We’ve all said it: “It’s a small world.” Whether you’re talking about human connections and relationships or cell phones, mp3 players or computers, it seems the world really is getting smaller these days.

With nanoengineering research at the University of Toronto proving that smaller can be stronger and faster when it comes to nano-scaled engineering projects, maybe the world should be even smaller.

According to data reported by the National Science Foundation (NSF), 1.8 million additional workers are needed by the year 2015 to support nanotechnology industries worldwide; this adds to the 20,000 existing workforce in nano. Moreover, in 2003, there were more patents issued in nanotechnology in the cosmetics industry than in any other sector according to Bio Business magazine’s 2004 issue.

While nano is booming, it is not entirely new. “What is new are the possibilities of what the development and design of materials and components at that size and scale can actually do for us. Nano simply tries to understand the structure and properties of materials on a tiny scale – one-billionth of a metre. It’s about the organization of atoms and molecules and how they behave,” says Professor Doug Perovic, Chair of Materials Science and Engineering.

A report from the U.S. Government in the late 1990s compared the field of nano to that of computers and IT in the 1950s. While computing technology has transformed the world in unimaginable ways, what will nano do?

According to Engineering Professor and nanoengineering researcher Peter Herman, “It will be a lot like the micro-electronics revolution – largely invisible yet a huge impact. The silicon microelectronic chip is transitioning from the micron-size world to the nanoscale world where it is becoming increasing more powerful and yet remains invisible, buried deep inside our computer. Nanotechnology will also be invisible as it penetrates into other products, devices, materials, and processes, but its effect will be equally strong across many other fields of use evolving steadily over several decades like the microchip transistor.”

“In the last Industrial Revolution we learned how to make machines and manufacture materials like steel, using a nonscientific heat-it-and-beat-it approach,” says Professor Perovic, the nanoengineering researcher who implemented the world’s first nanoengineering undergraduate degree in Engineering Science at U of T.

“Now, we’re repeating the whole thing learning how to manufacture, but doing it on the nanoscale. We can see what we’re doing; know what we’re doing; and we can orchestrate what we achieve. It’s exciting to be working in the field on the cusp of a new age.”

The possibilities with nano-engineered technologies seem truly limitless. For some people, it may seem like a page out of a sci-fi novel, but to many of the nanoengineering researchers at U of T, it’s already a reality.

IMAGINE WIPING OUT CANCER.

“Nanotechnology will allow us to do things that would otherwise be impossible. In my lab we are taking advantage of the nanoscale size to selectively deliver drugs to cancer cells,” says Engineering Professor Molly Shoichet, who was awarded a prestigious Killam Fellowship that provides funding in support of research.

The impact on the environment is also hopeful. Engineering Professor and Canada Research Chair, Ted Sargent, received a $10 million grant toward developing nanotechnology that uses the infrared rays of the sun to provide power for virtually everything that now uses electricity.

While the information technology sector has already revolutionized society, imagine nano IT. Professor Stewart Aitchison, Vice-Dean of Research for the Faculty, is working to develop integrated optical circuits based on photonic nanowires for application ranging from enhanced communications to optical gas sensing.

“An important characteristic of nano is the properties of materials at this scale – electrical conductivity, optics, and strength change at this small scale, becoming more magnified, which means they are stronger and faster,” says Professor Aitchison.

THINK 10X THE STRENGTH OF STEEL, BUT LIGHTER.

While research is booming in nanoengineering at the University of Toronto, there is an equal interest to learn about nano among undergraduate students. Since offering the world’s first undergraduate degree in nanoengineering in 2001, the Engineering Science program graduated the sixth cohort of students this year.

“Due to the cross-disciplinary nature of nanoengineering, a nanoengineer can talk to colleagues across the traditional subject boundaries, and can pursue graduate studies in a vast array of subjects. Whether it is quantum computing circuits, chemical self-assembly of photo-voltaics, structural nanomaterials, or biomemetics, a nanoengineer has the exposure to feel comfortable in all areas,” says David Deak (EngSci 0T3), who was one of seven graduates from the first class in the nanoengineering degree. He recently completed his PhD at Oxford and works for Siemens Wind Power in Denmark as the Project Manager of Technology.

The undergraduate program takes a multi-disciplinary approach, combining seven departments at U of T to provide a world-class nanoengineering degree: physics, chemistry, materials science and engineering, mechanical and industrial engineering, chemical engineering and applied chemistry, computer and electrical engineering, and biomedical engineering. There are currently 12 students enrolled in nanoengineering.

While nanomaterials have existed as single-celled organisms in nature since the beginning of time, it seems fair to say that the potential of nano-engineered products is still evolving. As the revolution continues, you can rest assured that the Engineers at the University of Toronto will continue to lead these positive global solutions.

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