05050 ENGR ENMA Add Minor in Nanoscience and Technology

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MdtyIand Center for htegrated Mano Science andEngInwring
To whom it may concern
Re: M-CINSE support for proposed Nano Minor
Professor Gary W. Rubloff
2145 A V Williams Building
Univers~ty of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742-3285
Tel (301 1 405-2949 Fax (301 1 31 4-9920
E-mall rubloff@umd edu
Internet www Isr umd.edu/qwrubloff/
Internet www nanocenter.umd edu
October 18, 2005
I am pleased to express my strongest level of support and tremendous enthusiasm for the Proposal to
Create an Interdisciplinary Minor Program of Undergraduate Study in Nanoscale Science and Technology,
developed by a cross-discplinary team and led by Prof. Ray Phaneuf. This program is among the most
important I can envision for the campus in the coming years.
Leadership in nano science and technology have become hallmarks of a leading university, and it has been
gratifying that in just a year a community spanning three colleges have come together to form our nano
center, M-CINSE. The enthusiasm and support of all three collees, and their Deans and the Provost, are
equally encouraging and compelling. We have identified clear trends and excitement about evolving
existirlg courses to emphasize nano, and to create new courses and other educational features which
support nano education as well. The existence of major new facilities and characterization instruments for
nano, in the Kim building and elsewhere, add much to the possibilities we foresee for our students. And
our attention to the education side of nano, both in the spectrum of existing courses and in our plans for a
formal program, have done much to win us praise in the nano community.
The proposed Nano Minor is a terrific start in formal educational programs. Our group has agreed that the
Department of Materials Science and Engineering will serve best as the academic center to administer the
program, with help from faculty representatives in different departments. M-CINSE will provide
infrastructure support to the program and its students, such as an informational website and other
database features useful to the program.
Let me also express my enthusiasm for the intellectual and professional development aspects of the
program. We have identified a four-axis representation of the nano topics and skills areas crucial for
student success, correlated these with the various courses in the program, and given example programs
for students in various departments. I think this is an excellent start. We anticipate evolution of the
program in response to feedback that will be sought from the students and their potential and actual
employers, as the program moves along.
Finally, it is important to reallze that the essence of nano makes it incompatible with traditional academic
structures and domains. Our students and our research groups who work in the area of nano cannot
flourish - or perhaps even survive - within a traditional discipline. Yet I believe no one should be ready to
think of it as a new, separate discipline (e.g., a department), partly because its newness makes it
impossible to predict what it will look like in 5 years, and partly because no matter how it looks then it will
for sure be a dynamic amalgam of pieces from many disciplines. The university's Minor program is an
excellent vehicle to making the most of nano and for our students. In return, I believe the Nano Program
will become a strong example for the campus of the benefits which the Minor can provide.
Sincerely,