Biotechnology career

Because biotechnology applications exist across healthcare, agriculture, food processing and industry, virtually any college major in a scientific and life science is likely to find a biotech application. Biotech companies per se are most likely to have healthcare applications, and as we’ve already noted, are essentially mid-cap pharmaceutical companies.

Typical college majors among biotech professionals include chemistry, biology, physics, biochemistry, bioengineering, among many others. You can also get an undergraduate degree in bioinformatics. Potential employers span across government, private industry, and academia.

That pretty much covers most of the employment universe, so you may well feel bewildered about how to proceed.

Interconnected institutions

A lucky few understand themselves early enough to have clarity on these issues while still in their teens. If you are one of those and feeling a bit smug, rest assured that, although you have an edge on your colleagues, the work world you are heading into is more complex than it was just a few years ago. Universities are increasingly looking to leverage the intellectual capital of their researchers to land licensing deals with the private sector.

Since much research is funded by the Federal Government (in other words, your taxpayer dollars), the Feds have an incentive to see some of that money get recycled in the private sector economy, through goods and services that can improve the lives and standards of living of ordinary Americans.

Thus, most universities have technology licensing offices that help its scientists set up licensing and entrepreneurial deals with the private sector. The idea is to commercialize the science into products, devices, processes, and products that are useful to consumers. What this translates into is increased revenues for private sector companies, which in turn increases the tax base for the Federal Government. From the private sector’s perspective, venture capitalists are looking increasingly to late-stage research that’s just about ready to be commercialized.

That shortens their period of investment, which means they can cash out faster and invest limited partner dollars into the next promising project. Academic researchers whose work fits those criteria are attractive candidates.

This is because someone else (the Feds) picked up the tab for that uncertain early-stage phase when there is great uncertainty as to whether anything practical will come out of a research idea. Funding from private equity can now go right into creating the practical from the theoretical.

The upshot is that, whatever sector you choose to work in - government, private industry, or academia - you are likely to forge links with people in other sectors.

A passion for biotech

How do you get hired? The most important thing to remember is to know what really excites you, since, as biotech recruiters point out, the most successful candidates exhibit “passion about the work,” and are willing “to work hard and do what it takes to succeed, since many companies are lightly staffed.”

To get hired, you also need to express an abiding “desire to make a difference in the health and well being of others.” But the more challenging part of getting hired in biotech is that educational requirements and work experience are among the most specific of any industry.

That’s because the science on which biotech companies are based is still relatively new and the number of graduates from biotech-related programs in higher educational institutions relatively few. That actually works to the advantage of younger people, who can tailor an academic program to what the industry needs.

It’s worth repeating that “biotechnology” is a set of technologies that are applied throughout several industries. So when making a career choice, review the main areas of application discussed in The Scoop: healthcare, agriculture, food processing and industrial processing.

If you are still in college, know you like the life sciences and are contemplating a future in either discovering or promoting new treatments for hitherto genetically based diseases, then you’ll want to consider carefully the kind of education and other credentialing we discuss here.

A word about scientific leadership

As financing pressures shorten the timelines needed to bring a product to market, a new profile of scientist and a scientific leader is emerging, according to top industry recruiters. The business of developing drugs three factors must come together - management, science and people. “Scientists in today’s environment need to do more than good science,” says a top scientific recruiter.

“They need to have more accountability - i.e., to enable the team to meet milestones or identifiable timelines that in turn generate revenues and additional capital. We need the brilliant minds who also understand that the company has to earn revenues.”

Broadly speaking, “we are seeing a shift in the philosophy of scientific management from one focused purely on science to one that compensates people for meeting business goals in addition to creating great science. “The leaders that will emerge will have both sets of attributes - the ability to lead teams to meet management goals and to create great scientific results.

The key for scientific leaders is to know when the let go and cut out unpromising avenues of research. This shift will create efficiencies, as more capital becomes available to explore more promising leads. It’s all about understanding the scientific bench work in a business context.”

What this means is that, for those aspiring to a career as scientific leaders, it is essential to broaden your perspective earlier than later, so that you will be more effective in the positions of responsibility you will eventually land.

Courtesy: www.vault.co.in

Biotechnology Career

Research and development in biotechnology will continue to drive employment growth in India as well as in abroad.One of the common questions asked by the biotechnology aspirants is requirement of Ph.D. in biotechnology to get in to the biotechnology career? This is a wrong question. Ph.D. is not necessary to have career in biotechnology and they are numerous opportunities, which are generally categorized in to two major divisions. Research based and non-research based.

Research based

Many biological scientists work in research and development. Requires Ph.D. in a chosen or applied subject, which varies from cancer biology, vaccines, immunology, animal biotechnology, plant biotechnology namely so. There is growing demand for people with Ph.D. degree with specialization. It is also important to have degree from reputed institute for best success in academic institute or industry as well. Experts suggest, early years during Ph.D. requires dedication and long hours in laboratory and later years requires planning for postdoctoral training or getting started as young scientists as part of a core team. After developing specialized expertise, they further may read research team or run a lab.

Research based biotechnology career have two places to work, academic and biotech industry.

Academic - Many scientists held faculty positions in colleges, universities and research institutes funded by state and central governments. Almost half of all biological scientists were employed by the state and central government funded institutions. They have more freedom on their specialization research compared to people working in biotech industry. Their work funded by grants from government budget as research and development.

Click here for a latest Scientist positions in India.

Biotech industry - employ as scientist or team leader in R & D departments. This area is also called "discovery research". Because, their work involves discovering a new processes, drugs and technologies. They have less autonomous than academic researchers to choose the area of research, relying instead on the company products and goals. Scientists are increasingly working as a part of team interacting with engineers, business managers and technicians.

Non-Research based

A lot of job prospects in no-research based biotechnology sector for those who are not interested in independent research. Basically you don't required to have Ph.D. but requires Master degree, which is sufficient for the jobs in teaching, R & D departments and others.

Teaching - there are excellent teaching opportunities for people with good teaching skills not interested in lab. Readers and lecturer positions are plenty in universities, postgraduate and degree colleges.

Click here for a latest Faculty positions in India.

Biotech industry - most of the laboratory technicians have master degrees. The functions performed by technicians range from maintaining stocks of reagents and research supplies to performing or supervising routine operations and performing supervised research experiments. Later gaining some experience, they may become scientist with additional qualification and some training.

Others - such as consulting, patent law, and senior management positions require intimate knowledge of scientific fundamentals and research dynamics.

Please visit Admissions helpBIOTECH for latest science/biotech admissions in india.

The 12 Best Engineering and Information Technology Jobs

 

Engineers and other technical professionals weren't always seen as having the nation's coolest jobs. Many other professions have claimed that distinction over the past few decades, including investment bankers, airline pilots and surgeons. But those days have passed. Perhaps Steve Jobs and his legacy can take credit, but working in engineering, computer science and many other traditionally "nerdy" careers is the new rave.

"We're enjoying a true technology revolution, and techies who can lead that effort by creating and managing great software can write their own tickets," says Tony Lee, publisher of CareerCast.com. “Software engineers are the rock stars of today's working world, and even computer systems analysts and web developers can claim some of that recognition, since the demand for IT pros is so deep.”

In fact, Software Engineers have the nation's overall best job, according to the CareerCast.com Jobs Rated report. Their pay is great, hiring demand for their skills is through the roof, and working conditions have never been better.

"The problem is that we are not producing enough computer science graduates to meet the growing global demand," says Michael Buryk, Business Development Manager at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). "Even electrical engineers, especially those who work as power engineers, are in short supply, especially given the growth in the fields of alternative energy and Smart Grid."

Petroleum engineering is another field with tremendous career opportunities, as the world's energy needs and new oil and gas exploration require the skill set that only an engineer can deliver. And that demand spans the globe, from central Pennsylvania to Saudi Arabia to Malaysia.

While the number of new computer science graduates from the nation’s colleges remained steady in recent years, overall the number of bachelor’s, masters and doctorate degrees awarded in engineering fields has steadily increased. According to the National Science Foundation, the number of engineering undergraduate degrees awarded annually in the U.S. reached 500,000 in 2009, along with 134,000 graduate degrees and 41,000 doctorates. But even this growing supply of new graduates cannot keep up with demand.

"There is currently a dearth of quality applicants in many technical fields, in addition to computer science," says Lee. "Corporate recruiters are scouring the nation's universities in search of smart engineering and IT students, and they simply can't find enough to fulfill their hiring needs. And that typically translates into those jobs being highly ranked in our report."

The Jobs Rated report measures a range of criteria to determine the top-ranked jobs, including the work environment, current hiring demand, average compensation, stress levels, the long-term career outlook and the physical effort required on the job. When measured together, they provide a clear picture of those jobs that rank higher than others in the field.

Here is the full list of CareerCast.com’s Top 12 Best Jobs of 2012 in engineering and information technology:

Program in Polymer Science and Technology

The Program in Polymer Science and Technology (PPST) is an interdisciplinary doctoral program offered jointly by the School of Engineering and the School of Science at MIT. PPST is open to qualified students admitted to the graduate program of one of the following MIT departments: Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Materials Science and Engineering, Mechanical Engineering.

PPST consists of two phases:

• Academic Phase

  In the program’s first two semesters, students gain fundamental and advanced knowledge in the field of polymers, from molecular structures to industrial applications. At the end of the two-semester core curriculum, PPST students are examined for doctoral candidacy by a committee of PPST faculty from the four participating academic departments, all of which accept the result of the PPST candidacy exam in place of their departmental qualifying examinations. In subsequent semesters, PPST students take a selection of subjects from their home department’s core graduate academic program to satisfy the PPST minor requirement.

• Research Phase

  In subsequent semesters, students concentrate on a selected area of polymer research specialization, which culminates in the preparation and defense of a thesis before PPST and departmental faculty.  Procedures for the selection of thesis advisor(s) and composition of the student’s thesis committee are set by the PPST student’s home department.

Successful completion of all PPST program requirements leads to the awarding of a doctoral degree upon the recommendation of the student’s home department.  PPST students have the option to earn a master’s degree through their home departments and various interdepartmental programs at the Institute.

Mechanical Engineering

Mechanical engineering is one of the broadest and most versatile of the engineering professions. This is reflected in the portfolio of current activities in the department, one that has widened rapidly in the past decade. Today, our faculty are involved in projects ranging from the use of nanoengineering to develop thermoelectric energy converters to the use of active control of for efficient combustion; from the design of miniature robots for extraterrestrial exploration to the creation of needle-free drug injectors; from the design of low-cost radio-frequency identification chips to the development of advance numerical simulation techniques; from the development of unmanned underwater vehicles to the invention of cost-effective photovoltaic cells; from the desalination of seawater to the fabrication of 3-D nanostructures out of 2-D substrates.

Graduate Education

MIT’s graduate programs in mechanical engineering attract students with a variety of backgrounds, interests, and talents. We provide extensive opportunities for graduate students to engage in advanced research and collaborate with faculty and colleagues. Together, our community members push the boundaries of their professions, and grow profoundly as engineers, researchers, and innovators.

The mechanical engineering department provides opportunities for graduate work leading to the following degrees:

• Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering

  The SM in mechanical engineering is awarded based on the completion of advanced study and a major thesis. The thesis, considered the centerpiece of a students’ graduate experience, must be an original work of research, development, or design, performed under the supervision of a faculty or research staff member. Students usually spend as much time on thesis work as on coursework. This degree typically takes about one and one-half to two years to complete.

• Master of Science in Ocean Engineering

  The curriculum leading to an SM in ocean engineering assumes that students have broad working knowledge in engineering. Graduates of this program are interested in developing the ocean for the good of humanity and are prepared to use whatever engineering disciplines necessary to address problems.

• Master of Science in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering

  Naval architecture and marine engineering are concerned with all aspects of waterborne vehicles operating on, below, or just above the sea surface. This program is intended for individuals planning to specialize the design of waterborne vehicles and/or their subsystems.

• Master of Science in Oceanographic Engineering

  To complete this joint program with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), students study and conduct research on the campuses of MIT and WHOI. Students are advised by an MIT faculty member, but may conduct their thesis research under the supervision of MIT or WHOI faculty. While in residence at MIT, students follow a program similar to that of other master’s students in the department.

• Master of Engineering in Manufacturing

  This twelve-month professional degree program prepares students to assume technical leadership in an existing or emerging manufacturing company. To earn this degree, students must complete a highly integrated set of projects that cover the process, product, system, and business aspects of manufacturing, as well as a group-based thesis project.

• Mechanical Engineer’s degree

  This program provides an opportunity for further study beyond the master’s level for those who wish to enter engineering practice rather than conduct further research. This degree emphasizes breadth of knowledge in mechanical engineering and its economic and social implications. It is quite distinct from the PhD program, which emphasizes depth and originality of research. The engineer’s degree requires a broad program of advanced coursework and an applications-oriented thesis, and typically requires at least one year of study beyond the master’s degree.

• Naval Engineer’s degree

  This program provides US Navy and US Coast Guard officers, foreign naval officers, and civilian students interested in ships and ship design with a broad graduate-level engineering education for a career as a professional naval engineer. Completion of this degree requires a higher level and significantly broader range of professional competence in engineering than is required for an SM in naval architecture and marine engineering or ocean engineering.

• Doctoral degree

  The PhD and ScD are the highest academic degrees offered. Doctoral degrees are awarded upon the completion of a program of advanced study in the student’s principal area of interest, a minor program of study in a different field, and a thesis of significant original research, design, or development. Doctoral degrees are offered in all areas represented by the department’s faculty. The department also offers a joint PhD in Oceanographic Engineering with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute.

Graduate students registered in the Department of Mechanical Engineering may elect to participate in interdisciplinary programs of study, including:

• Computation for Design and Optimization, for students interested in computational approaches to the design and operation of engineered systems
• Program in Polymer Science and Technology, designed for students seeking a doctoral degree focused on macromolecular science and engineering
• Technology and Policy Program, which offers a master’s degree focusing on the role of technology in policy analysis and formulation
• Leaders for Global Operations (LGO) program, for students with two or more years of work experience who aspire to leadership positions in manufacturing or operations companies. LGO is a two-year dual-degree program that confers a Master of Science in an engineering field together with an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management.

Materials Science and Engineering

Students, professors, and researchers in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering explore the relationships between structure and properties in all classes of materials including metals, ceramics, electronic materials, and biomaterials. Our research leads to the synthesis of improved materials in response to challenges in the areas of energy, the environment, medicine, and manufacturing.

Collaborating with industry, government, and other institutions, our research contributes to a broad range of fields. A recent U.S. Army-funded study, used nanotechnological methods to study the structure of scales of the fish Polypterus senegalus, leading to more effective ways of designing human body armor. In the Making and Designing Materials Engineering Contest (MADMEC), student teams design and prototype devices to harness, store, and exploit alternative energy sources. With support from the Lord Foundation, the purchase of advanced equipment is allowing us to build custom experimental equipment, develop and test prototypes, and even make a new part for an unmanned air vehicle.

Our educational programs interweave concepts of materials engineering and materials science throughout the curriculum. Core subjects offered at both undergraduate and graduate levels cover topics necessary for all DMSE students:

• Biological and Polymeric Materials
• Computational Materials Science
• Materials for Energy and the Environment
• Materials Economics and Manufacturing
• Nanotechnology, Nanodevices, and Nanomaterials
• Electronic, Photonic, and Magnetic Materials
• High-Performance Structural and Environmental Materials
• Archaeological Materials

This core foundation and appropriate electives lead to a variety of opportunities in engineering, science, or a combination of the two.

Graduate Study

Graduate students in the Department of Materials Science and Electronics participate in research leading to a thesis. Students may also engage in multidisciplinary research projects with students and faculty from other MIT departments.

Our graduate alumni find careers in the fields of electronics, energy and the environment, aerospace, consumer industries, biomaterials and medicine, and in materials preparation and production industries.

Degree Options

The Department of Materials Science and Engineering offers the following graduate degree programs:

• Master of Science in Materials Science and Engineering

  This program may be taken simultaneously with other departmental or interdepartmental offerings. Students must complete a thesis and be in residence as a full-time regular student for a minimum of one academic term.

• Doctor of Philosophy or Doctor of Science in Materials Science and Engineering

  PhD candidates work closely with a faculty member on a significant research project in a focused area. Emphasis is placed on the research thesis, which must be of sufficient significance to warrant publication in the scientific literature.

Molecular nanotechnology: a long-term view

Molecular nanotechnology: a long-term view

Molecular nanotechnology, sometimes called molecular manufacturing, describes engineered nanosystems (nanoscale machines) operating on the molecular scale. Molecular nanotechnology is especially associated with the molecular assembler, a machine that can produce a desired structure or device atom-by-atom using the principles of mechanosynthesis. Manufacturing in the context of productive nanosystems is not related to, and should be clearly distinguished from, the conventional technologies used to manufacture nanomaterials such as carbon nanotubes and nanoparticles.

When the term "nanotechnology" was independently coined and popularized by Eric Drexler (who at the time was unaware of an earlier usage by Norio Taniguchi) it referred to a future manufacturing technology based on molecular machine systems. The premise was that molecular scale biological analogies of traditional machine components demonstrated molecular machines were possible: by the countless examples found in biology, it is known that sophisticated, stochastically optimised biological machines can be produced.

It is hoped that developments in nanotechnology will make possible their construction by some other means, perhaps using biomimetic principles. However, Drexler and other researchers have proposed that advanced nanotechnology, although perhaps initially implemented by biomimetic means, ultimately could be based on mechanical engineering principles, namely, a manufacturing technology based on the mechanical functionality of these components (such as gears, bearings, motors, and structural members) that would enable programmable, positional assembly to atomic specification. The physics and engineering performance of exemplar designs were analyzed in Drexler's book Nanosystems.

In general it is very difficult to assemble devices on the atomic scale, as all one has to position atoms on other atoms of comparable size and stickiness. Another view, put forth by Carlo Montemagno, is that future nanosystems will be hybrids of silicon technology and biological molecular machines. Yet another view, put forward by the late Richard Smalley, is that mechanosynthesis is impossible due to the difficulties in mechanically manipulating individual molecules.

This led to an exchange of letters in the ACS publication Chemical & Engineering News in 2003. Though biology clearly demonstrates that molecular machine systems are possible, non-biological molecular machines are today only in their infancy. Leaders in research on non-biological molecular machines are Dr. Alex Zettl and his colleagues at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratories and UC Berkeley. They have constructed at least three distinct molecular devices whose motion is controlled from the desktop with changing voltage: a nanotube nanomotor, a molecular actuator, and a nanoelectromechanical relaxation oscillator. See nanotube nanomotor for more examples.

An experiment indicating that positional molecular assembly is possible was performed by Ho and Lee at Cornell University in 1999. They used a scanning tunneling microscope to move an individual carbon monoxide molecule (CO) to an individual iron atom (Fe) sitting on a flat silver crystal, and chemically bound the CO to the Fe by applying a voltage.

Simple to complex: a molecular perspective of Nanotechnology

Simple to complex: a molecular perspective of Nanotechnology

Modern synthetic chemistry has reached the point where it is possible to prepare small molecules to almost any structure. These methods are used today to manufacture a wide variety of useful chemicals such as pharmaceuticals or commercial polymers. This ability raises the question of extending this kind of control to the next-larger level, seeking methods to assemble these single molecules into supramolecular assemblies consisting of many molecules arranged in a well defined manner.

These approaches utilize the concepts of molecular self-assembly and/or supramolecular chemistry to automatically arrange themselves into some useful conformation through a bottom-upapproach. The concept of molecular recognition is especially important: molecules can be designed so that a specific configuration or arrangement is favored due to non-covalent intermolecular forces. The Watson–Crick basepairing rules are a direct result of this, as is the specificity of an enzyme being targeted to a single substrate, or the specific folding of the protein itself. Thus, two or more components can be designed to be complementary and mutually attractive so that they make a more complex and useful whole.

Such bottom-up approaches should be capable of producing devices in parallel and be much cheaper than top-down methods, but could potentially be overwhelmed as the size and complexity of the desired assembly increases. Most useful structures require complex and thermodynamically unlikely arrangements of atoms. Nevertheless, there are many examples of self-assembly based on molecular recognition in biology, most notably Watson–Crick basepairing and enzyme-substrate interactions. The challenge for nanotechnology is whether these principles can be used to engineer new constructs in addition to natural ones.

Nanotechnology tools & techniques

Nanotechnology tools & techniques

There are several important modern developments. The atomic force microscope (AFM) and the Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM) are two early versions of scanning probes that launched nanotechnology. There are other types of scanning probe microscopy. Although conceptually similar to the scanning confocal microscope developed by Marvin Minsky in 1961 and the scanning acoustic microscope(SAM) developed by Calvin Quate and coworkers in the 1970s, newer scanning probe microscopes have much higher resolution, since they are not limited by the wavelength of sound or light.

The tip of a scanning probe can also be used to manipulate nanostructures (a process called positional assembly). Feature-oriented scanning methodology suggested by Rostislav Lapshin appears to be a promising way to implement these nanomanipulations in automatic mode. However, this is still a slow process because of low scanning velocity of the microscope.

Various techniques of nanolithography such as optical lithography, X-ray lithography dip pen nanolithography, electron beam lithography ornanoimprint lithography were also developed. Lithography is a top-down fabrication technique where a bulk material is reduced in size to nanoscale pattern.

Another group of nanotechnological techniques include those used for fabrication of nanotubes and nanowires, those used in semiconductor fabrication such as deep ultraviolet lithography, electron beam lithography, focused ion beam machining, nanoimprint lithography, atomic layer deposition, and molecular vapor deposition, and further including molecular self-assembly techniques such as those employing di-block copolymers. The precursors of these techniques preceded the nanotech era, and are extensions in the development of scientific advancements rather than techniques which were devised with the sole purpose of creating nanotechnology and which were results of nanotechnology research.

The top-down approach anticipates nanodevices that must be built piece by piece in stages, much as manufactured items are made. Scanning probe microscopy is an important technique both for characterization and synthesis of nanomaterials. Atomic force microscopes and scanning tunneling microscopes can be used to look at surfaces and to move atoms around. By designing different tips for these microscopes, they can be used for carving out structures on surfaces and to help guide self-assembling structures. By using, for example, feature-oriented scanning approach, atoms or molecules can be moved around on a surface with scanning probe microscopy techniques. At present, it is expensive and time-consuming for mass production but very suitable for laboratory experimentation.

In contrast, bottom-up techniques build or grow larger structures atom by atom or molecule by molecule. These techniques include chemical synthesis, self-assembly and positional assembly.Dual polarisation interferometry is one tool suitable for characterisation of self assembled thin films. Another variation of the bottom-up approach is molecular beam epitaxy or MBE. Researchers at Bell Telephone Laboratories like John R. Arthur. Alfred Y. Cho, and Art C. Gossard developed and implemented MBE as a research tool in the late 1960s and 1970s. Samples made by MBE were key to the discovery of the fractional quantum Hall effect for which the 1998 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded. MBE allows scientists to lay down atomically precise layers of atoms and, in the process, build up complex structures. Important for research on semiconductors, MBE is also widely used to make samples and devices for the newly emerging field of spintronics.

However, new therapeutic products, based on responsive nanomaterials, such as the ultradeformable, stress-sensitive Transfersome vesicles, are under development and already approved for human use in some countries.

Nanotechnology Applications

Nanotechnology Applications

As of August 21, 2008, the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies estimates that over 800 manufacturer-identified nanotech products are publicly available, with new ones hitting the market at a pace of 3–4 per week.The project lists all of the products in a publicly accessible online database. Most applications are limited to the use of "first generation" passive nanomaterials which includes titanium dioxide in sunscreen, cosmetics, surface coatings, and some food products; Carbon allotropes used to produce gecko tape; silver in food packaging, clothing, disinfectants and household appliances; zinc oxide in sunscreens and cosmetics, surface coatings, paints and outdoor furniture varnishes; and cerium oxide as a fuel catalyst.

Further applications allow tennis balls to last longer, golf balls to fly straighter, and even bowling balls to become more durable and have a harder surface. Trousers and socks have been infused with nanotechnology so that they will last longer and keep people cool in the summer. Bandages are being infused with silver nanoparticles to heal cuts faster.Cars are being manufactured with nanomaterials so they may need fewer metals and less fuel to operate in the future.Video game consoles and personal computers may become cheaper, faster, and contain more memory thanks to nanotechnology. Nanotechnology may have the ability to make existing medical applications cheaper and easier to use in places like the general practitioner's office and at home.

The National Science Foundation (a major distributor for nanotechnology research in the United States) funded researcher David Berube to study the field of nanotechnology. His findings are published in the monograph Nano-Hype: The Truth Behind the Nanotechnology Buzz. This study concludes that much of what is sold as “nanotechnology” is in fact a recasting of straightforward materials science, which is leading to a “nanotech industry built solely on selling nanotubes, nanowires, and the like” which will “end up with a few suppliers selling low margin products in huge volumes." Further applications which require actual manipulation or arrangement of nanoscale components await further research. Though technologies branded with the term 'nano' are sometimes little related to and fall far short of the most ambitious and transformative technological goals of the sort in molecular manufacturing proposals, the term still connotes such ideas. According to Berube, there may be a danger that a "nano bubble" will form, or is forming already, from the use of the term by scientists and entrepreneurs to garner funding, regardless of interest in the transformative possibilities of more ambitious and far-sighted work.

Chemical Engineering

Research in cutting-edge industries, including nanotechnology and biotechnology, and in traditional areas of inquiry depend on chemical engineers to decipher molecular information in order to develop new products and processes. Our graduates work in a broad range of fields and create innovative solutions to important industrial and societal problems. They develop clean and sustainable energy systems, make advances in the life sciences, design and produce pharmaceuticals, and discover and create new materials.

The first chemical engineering curriculum at MIT was offered in 1888 and helped to establish chemical engineering as a discipline. Since then, members of the MIT Department of Chemical Engineering have developed the tools and guidelines to define and advance the field. The department has led the nation in awarding graduate degrees, and its nearly 6,500 living alumni have distinguished themselves as leaders in industry, government, and academia. We maintain strong ties with other departments within MIT and institutions and industries worldwide.

Graduate Education

Graduate study in chemical engineering provides students with rigorous training in engineering fundamentals and the opportunity to focus on specific sub-disciplines. In addition to completing the four core course requirements in thermodynamics, reaction engineering, numerical methods, and transport phenomena, students select a research advisor and area for specialization. Areas of specialization include but are not limited to:

• Thermodynamics and molecular computation
• Transport processes
• Catalysis and chemical reaction engineering
• Polymers
• Materials
• Surfaces and nanostructures
• Biological engineering
• Energy and environmental engineering
• Systems design and simulation

Students also have the opportunity to broaden their education in the technical aspects of the chemical engineering profession and increase their communication and human relations skills by participating in the David H. Koch School of Chemical Engineering Practice, a major feature of graduate education in the department since 1916. The Practice School stresses problem solving in an engineering internship format, in which students undertake projects at industrial sites under the direct supervision of resident MIT faculty. Students receive credit for participation in the Practice School in lieu of completing a master’s thesis.

Graduate degree programs include:

• Master of Science in Chemical Engineering

  This program enables students to continue their undergraduate professional training at greater depth and with increased sophistication and independence. Students must tackle advanced courses and a thesis project, which together generally take four terms to complete.

• Master of Science in Chemical Engineering Practice

  The requirements for this degree are similar to those of the Master of Science in Chemical Engineering, with Practice School experience replacing the master’s thesis. Students who have earned a BS in chemical engineering from MIT can meet all the degree requirements in two terms. Students with a BS in chemical engineering from another institution generally require two terms at MIT followed by fieldwork in the Practice School.

• Doctoral degree

  Candidates for this degree must complete a program of advanced study, a minor program, a biology requirement, and a thesis. Students generally carry out a program of advanced study and research in a specific area of chemical engineering under the supervision of one or more faculty members in the department.

• Doctor of Philosophy in Chemical Engineering Practice

  This degree program combines advanced work in manufacturing, independent research, and management. The program is built on the research programs within the department and the resources of the David H. Koch School of Chemical Engineering Practice and MIT Sloan School of Management. Students prepare for positions of leadership in industry and build the foundation for an MBA degree. The program generally takes four calendar years to complete and has three major components: Year one is devoted to coursework and fieldwork in the Practice School; years two and three are devoted to research; and the final year is completed in the Sloan School. An integrated project combines the research and management portions of the program.

Students may also choose to participate in other interdisciplinary degree programs affiliated with the chemical engineering department, including Program in Polymer Science and Technology for students seeking a doctoral degree focused on macromolecular science and engineering; and Technology and Policy, which offers a master’s degree focusing on the role of technology in policy analysis and formulation.

Nanotechnology education in India

Nanotechnology education in India

• [Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore]
• IITs - B. Tech & M.Tech with Nanotechnology
• Delhi Technological University(formerly DCE),Delhi-M.Tech
• NITs
• Amity University, Noida, Uttar Pradesh B.Tech, M.Sc, M.Sc + M.Tech, M.Tech
• Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Kukatpally, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh - M.Sc(Nano Science & Technology) M.Tech (Nanotechnology) & Ph.D (Nano Science & Technology) www.jntuh.ac.in

 University of Madras, National Centre for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Chennai - M. Tech, M.Sc and Ph.D in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology

• University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, DEHRADUN-Uttarakhand,B.Tech-Material Science specialization in Nanotechnology
• Nanobeach, Delhi - Advanced Nanotechnology Programs
• SASTRA University, Thanjavur-TamilNadu -M.tech integrated in medical nanotechnology
• Nano Science and Technology Consortium, Delhi - Nanotechnology Programs
• Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, M.Sc. Materials Science (Nanotechnology)
• National Institute of Technology Calicut - M.Tech and PhD
• SRM University, Kattankulathur - B.Tech, M.S (Course work, Research), M.Tech and PhD
• VIT University, Vellore - M. Tech Nanotechnology
• Noorul Islam College of Engineering, Kumarakovil - M. Tech Nanotechnology
• Karunya University, Coimbatore - Masters and PhD
• Anna University Chennai
• Andhra University, Visakhapatnam - M.Sc., M.Tech
• Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupathi - M.Sc., M.Tech
• Bharathiar University, Coimbatore - M. Sc.
• Osmania University, Hyderabad - M.Sc., M.Tech
• Anna University Tiruchirappalli],Tamil Nadu - M.Tech (Nanoscience And Technology)
• Centre For Converging Technologies, University of Rajasthan, Jaipur - M.Tech(Nanotechnology And Nanomaterials)
• The Global Open University Nagaland, Nagaland - M.Sc.
• Central University of Jharkhand - Integrated M.tech. Nanotechnology
• [[KSR College of Technology, Tiruchengode] - M.Tech. NanoScience and Technology]]
• Mepco-Schlenk Engineering College, Sivakasi - M.Tech. Nanoscience and Technology
• Sarah Tucker college for Women (Affiliated with MS University, Tirunelveli) B.sc Nanoscience
• [Karunya University, Coimbatore-114 ] - Integrated M.Sc. NanoScience & Nanotechnology and M.Tech with Nanotechnology
• Acharya Nagarjuna University, Guntur - Integrated M.Sc. Nanotechnology
• Indian Institute of Nano Science & TechnologyBangalore
• Sri Guru Granth Sahib World University Fatehgarh Sahib, Punjab
• [Anna University, Coimbatore]

Important:

   AICTE, New Delhi has added B.Tech. & M.Tech. Nanotechnology courses in the list of approved courses in the academic year 2011-12

Aeronautics and Astronautics

Professors, students, and researchers come to MIT from all corners of the globe to explore their passion for air and space travel and to advance the technologies and vehicles that make such travel possible. We build on our long tradition of scholarship and research to develop and implement reliable, safe, economically feasible, and environmentally responsible air and space travel.

Our industry contributions and collaborations are extensive. We have graduated more astronauts than any other private institution in the world. Nearly one-third of our current research collaborations are with MIT faculty in other departments, and approximately one-half are with non-MIT colleagues in professional practice, government agencies, and other universities. We work closely with scientists and scholars at NASA, Boeing, the U.S. Air Force, Stanford University, Lockheed Martin, and the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Our educational programs are organized around three overlapping areas:

• Aerospace information engineering

  Focuses on real-time, safety-critical systems with humans-in-the-loop. Core disciplines include autonomy, software, communications, networks, controls, and human-machine and human-software interaction.

• Aerospace systems engineering

  Explores the central processes in the creation, implementation, and operation of complex socio-technical engineering systems. Core disciplines include system architecture and engineering, simulation and modeling, safety and risk management, policy, economics, and organizational behavior.

• Aerospace vehicles engineering

  Addresses the engineering of air and space vehicles, their propulsion systems, and their subsystems. Core disciplines include fluid and solid mechanics, thermodynamics, acoustics, combustion, controls, computation, design, and simulation.

Graduate Education

Graduate students in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics have myriad opportunities for in-depth study, research, and collaboration. They work closely with some of the brightest, most motivated minds in industry and academia, from NASA astronauts to the faculty at MIT and other leading institutions. Students may conduct research in one of our many internal labs and centers, or in a lab affiliated with another department.

Our graduate alumni are leaders in private industry, government service, and education. They start their own businesses, inform the policies that shape aerospace research and development, and teach and inspire the next generation of leaders in the aerospace field.

Degree Options

The Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics offers the following graduate degree programs:

• Master of Science in Aeronautics and Astronautics

  This two-year degree program prepares students for an advanced position in the aerospace field and provides a solid foundation for doctoral study. Students are required to complete a thesis and related research or design experience.

• Doctoral degree

  The PhD and ScD emphasize in-depth study, with a significant research project in a focused area. Students must complete an individual course of study, submit and defend a thesis proposal, and submit and defend a thesis of original research. We offer doctoral degrees in a range of subjects, from aeroelasticity to plasma physics.

Students may also choose to participate in several interdisciplinary degree programs affiliated with the AeroAstro department, including:

• Computation for Design and Optimization, for students interested in computational approaches to the design and operation engineered systems
• Leaders for Global Operations, a two-year dual-degree program leading to both an SM in AeroAstro and an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management designed for students with two or more years of work experience who aspire to leadership positions in manufacturing or operations companies
• System Design and Management, a partnership among industry, government, and MIT for educating technologically grounded leaders of 21st-century enterprises

Additional interdisciplinary study programs AeroAstro students participate in are:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Flight Transportation
• Technology and Policy Program