A University-Technical College Nanoscience Training Program

The projected growth in successful commercialization of nanoscience products and technologies will be slowed without an adequately trained force of technician-level skilled workers. To this end, Dakota County Technical College (DCTC), a two year school in Rosemount, MN received in 2004 an NSF ATE grant to develop a nanoscience training program. The program consists of 3 semesters of coursework at DCTC in various aspects of nanotechnology, followed by a capstone semester at the University of Minnesota (UM). The capstone semester consists of 4 lecture-based courses and 3 lab courses. One of the lab courses is a fabrication course taking place in the UM Nanofabrication Center cleanroom facility. At the conclusion of the capstone semester the students graduate from DCTC with a AAS degree in Nanoscience Technology, and also have 16 credits from the University of MN.