Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
and.commercialized..In.the.next.decade,.the.demand.for.nanobiotechnology.workers.in.
the. manufacturing. sector. will. increase. as. products. enter. the. marketplace.. These. manu-
facturing. employees. will. need. nanobiotechnology-related. expertise. in. the. areas. of. pro-
duction,.quality.assurance,.technical.documentation,.marketing,.and.distribution..These.
positions.will.require.familiarity.with.the.principles.and.methods.of.nanobiotechnology..
Technicians.on.the.production.loor.will.require.training.on.nanobiotechnology.fabrica-
tion.equipment.and.clean.room.procedures..Workplace.environmental,.health,.and.safety.
managers. will. now. be. responsible. for. implementing. both. nanotechnology. and. biotech-
nology.safety.protocols..These.protocols.are.still.under.development,.and.managers.will.
need.to.constantly.monitor.documentation.and.implement.new.protocols.as.they.expand.
(Gwinn. and. Tran. 2010).. Employees. in. marketing. and. communications. must. be. able. to.
explain. the. nanoscale. properties. and. implications. of. new. nanobiotechnology. products.
(Donoval.2007).
All. of. these. jobs. will. require. a. speciic. skill. set. that. is. still. under. development.. It. is.
dificult. at. these. early. stages. to. know. what. equipment. technicians. will. need. to. have.
experience. with. or. what. methods. will. be. needed. for. the. engineering. of. nanobiotech-
nology.structures..However,.there.is.growing.consensus.in.the.literature.about.a.set.of.
high-level.skills.that.will.be.critical.for.employee.success.in.the.ield.of.nanobiotechnol-
ogy..These.skills.have.been.identiied.by.nonproits,.government.agencies,.and.industrial.
leaders.closely.monitoring.the.development.of.nanotechnology.(Van.Horn.et.al..2009a,b;.
Van.Horn.and.Fichtner.2008)..Following.are.the.nanobiotechnology.work.skills.identiied.
to.date.
29.2.5 educational Background
A. number. of. studies. have. examined. what. skills. will. be. important. for. the. general. sci-
ence.and.engineering,.nanotechnology,.and.biotechnology.workforce.of.the.future..These.
workers. will. likely. be. primarily. researchers. with. advanced. degrees. in. physics,. biology,.
and. chemistry. to. start.. As. nanoscale. science. and. engineering. (NSE). programs. develop,.
these. types. of. degrees. will. be. in. higher. demand.. Researchers. will. require. the. in-depth.
knowledge.offered.by.graduate.programs.that.will.serve.as.a.strong.foundation.for.later.
learning.. Researchers. trained. in. traditional. doctoral. programs. that. enter. NSE-enabled.
industries.will.need.to.acquire.a.complementary.and.broad.knowledge.of.other.disciplines.
and.applied.sciences..This.will.be.critical.for.the.development.of.crucial.interdisciplinary.
collaborations.(Abicht.and.Schumann.2007;.
Inspired by Biology: From Molecules to Materials
to Machines
.2008;.Board.on.Life.Sciences.2003;.Jackson.2003;.Zukersteinova.2007).
29.2.6 entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship.is.the.process.of.developing.a.product.that.meets.a.demand.and.then.
bringing.that.product.to.the.marketplace..Training.in.entrepreneurship.will.introduce.
nanobiotechnologists.to.the.technology.transfer.process..Scientists.and.engineers.who.
understand.customer.needs.and.the.markets.for.their.technology.will.be.better.equipped.
to.position.their.products..In.addition,.entrepreneurship.training.introduces.researchers.
to. sources. of. funding. and. development. support. that. will. assist. the. commercialization.
of.technologies.and.the.policies.that.are.relevant.to.nanobiotechnology..While.nanobio-
technologists. may. not. wish. to. start. their. own. companies,. they. should. have. an. under-
standing.of.the.process.in.order.to.help.their.irms.or.licensees.effectively.launch.their.
technologies.
