This course will introduce the students to the interdisciplinary aspects of modern nanoscience and nanotechnology. The course is based on presentations from a group of researchers who will present current and thematic research exemplars in the area of nanoscience.

Weekly

None

None

60% Written Assignments

40% Oral Assessment and Presentation

The aims of this course are to:

■ introduce the students to the interdisciplinary aspect of modern nanoscience;

■ provide the students with current and thematic research exemplars of nanoscience;

■ discuss research ethics in the field of nanoscience;

■ enable students to discuss and evaluate current research in the light of societal impact.

■ develop the students' ability to communicate salient aspects of research topics at varying levels of technicality

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ identify the breadth of nanoscience and nanotechnology;

■ discuss the importance of interdisciplinary in nanoscience and nanotechnology;

■ identify the length scales associated and the cross-over between disciplines;

■ appraise the research ethics associated to nanoscience and nanotechnology;

■ describe the concepts of micro- and nanolithography applied to MEMS, optics and systems design;

■ describe the basics of microscopy techniques;

■ discuss the concepts of numerical modelling at that length scale;

■ outline applications in nanochemistry and nanobiology.

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components of the course's summative assessment. In this case that would involve submitting at least 3 out of 4 assignments for the course.

Note that these are minimum requirements: good students will achieve far higher participation/submission rates. Any student who misses an assessment or a significant number of classes because of illness or other good cause should report this by completing a MyCampus absence report