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Nanoengineering is the practice of
engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...
on the
nanoscale The nanoscopic scale (or nanoscale) usually refers to structures with a length scale applicable to nanotechnology, usually cited as 1–100 nanometers (nm). A nanometer is a billionth of a meter. The nanoscopic scale is (roughly speaking) a lo ...
. It derives its name from the
nanometre 330px, Different lengths as in respect to the molecular scale. The nanometre (international spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; SI symbol: nm) or nanometer (American and British English spelling differences#-re ...
, a unit of measurement equalling one billionth of a meter. Nanoengineering is largely a synonym for
nanotechnology Nanotechnology, also shortened to nanotech, is the use of matter on an atomic, molecular, and supramolecular scale for industrial purposes. The earliest, widespread description of nanotechnology referred to the particular technological goal o ...
, but emphasizes the engineering rather than the pure science aspects of the field.


History

* 4th Century Rome: The Lycurgus Cup was crafted using
dichroic glass Dichroic glass is glass which can display multiple different colors depending on lighting conditions. One dichroic material is a modern composite non-translucent glass that is produced by stacking layers of metal oxides which give the glass shift ...
which is a product of nanoengineering * 6th-15th Centuries: Stained glass windows were created in European cathedrals which contained nanoparticles of gold chloride or other metal oxides or chlorides. These nanoparticles give the glass its vibrant colors. * 9th-17th Centuries: A sparkling layer on the outside of ceramics was used containing silver, copper, or other metallic nanoparticles. * 13th-18th Centuries: "Damascus" saber blades were crafted using techniques that resulted in nanotubes and cementite nanowires. * 1950: Victor La Mer and Robert Dinegar created a process that was used to create specialized papers, paints, and thin films on an industrial level by growing monodisperse colloidal materials. * 1959: Richard Feynman gave the first lecture on molecular technology and engineering or just nanoengineering. * 1981: Gerd Binnig and Heinrich Rohrer invented the first atomic level microscope called a
scanning tunneling microscope A scanning tunneling microscope (STM) is a type of microscope used for imaging surfaces at the atomic level. Its development in 1981 earned its inventors, Gerd Binnig and Heinrich Rohrer, then at IBM Zürich, the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1986. ...
that allowed scientists to see individual atoms * 1991: The
carbon nanotube A scanning tunneling microscopy image of a single-walled carbon nanotube Rotating single-walled zigzag carbon nanotube A carbon nanotube (CNT) is a tube made of carbon with diameters typically measured in nanometers. ''Single-wall carbon na ...
was discovered by
Sumio Iijima is a Japanese physicist and inventor, often cited as the inventor of carbon nanotubes. Although carbon nanotubes had been observed prior to his "invention", Iijima's 1991 paper generated unprecedented interest in the carbon nanostructures and ...
which became important due to their strength, and electrical and
thermal conductivity The thermal conductivity of a material is a measure of its ability to conduct heat. It is commonly denoted by k, \lambda, or \kappa. Heat transfer occurs at a lower rate in materials of low thermal conductivity than in materials of high thermal ...
* 2004: SUNY Albany started the first college program that focused on nanoengineering in the United States. It was called the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering * 2009-2010: Robotic nanoscale assembly devices were created by Nadrian Seeman and his colleagues. These devices would be used to create 3D DNA structures using DNA crystals


Degree programs

The first nanoengineering program was started at the
University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...
within the Engineering Science program as one of the options of study in the final years. In 2003, the
Lund Institute of Technology The Faculty of Engineering is one of the eight faculties at Lund University in Lund, Sweden, commonly called LTH (after its Swedish name ''Lunds Tekniska Högskola''). LTH has (2022) about 1,500 employees and nearly 10,000 students, of which abo ...
started a program in Nanoengineering. In 2004, the
College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering The College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering is the college of nanotechnology at the SUNY Polytechnic Institute campus in Albany, New York. Founded in 2004 and formerly a component of the University at Albany, SUNY, the college underwent r ...
at
SUNY Polytechnic Institute The State University of New York Polytechnic Institute (SUNY Polytechnic Institute or SUNY Poly) is a public university with campuses in Marcy and Albany, New York. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. Founded in 1966 ...
was established on the campus of the
University at Albany The State University of New York at Albany, commonly referred to as the University at Albany, UAlbany or SUNY Albany, is a public research university with campuses in Albany, Rensselaer, and Guilderland, New York. Founded in 1844, it is one ...
. In 2005, the
University of Waterloo The University of Waterloo (UWaterloo, UW, or Waterloo) is a public research university with a main campus in Waterloo, Ontario Waterloo is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is one of three cities in the Regional Municipality ...
established a unique program which offers a full degree in Nanotechnology Engineering.
Louisiana Tech University Louisiana Tech University (Louisiana Tech, La. Tech, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Ruston, Louisiana. It is part of the University of Louisiana System and classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activ ...
started the first program in the U.S. in 2005. In 2006 the
University of Duisburg-Essen The University of Duisburg-Essen (german: link=no, Universität Duisburg-Essen) is a public research university in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. In the 2019 ''Times Higher Education World University Rankings'', the university was awarded ...
started a Bachelor and a Master program NanoEngineering. Unlike early NanoEngineering programs, the first NanoEngineering Department in the world, offering both undergraduate and graduate degrees, was established by the
University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Insti ...
in 2007. In 2009, the
University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...
began offering all Options of study in Engineering Science as degrees, bringing the second nanoengineering degree to Canada. Rice University established in 2016 a Department of Materials Science and NanoEngineering (MSNE). DTU Nanotech - the Department of Micro- and Nanotechnology - is a department at the
Technical University of Denmark The Technical University of Denmark ( da, Danmarks Tekniske Universitet), often simply referred to as DTU, is a polytechnic university and school of engineering. It was founded in 1829 at the initiative of Hans Christian Ørsted as Denmark's fi ...
established in 1990. In 2013,
Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 25,000 ...
began offering a Nanoengineering Undergraduate Certificate Program, which is funded by a Nanoengineering Undergraduate Education (NUE) grant from the
National Science Foundation The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National I ...
. The primary goal is to offer specialized undergraduate training in nanotechnology. Other goals are: 1) to teach emerging technologies at the undergraduate level, 2) to train a new adaptive workforce, and 3) to retrain working engineers and professionals.


Techniques

*
Scanning tunneling microscope A scanning tunneling microscope (STM) is a type of microscope used for imaging surfaces at the atomic level. Its development in 1981 earned its inventors, Gerd Binnig and Heinrich Rohrer, then at IBM Zürich, the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1986. ...
(STM) - Can be used to both image, and to manipulate structures as small as a single atom. *
Molecular self-assembly In chemistry and materials science, molecular self-assembly is the process by which molecules adopt a defined arrangement without guidance or management from an outside source. There are two types of self-assembly: intramolecular and intermole ...
- Arbitrary sequences of DNA can now be synthesized cheaply in bulk, and used to create custom proteins or regular patterns of amino acids. Similarly, DNA strands can bind to other DNA strands, allowing simple structures to be created.


See also

*
List of nanoengineering topics The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to nanotechnology: Nanotechnology is science, engineering, and technology conducted at the nanoscale, which is about 1 to 100 nanometers. Branches of nanotechnology * ...
*
Nanotechnology Nanotechnology, also shortened to nanotech, is the use of matter on an atomic, molecular, and supramolecular scale for industrial purposes. The earliest, widespread description of nanotechnology referred to the particular technological goal o ...
*
Picoengineering The term picotechnology is a portmanteau of picometre and technology, intended to parallel the term nanotechnology. It is a hypothetical future level of technological manipulation of matter, on the scale of trillionths of a metre or picoscale ...
*
Molecular engineering Molecular engineering is an emerging field of study concerned with the design and testing of molecular properties, behavior and interactions in order to assemble better materials, systems, and processes for specific functions. This approach, in whi ...


References


External links


Nanoengineering


{{Engineering fields Nanotechnology Engineering disciplines