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 On Friday, December 7, 15 Mohonasen High School students, and teachers Ms. Cristaldi, Mr. Clayton, and Mr. Reluzco, attended NanoCareer Day hosted by the College of NanoScale Science and Engineering in Albany. Students were introduced to the relatively new science of nanotechnology and its career opportunities.
Nanoscale science is the study of materials on a very small scale, often as small as a nanometer, or one-billionth of a meter. To put this into perspective, a human hair would be 100,000 nanometers across. At this small scale, materials are often observed to behave very differently than expected. Nanotechnology applies this knowledge to fields such as health care, energy, and telecommunications. The NanoCollege is a state-of-the-art facility devoted to research and development of leading edge applications, techniques, and machinery.
Following a brief introduction to Nanoscience, students were shown how to gown up in a “bunny suit” as worn in the high tech cleanrooms and classrooms. Junior Ahmed Marshall volunteered to demonstrate suiting up, which includes stepping on adhesive floor mats to remove dust from shoes, drinking water to remove particles from the throat, covering head and facial hair with dust free covers, slipping foot-covers over shoes, donning gloves, and putting on the gown.
Students were taken on a guided tour, allowing them to see a multi-million dollar cleanroom in action. College graduate assistants showed students how to make a polymer chain to take home. A roundtable discussion led by NanoCollege graduate students gave Mohonasen students the opportunity to ask questions about NanoScale careers and
education. The program concluded with refreshments and each student was given a combination pen/radio
to take home.
Photo caption: Mohonasen High School junior Ahmed Marshall
(left) and sophomore Andrew Doucet (center) make a polymer chain “gummy bear.”
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