May 18-20th the nanotechnology equipment manufacturer in Russia NT-MDT Co. and one of the main Russian scientific nanocenters the Kurchatov Institute held an international conference “Nanoeducation: the main approaches and perspectives”. The meeting had a unique format – the first educational international conference with trainings on working with nanoeducational equipment for teachers. 185 participants took part in the event, including representatives from Russia, the USA, Europe and CIS. The conference has become an essential part of Russian Government Federal Program.

The main goal of the conference was to overcome the gap between impetuous development of the modern nanoscience and the conservative system of education, especially in schools, where the teachers suffer serious problems in working with new equipment.

I find their direct approach to describing some of the issues quite refreshing. The topics covered were,

… controversial areas as contemporary approaches to nanoeducation, educational process organizing and leading, the newest educational technologies, international university cooperation all over the world concerning personnel trainings for teachers and professors and etc. The discussion has touched all the educational levels at schools as well as in universities.

In Iran, they’re launching a student competition (from the Fars News Agency item),

Iran’s Nanoclub (a club for students that works under the supervision of Iran Nanotechnology Initiative Council) plans to hold the first stage of Nanotechnology Olympiad for Students in a number of provincial capitals on June 25.

All students familiar with nanotechnology will compete scientifically in two stages in this scientific competition entitled ‘Nanotechnology Olympiad for Students’ throughout the country. The Olympiad will be held in two stages on June 25 and August 9, 2010.

The test for the first stage will be held in 2010-2011 educational year in 10 capitals of Iranian provinces that are more active in the field of nanotechnology and enjoy more students familiar with nanotechnology, according to statistics.

The Promotion and Public Education Workgroup of Iran Nanotechnology Initiative Council will give three 1000-dollar awards to the top three winners of the first Nanotechnology Olympiad for Students.

Very exciting news and if you know of any comparable programmes for children in Canada, please do let me know.