Seen in the Press
Piquing interest within nanoseconds
Patrice Relerford, Star Tribune June 23, 2005
They worked with microscopes worth millions to view particles smaller than a hair, looked over the shoulders of real scientists, and wore white "bunny suits" like those in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
Although they were impressed by the high-tech equipment, none of the dozen or so teens who toured two labs at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities campus was afraid of the hype about nanoscience. They never questioned the fact that scientists study or engineer products they can't see.
Why would they? They've grown up with products influenced by nanoscience. And they've found their way to one of only two technical colleges in the United States to offer a formal nanoscience technology program.
They've come because of a camp, in its second year, at Dakota County Technical College in Rosemount. The camp is funded by a $900,000 grant from the National Science Foundation in partnership with the University of Minnesota.
So, you're wondering, what is nanoscience?
"It's building at a level that's so small light won't even reflect off of it," Brett Wingad, 18, of Eagan said. "They even use [nanoscience] to improve products we already have."
Amber Strain, 20, of Hastings, offered an example, saying that anyone who has owned a pair of stain-resistant khakis has encountered nanoscience.
Those fabrics are often made with tiny particles that deflect liquid and dirt.
The teens at the camp learned all this stuff after only two days, which were spent in classes in Rosemount. Their tour of the University's Nanofabrication Center and Characterization Facility on Wednesday allowed the students to "see" the tiny particles they had learned so much about during class. It's the highlight of the camp.
Strain was impressed by their tour of the temperature-controlled clean room (complete with "bunny suits") where they saw CD-sized discs with chips etched on them. "I was amazed by how tiny those chips were."
John Nelson, a university research associate, showed students how the field emissions scanning electron miscrope can magnify even the smallest particles, like those that make up the wing of a bee.
"There's a lot of talk about nanoscience now," he said, "but nature has always done things from the atom up."
Deb Newberry directs the nanoscience technology program at Dakota County Technical College. At lunch she mused about how much everyone -- but especially young people -- owe to nanoscience, even though most don't realize it.
"Just think of all of the trials that people who make those devices go through so you can have your Gameboy," Newberry said.
Although she doesn't expect every teen who goes through the camp to pursue a career in nanoscience, she knows programs like this one are the way to make students more aware of the emerging field. That's why she and the university staff decided to go after a grant to launch the camp.
"We were all people who had a common goal," Newberry said. "We wanted to get nanoscience out there to more students."
They might just be on the right track.
Although Wingad does not plan to major in nanoscience this fall, he said he plans to make sure it is a part of his education and possibly even his career.
It was obvious that he saw big things ahead for the small particles at both labs. His eyes brightened as he talked about the companies developing nanotechnology that allows robots with tiny components to maneuver through wreckage and sense breathing to locate people trapped in buildings.
"Instead of digging up an entire building, they'll be able to find people right away," Wingad said.