Inter American University of Puerto Rico Chooses Nanoprofessor as Foundation for New Nanoscience Education Program

SKOKIE, IL--(Marketwire -06/11/12)- NanoProfessor, a division of NanoInk, Inc. focused on nanotechnology education, announced today that Inter American University of Puerto Rico in Bayamn has chosen the NanoProfessor Nanoscience Education Program to serve as the foundation for its new nanoscience education program. The Bayamn campus will become the first location in Puerto Rico to implement the NanoProfessor Program.

Inter American University has partnered with NanoProfessor through a grant award from the U.S. Department of Education's Minority Science and Engineering Improvement Program (MSEIP) to promote long-range improvement in science and engineering education at predominantly minority institutions. The NanoProfessor Program fits well into the goals of the grant, as it aims to expand hands-on nanotechnology education from the cleanrooms of research-based universities to undergraduate classrooms, such as those at Inter American University of Puerto Rico.

"We are pleased that Inter American University of Puerto Rico has chosen the NanoProfessor Nanoscience Education Program as the foundation for its new nanotechnology curriculum," said Dean Hart, chief commercial officer of NanoInk. "Aside from tourism, important industries within Puerto Rico's economy include pharmaceuticals, electronics, renewable energy, and aerospace; and nanotechnology is yielding breakthroughs in all of these areas. Students who complete the NanoProfessor Program at the Bayamn campus of Inter American University of Puerto Rico will help meet the nano-savvy workforce needs of these growing and high paying industries."

"Through the NanoProfessor Program, our students will gain hands-on experience and training with state-of-the-art instrumentation used by professionals in the nanotechnology field today," said Dr. Nedim Vardar, School of Engineering of Inter American University. "We are committed to providing our students with a meaningful education and the cutting-edge skills needed to help them land jobs and build careers in growth industries, such as those using nanotechnology to revolutionize their businesses and products."

Nanotechnology is the understanding and control of matter at dimensions between approximately one and 100 nanometers (nm), where unique phenomena enable novel applications which are not feasible when working with bulk materials. A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter. Encompassing nanoscale science, engineering, and technology, nanotechnology involves imaging, measuring, modeling, and manipulating matter at the nanoscale. A study funded by the National Science Foundation projects that six million nanotechnology workers will be needed worldwide by 2020, with two million of those jobs in the United States. However, as of 2008, there were only 400,000 estimated workers worldwide in the field of nanotechnology, with an estimated 150,000 of those in the United States.

The NanoProfessor Nanoscience Education Program alternates between classroom lectures and hands-on lab work. The curriculum includes a textbook authored by leading nanotechnology experts, covering the topics of Nanotechnology Basics, Nanophysics, Nanochemistry, Nanobiology, and Environmental, Health, and Safety perspectives on nanotechnology. In conducting the hands-on lab experiments, students learn the fundamentals for building custom-engineered nanoscale structures while working with state-of-the-art equipment including NanoInk's NLP 2000 Desktop NanoFabrication System, a student-friendly atomic force microscope (AFM), a best-of-class fluorescence microscope, an advanced nanoparticle characterization instrument, and various chemical and biological materials used today within current and emerging nanotechnology applications.

Inter American University of Puerto Rico (IAUPR) is a private, Hispanic Serving Higher Education non-profit institution founded in 1912, with eleven academic units throughout the Island. The Bayamn campus of Inter American University of Puerto Rico (IAUPRBC) is a specialized academic unit with emphasis on technology, engineering, aviation, computing, communications, science, and business administration. More information is available at http://bayamon.inter.edu.

About the NanoProfessor Nanoscience Education Program The NanoProfessor Nanoscience Education Program aims to advance undergraduate nanotechnology education and address the growing need for a skilled, nano-savvy workforce. The NanoProfessor Program, including instruments, an expert-driven curriculum, and student/teacher support materials, is available for high schools, community colleges, technical institutes, and universities worldwide. More information is available at http://www.NanoProfessor.net or (847)679-NANO (6266). You can also like NanoProfessor on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/NanoProfessor1 and follow on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/nanoprofessor1.

NanoInk, NanoProfessor, and the NanoProfessor logo, are trademarks or registered trademarks of NanoInk, Inc.