Nanotechnology and You

Nanotechnology is certainly one of the buzzwords of the current century, and it's not going away any time soon, IMHO. I've been asked to describe exactly what it is, and what difference it makes. Along with those questions come the related ones of defining career and business opportunities in the field.

The dictionary and technical definition of "nano" is anything multiplied by 10(-9) power, or .0000000001. The term has come to mean anything that's very small, in most cases, at or near the scale of the size of atoms. Nanotechnology can now be said to be anything related to observing or manipulating things in either small atomic groups or even one atom or molecule at a time. This capability, which has been developed through extensive research, will help us extend control over our environment and processes as we progress through the century.

There are several pieces of good news in the development of nanotechnology. The first is that the research efforts are still being led by US based Universities, Government Laboratories and Corporate Research Labs. The second is that these developments are leading to many new and improved products and processes, all of which will provide economic growth and job creation in the future, both near and long term.

In a brief article in the January 2011 issue of Advanced Materials & Processes (published by ASM International - www.asm-intl.org) Prof. Nitin Chopra of the University of Alabama recently described some of what he thought would be the important subjects for those who want to pursue careers in this field. Among other, he mentions chemistry, metallurgy and materials science; along with physics as being important fields of study. While he focused on training for doctoral level students, the same approach can be taken by those who won't be in the lab, but whose careers will primarily be involved in the businesses of developing, manufacturing, selling, specifying and using products made of nano-materials or which rely on nano processes for successful implementation.

Students and others looking for more information should visit National Nanotechnology Initiative website (www.nano.gov/index.html) for a lot more material, including a listing of schools offering training in this field. The Federal Government has sponsored the NNI since 2001.

One example of the use of nanotechnology involves the development of a coating process for applying a very thin film of tantalum to stainless steel parts. Tantalum turns out to be the best material for resisting corrosion in a high temperature chemical process for converting water into oxygen and hydrogen without the use of any fossil fuels. The process, known as sulfur-iodine thermochemistry, was developed by General Atomics, of San Diego, CA. All of the materials in the process are recycled, but the chemical conditions inside the reaction vessels are so severe that only tantalum, a very expensive material, has been found able to resist falling apart for more than 50 hours. Rather than use components of pure tantalum, it can be applied as a thin coating to the surface of another (presumably less expensive) component, and make the entire operation economically attractive.

There are many other opportunities like this currently in the development stage, and present multiple career opportunities for those with the right training. The field is so ripe that I'm going to suggest a catch phrase (borrowed unabashedly from the State of New Jersey and former governor Tom Kean) - "Nanotechnology and You, Perfect Together". Let's see if it catches on.