A novel “Nano-Scale Engineering Certificate Program” (NECP) has been established at the University of Kentucky (UK) College of Engineering for the undergraduate engineering students. This will be the first time a certificate program being offered in a comprehensive way to educate undergraduate engineering students on nanotechnology. We expect that the NECP will enhance not only the level of nano-scale education in the College of Engineering, but it will also foster a series of new wave of interdisciplinary research programs around the Campus and beyond.

What are the courses being offered in NECP?

The students who enroll in the NECP will be required to take a total of six courses on nanotechnology and attend to two semester-long seminar courses. See the attached Course Table for all the courses to be offered.

Four of the required six courses will be lecture courses addressing both theoretical and fabrication fundamentals as related to nano-scale processes. These courses will be offered by the Departments of Mechanical Engineering (ME), Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE), and Chemical and Materials Engineering (CME), and can be accepted as Technical Electives in the home Departments of the students.

What are the departmental requiremnts for getting enrolled in the NECP?

The total number of credit hours you will take for the CERTIFICATE varies between 12 and 14, depending on your selections. You can take these courses as Technical Electives; therefore, there will be no impact of the certificate program on your graduation time.

Please check the the required curricula in respective Departments (CME, MSE, ECE, or ME), where the required Technical Elective slots are highlighted.

We encourage you to take additional courses (highligted with white backgrounds on the attached Course Table to extend your knowledge base; however, there is no strict requirement for these additional courses. Please note that we will add more courses to the NECP in coming years.

The hands-on laboratory courses will be part of the minimum required courses which are counted towards graduation. The lab courses will be offered by the Departments of Chemical and Materials Engineering (CME) and the Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE). Depending on your research goals, you can choose one of these laboratory tracks. Please consult with the Program Faculty for details.

Will NECP open avenues for research in nano field?

In addition to have coherent education component, the NECP gives the students the opportunity to participate in the research activities within the laboratories of the core faculty members, as well as those who are carrying out the cutting-edge research in other departments at UK. The students will also be exposed to the novel ideas to be presented during the seminar courses. These seminars will be delivered by the UK faculty as well as by those invited from other institutions.

Will I be given any financial support?

There will be limited amount of grants available for the most deserving students during the Summer 2004 and 2005 while they are involved in research. We will try our best to support all students one way or other during the Summer months. All students are expected to do research during the Summer.

Our ultimate objective in the NECP is to prepare our undergraduate engineering students so that they can actively participate in the nanotechnology revolution in both academia and industry.