The National Science Foundation projects a global demand of two million nanotechnologists and six million support personnel by 2015. At present there are only 400,000 nanotech employees in the global workforce, which provides a challenging gap for nano-based companies moving from R&D to commercialization.

It is not surprising that nanotechnology is becoming an important part of the curriculum for a number of forward-thinking educators. Both Forsyth Tech & NanoProfessor have recently purchased the qNano as a tool for teaching students about nanotechnology. The ability to detect, count, and characterize individual particles - are key features making the instruments useful tools to learn about the physical properties of nanoparticles.

Forsyth Tech is the first customer in nano-education and the 100th customer using the instrument. A special All-Blacks edition 100th Instrument has been presented to commemorate the occasion.

Forsyth Tech is a technical college based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA - which has received praise for its commitment to providing top quality scientific education to its students. The associates degree program in nanotechnology, was launched four years ago and remains the only degree program of its kind the Southeast.

Dr. Kevin Conley, Program Coordinator of Nanotechnology Education says, “We prepare graduates for multidisciplinary careers.  We train them to be compatible with biologists, chemists, physicists, and engineers.  Our graduates are then able to help incorporate nanotechnologies into startup and established companies in the region.  We also teach economics alongside the sciences to help promote growth of the nanotechnology sector in the US.”

According to Dr. Conley, single-particle event counting will be the way forward for the nanotechnology industry. “The industry-standard particle-sizing method is DLS (Dynamic Light Scattering).  This method reports averages over thousands of particle events. The qNano reports precise data for single events. In the long run, the simpler, more elegant method always wins.” 

Below: FTCC Technology Building

The NanoProfessor®, programme, a division of NanoInk, Inc.® aims to expand hands-on nanotechnology education from the cleanrooms of research-based universities to undergraduate classrooms, at the community college, technical institute, and undergraduate university level.

“We are extremely proud to have Izon as a strategic educational partner and excited to add Izon’s qNano characterization instrument to the NanoProfessor Program” said Dean Hart, chief commercial officer of NanoInk.

“With the addition of the qNano instrument, the NanoProfessor Program provides students significant hands-on experience and skills in nanoscale fabrication of metallic nanoparticles and biologic agents, nanoscale imaging, and nanoscale characterization. This unsurpassed level of hands-on experience translates to a higher level of student preparedness for exciting jobs and careers in the blossoming nanotechnology industry.”...

Click Here to Read the Full Press Release

The NanoProfessor and Forsyth Tech partnerships will also utilize linkages with other educational institutes such as Victoria University of Wellington (a member of the MacDiarmid Institute). Eva Weatherall, a student at Victoria University was recently featured in an article on careers in science. Some of her early work will be used in developing course material for educational training programmes using the qNano.

Read Eva's article from Interface Magazine (MacDiarmid)

Below: Eva Weatherall, Student at the School of Chemical and Physical Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, with the qNano. 

Dr. Meredith Mintzer a Postdoctoral Fellow at Boston University, was named the winner of the first Inter-University Nanotechnology Measurement Championships in Cambridge, Massachusetts held at the launch of Izon's new US HQ.  

Dr. Mintzer is from the laboratory of Prof. Mark Grinstaff, Boston University, Department of Biomedical Engineering.  Dr. Mintzer uses Izon’s instruments in her research into drug delivery systems.  The lab pursues interdisciplinary research in the areas of biomedical engineering and macromolecular chemistry with the goal of elucidating the underlying fundamental chemistry and engineering principles of drug delivery systems.

Around 120 attended the unique event as contestants from Harvard University, MIT, Boston University and the University of Massachusetts raced each in the closely fought competition to measure the particle concentration and size of a bimodal distribution of nanoparticles.

Click to Watch Contestant Video Interviews

Click to Watch Nanotech Measurement Champs Contest

Below: Dr. Meredith Mintzer receives the Nanotech Measurement Championship Trophy from Dr. Susan Windham-Bannister (President & CEO of the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center)

Izon Science officially opened its new U.S. headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts on 21 September, 2011 to further support its expanding client base in 24 countries. The new office is located at One Kendall Square in Cambridge.

Hans van der Voorn, Executive Chairman of Izon Science, said, "Locating our U.S. headquarters in Cambridge will allow us to work directly with our customers and partners in the U.S. We've located ourselves amongst a thriving life sciences community, which is also the premier academic community in the world. Being located in Cambridge allows us to share research ideas, build relationships, and develop new opportunities and products, both within Massachusetts and the rest of the U.S."...

Click Here to Read the Full Press Release

Click Here to View Photos from the Launch Party

Below: Ribbon Cutting at the Launch of Izon's new US HQ. (From Left: Hans van der Voorn (Executive Chairman, Izon), Robert K. Coughlin (President & CEO, MassBio), Dr. Susan Windham-Bannister (President & CEO of the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center), Ken Brown (Executive Director, MOITI) and Dr. Johannes Fruehauf (CEO, ViThera Laboratories).