Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
dedicated. to. electronics,. micro-. and. nanotechnology;. MATEC. NetWorks. (www.matec-
networks.org),. NACK. (www.nano4me.org),. Nano-Link. (www.nano-link.org),. NEATEC.
(www.neatec.org),. and. SCME. (www.scme-nm.org).. The. objective. of. these. centers. is. to.
work. collaboratively. with. industry. and. government. to. train. and. supply. high-skilled.
technical.workers.for.positions.in.the.semiconductor.industry.and.other.nanotechnology-
enabled.ields.
The.ATE.program.supports.curriculum.development;.professional.development.of.col-
lege.faculty.and.secondary.school.teachers;.career.pathways.to.two-year.colleges.from.
secondary.schools.and.from.two-year.colleges.to.four-year.institutions;.and.other.activ-
ities.. Another. goal. is. articulation. between. two-year. and. four-year. programs. for. K-12.
prospective. teachers. that. focus. on. technological. education.. The. program. also. invites.
proposals. focusing. on. research. to. advance. the. knowledge. base. related. to. technician.
education.(www.atecenters.com,.captured.August.12,.2011).
29.3.5 Bachelor's Degree Level Programs in NSe Fields
As. noted. earlier,. baccalaureate. programs. are. the. rarest. NSE. programs. numbering. only.
four. as. of. 2011.. This. small. number. of. baccalaureate. programs. is. in. line. with. the. work-
force.development.research.that.indicates.that.students.trained.at.the.doctoral.or.master's.
level.programs.are.currently.most.highly.sought-after.(Van.Horn.et.al..2009a,b;.Murday.
et.al..2010)..Employers.who.are.asked.about.the.types.of.graduates.their.companies.recruit.
often.gravitate.toward.traditional.science.degree.recipients..At.the.same.time,.employers.
express.a.strong.desire.for.the.skills.that.NSE-trained.students.master.early.in.their.pro-
grams,.including.interdisciplinary. depth.and.team-orientation.(Deppert.et.al..2008;.Van.
Horn.et.al..2009a).
The. irst. cohorts. of. Bachelor's. level-trained. students. are. now. approaching. graduation.
(in.2013).or.have.recently.graduated..Graduates.will.be.given.the.opportunity.to.pursue.
careers. in. industry. or. continue. with. graduate-level. training.. The. choices. that. these. stu-
dents.make.will.further.inform.higher.education.institutions.about.the.need.and.desire.
for.more.interdisciplinary.NSE.training..The.challenge.for.these.baccalaureate.programs.
is.the.academic.motivation.to.train.students.in.advanced.concepts.in.biology,.chemistry,.
mathematics,.physics,.and.engineering,.while.familiarizing.them.with.the.tools.and.tech-
niques.of.NSE,.and.providing.them.a.well-rounded.social,.historical,.and.humanities.cur-
riculum.in.an.eight.semester.framework.
In.the.United.States,.the.NSF.(Directorate.of.Education.and.Human.Resources—Division.
of.Undergraduate.Education).has.recognized.the.special.challenge.that.interdisciplinary.
NSE. research. poses. and. has. responded. with. a. robust. grant. program. (Nanotechnology.
Undergraduate. Education. in. Engineering). to. aid. faculty. and. administrators. to. develop.
these.new.curricula..A.similar.program.called.Transforming.Undergraduate.Education.in.
Science,.Technology,.Engineering.and.Mathematics.is.also.available.to.support.the.devel-
opment.of.cutting-edge.teaching.methods.and.resources.to.improve.the.dissemination.of.
science,.technology,.engineering,.and.mathematics.education.*
*
.
A.wide.variety.of.programs,.many.funded.by.the.NUE.program,.are.presented.in.the.edited.topic.
Nanoscale
Science and Engineering Education
.(Sweeney.and.Seal.2008)..Readers.are.encouraged.to.explore.this.topic.as.a.
standard.reference.to.best.practices.in.program.development..Among.the.36.chapters,.the.reviews.by.Agarwal.
(2008),.Meyyappan.(2008),.Hegab.et.al..(2008),.and.Deppert.et.al..(2008).are.particularly.useful.for.those.inter-
ested.in.developing.curricula,.including.nanobiotechnology.curricula,.at.their.institutions.
