Nanotechnology Education Significance
In the 21st century, nanotechnology is emerging as an important enabler underlying the world economy. Nanotechnology has the potential to be to today’s kids what space was to the kids of the post-Sputnik/Apollo era. As such, nanotechnology provides an effective means to maintain and grow the interests of students in science and engineering from elementary school to high school.
Nanotechnology, with its inherently exciting and almost science fiction quality, is an ideal vehicle to stimulate an early and lasting passion in scientific careers. Our intent is to develop a pipeline of students from secondary schools to universities and community colleges, focusing on both middle school and high schools.
Nanotechnology will be pervasive in today’s students’ lives and they will experience its many applications. Products based on nanotechnology will have an enormous impact in medicine and life sciences, in computers, energy, industrial process control, environmental protection, telecommunications, and in national and civil defense.
The field will lead to outstanding career opportunities for today’s students. A recent "Nanotechnology Market Forecast to 2013" projects a market for nanotechnology manufactured goods of $1.6 trillion and employment of millions of nanotechnology workers by 2015