Nanotechnology? Is this a huge field and growing, the future?

Question

I am really fascinated by this kind of stuff, Nanotechnology, but I am not sure if I will be able to find a job about this in Canada, especially in the Southwestern Ontario area, Kitchener/Waterloo/Cambridge/Guelph/Toronto, and what would be on the best universities to go to for this field?

Answer 1

Nanotechnology is a huge field that is just starting to get its start. Nano is a tiny measurement and machine is a mechanical tool or a biological organism that is used as a tool; this is the foundation of nanotechnology, and the two directions in which the field will diverge—medical and robotic.

- Medical will rely primarily on virus and retro-viruses used to adapt a life form by introduction of genetic changes. For now this is where the most work has been done. The most common test of the technique is to take a phosphorous gene that makes a creature glow is inserted in another creature. It is done as a proof of concept; “see my technique works.” But it has been done to do things like introduce spider silk to goat’s milk to provide wholesale production of the strongest natural fiber known to man.

- Robotic will cover both the machines designed and the material science that those robots can use. Examples are carbon nanofibers that can be used to create superior materials that are thinner, lighter and stronger than any existing material. This is how some companies plan on reaching space, they take and existing rocket, which all aren’t strong enough, and make the hull and parts lighter and stronger so that more can be carried aloft. This will show up in everything from NASA’s new designs for the Orion and Ares programs to Bigelow’s attempts to build orbital hotels.

Gene therapy is all an application of nanotechnology where an entire world of possibilities exists by taking genes from some animals and putting them into others, or by customizing genes and even determining which genes are to be expressed. If you want a baby with blue eyes, dark skin, and a super immune system then you can use gene therapy to insert the genes you want to become dominate. This technology is too immature to apply to humanity yet, but it is on the horizon and when it gets there it will raise a new field of law—genetic control. When the human genome project was finished some companies went out and actually patented parts of the human genome; genes that are present in you and me—now days it is harder to patent genes like this, but when the field was new anything could be done. The problem is that if you want a test to see if you have a genetic condition then you can do it an individual basis, but you can’t test for all the problems because some of the patents get in the way. Some companies own those patents and others can’t infringe on them; which means they can’t create a test for that medical condition. Some of these patented genes are for parts on the human genome that we aren’t even sure relate to what condition or what predisposition they indicate, which means that research in this area has been crushed.

The robotic field is not so well developed, but it is very promising. Imagine tiny machines that can be injected into the bloodstream to scrub off the plaque inside the artery walls that have accumulated over a lifetime. You can avoid the need for bypass operations and you can prevent heart attacks and brain strokes. This simple maintenance operation could save thousands of people ever year from painful operations, life threatening circumstances, and risks like paralysis and death. Now if you can do that then you can repair internal damage. Surgeons have just started with programs like this where they use robots to perform micro incisions and conduct an operation through a tiny tear. Imagine removing a tumor the size of a baseball from the underside of the brain only through a small incision in the nose. This has been done and the technique has been adapted to do things like breast implants through the navel, thus leaving no scar.

Where to go to get your degree depends on what you want to do and what you want to specialize in. It also greatly depends on where in the world you want to live and go to school. Start with this Google search: http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4WZPA_enUS224US224&q=college%3ananotechnology

Connecticut College: http://nanotechwire.com/company.asp?cid=903
“Nanotechnology lecture's focus on flat-panel TV application Nov. 30
Connecticut College nanotechnology lecture Nov. 30 to focus on application for flat-panel TVs.:

If you want more information then got to the Nanotechnology Directory: http://www.nanowerk.com/nanotechnology/research/nanotechnology_links.php?gclid=CP_Tjpef9I8CFQg4gQod8VF2Hw
“The commercial section of the directory includes only business-to-business links; nanotechnology-enabled consumer products will soon be everywhere, from food to clothing to cars, and we feel that compiling such a directory doesn't make sense. Oh, and we also didn't include companies that have "nano" in their name but not in their products.”(659 schools) They least both Research & Community; which where you will go to school and Commercial; companies that are using nanotechnology (1350).

You need to go where the fields intersect like Penn State: http://www.mri.psu.edu/ematerials/v07i04/Joint%20Venture.asp
“The progress of nanotechnology from university laboratory to the manufacturing floor has taken another step forward with an agreement to form a new development venture between Keystone Nano, a State College nanotechnology development company, and Nalco Company, a multibillion-dollar firm specializing in water treatment and process improvement services based in Napier, Illinois. “

Then there is the equipment that you will need to learn how to use. You can not only learn how to use it, what fields to use it in, but how to even make it; and all those are included in the field of nanotechnology: http://www.jobinyvon.com/SiteResources/Data/Templates/1divisional.asp?DocID=1902&v1ID=&lang=1&gclid=CIGo0Jeg9I8CFTgrOAodFU88Lw
“HORIBA Jobin Yvon is one of the world's largest manufacturers of spectroscopic systems and metrology products. We provide complete solutions for nano-materials analysis, characterization and nanotech research. Nano researchers can now exploit the key tools of Raman, Fluorescence and Ellipsometry to probe the composition, chirality, band gap and thickness of the new generation of functional nanomaterials. Whether you're working with single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNT), quantum dots, nanoparticles, nanocrystals, or bio-nano materials there is a Raman, Fluorescence or Ellipsometry system to take your nanotechnology research to a new level.”

You could also check out the FEI Company: http://www.fei.com/?source=google&cmp=corp&ag=gen&gclid=CNyJjuKh9I8CFQMpgAodjEjbEw
Who create a scanning Electron Microscope; which would the be screwdriver and wrench of nanotechnology.

For Southwestern Ontario the best place to start is with this Google search: http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4WZPA_enUS224US224&q=Southwestern+Ontario+%3ananotechnology and places like the University of Waterloo: http://www.cecs.uwaterloo.ca/about/south.php
Or the National Institute for Nanotechnology in Alberta: http://www.uofaweb.ualberta.ca/nint/nav02.cfm?nav02=27608&nav01=12234
Or maybe you want to check out the Ministry of Research and Innovation in Ontario: http://www.mri.gov.on.ca/english/news/ResearchAwards110706_bd4.asp

At the University of Western Ontario: http://communications.uwo.ca/western_news/story.html?listing_id=13516
“Petersen Wins Nanotechnology Post: Nils Petersen will soon go from being Vice-President of one of Canada's largest universities to playing a leading role in the world of the extremely small.

Petersen, Vice-President (Research) at The University of Western Ontario since 2002, has been appointed Director General of Canada's flagship nanotechnology research institute, the National Institute for Nanotechnology (NINT) in Edmonton, Alberta. Starting in November 2004, he will be in charge of the National Research Council (NRC) institute that conducts research at the nano or molecular scale.”

The decision you first need to make is if you want to go biological with retro viruses or if you want to go robotic and material. Your question is just too big for me to say anymore.

Answer 2

Skip nanotechnology. The field is only going to get smaller.

{Tongue now removed from cheek!}

Find a field that you are interested in...chip design, medical devices, electronics, mechanics, etc., and learn all you can about that area. You'll likely find that nano technologies will be "enablers" and tools of those fields.

If you are interested in medicine, you could focus on the use of small devices that can be put into the bloodstream to attack infections or cancer cells. That would be a great way to leverage you facination with nanotechnology and put it to work.

If you're interested in textiles, nanotechnology is in play to create dirt and stain resistant clothing.

There are many applications of the technology, you should be able to find arkets for your skills in any region that has product development or hi-tech manufacturing jobs.

For universities: We'll see you at MIT in a couple years. They'll be waiting for you.