Nanotechnology is highly interdisciplinary, building upon core competencies from many traditional disciplines, including materials science, chemistry, physics, biology and electrical engineering. As a consequence, and because the undergraduate backgrounds of SUNY Poly students are equally diverse, a "one size fits all" approach to course content and design is neither practical nor desirable.
To address these issues, a sequence of modular core courses, "Foundations of Nanotechnology," has been designed to provide students with unified core competencies, as well as to prepare them for their more specialized advanced coursework and individual research in the various SUNY Poly Nanoscale Science and Nanoscale Engineering tracks.
"Foundations" represents a modular four-course sequence that has been specifically designed to provide the base scientific skill set required by the varied undergraduate backgrounds of students entering SUNY Poly. The parallel and complementary modular platform of the "Foundations" sequence responds to the need for simultaneous SUNY Poly course content delivery to students possessing undergraduate degrees in Physics, Chemistry, Materials Science, Mathematics, Biology, Chemical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering.
The "Foundations" sequence serves an analogous role for practicing professionals in the fields of nanoscale science, engineering, and nanotechnology that have or plan to enroll in SUNY Poly degree programs.
The "Foundations of Nanotechnology" sequence consists of four courses (Foundations of Nanotechnology I - IV), with two offered in the Fall semester and two in the Spring semester. Each course consists of coordinated modules specifically designed and sequenced by SUNY Poly faculty to provide the fundamental academic acumen and core competencies necessary for students entering the fields of Nanoscale Science and Nanoscale Engineering.
- Foundations of Nanotechnology - Course I
- Foundations of Nanotechnology - Course II
- Foundations of Nanotechnology - Course III
- Foundations of Nanotechnology - Course IV
Critical aspects of the "Foundations" sequence are as follows:
- Each course (Foundations of Nanotechnology I - IV) consists of five "modules" with each module designed to address a core competency for CNSE graduate study. Each module is typically allocated 15 lecture hours in the semester.
- Students must successfully complete an average of three modules per course. By the end of the Foundations sequence a Ph.D. student will have earned 12 credits of coursework toward his/her degree requirements.
- Individual modules will be taught on a rotating basis by SUNY Poly faculty members.
Foundations of Nanotechnology modules:
| Nanoscale Analytic Techniques | Noncrystalline and Soft Nanomaterials |
| Crystallography/Diffraction for Nanomaterial Systems | Optical/Photonic Properties of Nanostructures |
| Deposition Techniques for Ultra-Thin Films | Particle-Solid Interactions in Nanomaterials |
| Nanoscale Device Principles | Phase Equilibria for Nanoscale Systems |
| Nanoscale Electronic and Magnetic Properties | Practical Modeling for Nanoscale Systems |
| Introduction to NEMS/MEMS | Practical Solid State Quantum Theory |
| Nanoscale Kinetics and Transport | Solid State Quantum Theory IA |
| Mathematical Methods in Nanoscale Research | Solid State Quantum Theory IB |
| Nanoscale Mechanics of Materials | Science of Nanoscale Laboratory Techniques |
| Molecular Materials | Nanoscale Surfaces and Interfaces |
