If mastering the basics of five scientific disciplines within a four-year program sounds like trouble, you can thank your lucky stars if you aren’t studying nano-engineering. It’s not easy, but to be among the best nanotechnology researchers today, speaking many scientific languages is essential.
Coming from as far as Kingston and New Jersey, students gathered for the all-day Undergraduate Nanotechnology Conference on Saturday at the MaRS centre. As U of T’s first undergrad nanotech conference, the event exposed students to the multi-disciplinary research world of nano-science through a series of lectures, workshops, and poster presentations.
“There’s been this explosion in the exploration of nanometre-scale structures in terms of both the science of nanometre-scale structures and the applications of those structures, and that’s what’s making things exciting,” said Dr. Don Eigler, a prominent physicist at the IBM Almaden Research Center who gave a lecture at the conference. At IBM, Eigler researches the fundamental science behind computing information at the nano scale.
The physical properties of particles change when studied at the nano scale. For instance, copper normally appears opaque, but is transparent at the nano scale.
“If you ask me, the most exciting work has always been done at the intersection between different research fields. But that requires at least some knowledge of everything going on around you and trying to integrate those ideas all together,” said Ilia Auerbach-Ziogas, director of the Undergraduate Nanotech Conference and a fourth-year U of T undergrad in the nano-engineering option of engineering science.
According to Auerbach-Ziogas, most undergraduates in nano-science move on to graduate school to conduct further research, and not all undergrads are prepared for it.
“You look at the nano-fields and you want to teach it all at the same time, and you can’t because that doesn’t make for any cohesive program. What you need is a completely custom curriculum. I don’t know of any school that’s invested in that,” said Auerbach-Ziogas. For him, nanotechnology is a “meaningless umbrella term” that complicates the study of nano-science with its branches in many disciplines.
At the same time, governments around the world have committed funding to nano-science in order to build a base of expertise. According to Eigler, Canada has been investing in the National Institute for Nanotechnology in Alberta, and distributing funds nation wide. But some scientists think Canada is not doing enough to support its future nano-scientists.
“The problem is that Canada is lagging behind the world in its investment into the nano-sciences and other critical areas of science and technology. While we have some of the best scientists in the world, they are often limited by access to the right kind of facilities,” said Dr. Danial Wayner, director-general at the National Research Council’s Steacie Institute for Molecular Sciences.
“[Nanoengineering] won’t ever be a field where you’re going to leave an undergraduate education and go into industry directly and do applied research,” said Auerbach-Ziogas. “The earlier you have exposure to research, even if you don’t understand it at first, the better off you are in the long run. Because it’s all about knowing what’s out there and what your options will be.”
