Ivy Tech seeks nano degree program

SOUTH BEND — In an effort to prepare students for jobs of the future, Ivy Tech Community College in South Bend is moving ahead with a proposal to become the first college in Indiana to offer an associate’s degree program in nanotechnology. Ivy Tech’s north central regional board of trustees today gave approval to a plan for certificate and associate’s degree programs in nanotechnology at the South Bend campus. Specific course work for the degree likely would start in August 2011. The proposal also must gain approval from Ivy Tech’s state board of trustees and the Indiana Commission for Higher Education. If the program is approved, degree-seeking students will be able to transfer 64 to 67 credit hours into the bachelor’s degree program in engineering technology at Purdue North Central in Westville. Nanotechnology involves research and technological development at a scale so tiny it is measured in nanometers — billionths of a meter. It creates and uses structures that have novel properties because of their size, and it offers the ability to manipulate individual atoms and molecules. The University of Notre Dame is increasingly involved in nanotechnology research, with the goal of taking research inventions and commercializing them — turning them into startup businesses. To reach that goal, more trained technicians will be needed to set up, operate and maintain sensitive scientific instruments. Notre Dame faculty researchers have volunteered to serve on an advisory board for the Ivy Tech nanotechnology program, said Dave Brinkruff, dean of Ivy Tech’s School of Applied Science & Engineering Technology. Students in the program would take a series of courses including: fundamentals of nanotechnology, nanoscience manufacturing, physics, nanoelectronics, nano fabrication and a required nanoscience internship. The program, expected to accept about 24 students in the first year, would require strong math and science skills. Students could enroll this year to take prerequisites required for the proposed nano degree program. Ivy Tech would hope to establish on the South Bend campus a mock cleanroom, where students would learn to handle, calibrate and operate sensitive scientific equipment, said Chuck Philip, Ivy Tech’s vice chancellor of academic affairs. A cleanroom is research laboratory that offers a superfiltered air flow system to prevent bits of dust and other microscopic debris from entering and disturbing delicate research. Staff writer Margaret Fosmoe: mfosmoe@sbtinfo.com (574) 235-6329