Nanoscience Minor

   

      The School of Science offers an interdisciplinary minor in nanoscience. While anyone enrolled in an undergraduate degree program at Hampton University may pursue said minor, undergraduate majors in the School of Science and School of Engineering especially will find a minor in nanoscience beneficial to their future aspirations. Nanoscience is an interdisciplinary discipline that provides an interface for Biology, Chemistry, Engineering, Mathematics and Physics.  The discipline so impacts our global economy that the National Science Foundation projects the need for 6 million nanotechnology workers worldwide by the year 2020.  Accordingly, the School of Science now provides students with the following: (1) the opportunity to earn a nanoscience minor that will prepare them to contribute to the global demand; and (2) an introductory, nanoscience course that will enable students to be aware of current technological advances that impact our society. 

      The minor requires a minimum of twenty (20) credit hours in science and technology courses which have significant nanoscience discussion of application. Students will engage in interdisciplinary foundational courses, with nanoscience modules built into the curriculum of the courses. Students are required to take two foundational courses outside of their major to gain the adequate background necessary for subsequent nanoscience coursework. Students will go on to take two upper level nanoscience-related courses, with at least one course being from outside of their own major department. Students who minor in nanoscience will be required to enroll in a research course for a minimum of two semesters, totaling a minimum of four credit hours. Said research course must be at least 300-level (junior level). The students will be required to either participate in individual, independent research projects, or make major contributions to a nanoscience-related research projects with designated research mentors. The students will be expected to submit a comprehensive research report, based on their findings.

      The introductory interdisciplinary survey course, serves as a gateway course to spark interests in nanoscience and to build enthusiasm for the NanoHU program. This course provides a fundamental foundation for the minor, while informing the general student population of this interdisciplinary subject matter that has dominated global interest in STEM and non-STEM sectors. Students may use this course to decide if they want to pursue an interdisciplinary minor in nanoscience. The introductory course is open to all students, and satisfies the general education requirement for physical science.

      A series of seminars is offered where discussions of nanoscience topics are carried out by students, faculty and invited speakers. Emphasis is placed on the interdisciplinary nature of nanoscience. Students can explore current findings in nanoscience, and project future work from research initiatives. The student pursuing said minor is required to attend five nanoscience-related seminars/presentations/talks per semester and submit a 1-page report on each.

 

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Minor Curriculum Sequence

Table 1 provides a breakdown of courses that students may take to earn the minor in nanoscience. It has been constructed to show mandatory courses and optional courses that encourage students to learn about nanoscience from the perspectives of their STEM major and a discipline outside of their major.

 

Minor Sequence:

 

		Course Number	Course  Name	Pre/Co-requisite	Fall Semester	Spring Semester	Credit Hours
A	CORE REQUIREMENT	SCI 203	Introduction to Nanoscience	none	x	x	3
B	SELECT TWO courses outside of student’s own major	PHY 202	Introductory Physics II	PHY 201	x	x	4
		PHY 204	Introductory Physics II (with Calculus)	PHY 203	x	x	4
		CHE 201	General Chemistry and Qualitative Analysis II	MAT 117		x	4
		BIO 105	Introduction to Biology I	none	x	x	4
		MES 130	Introduction to Environmental Science	None	x		3
C	SELECT TWO courses, with at least one course outside of student’s own major	CSC  204	Computer Architecture, Systems and Organization	CSC 152	x		3
		PHY 211	Modern Physics I	PHY 220 PHY 330	x		3
		PHY 212	Modern Physics II	PHY 220-221 PHY 330-331		x	3
		PHY 526	Topics in Contemporary Physics	Consent of Mentor			3
		CHE 401	Physical Chemistry I	CHE 201-202 CHE 301-302 MAT 151 PHY 201-202 or 203-204	x		4
		CHE 402	Physical Chemistry II	CHE 401		x	4
		CHE 408	Advanced Analytical Chemistry	CHE 313 CHE 401-402		x	4
		CHE 421	Physical Methods in Forensic Chemistry	CHE 420		x	4
		CHE 505	Molecular Spectroscopy	Consent of Mentor	x		3
		CHE 510	Polymer Chemistry	CHE 301-302			3
		BIO 224	Anatomy and Physiology	BIO 103	x	x	4
		BIO 412	Gene Expression and Control	BIO 305 CHE 201-202		x	3
		BIO 502	Advanced Genetics	BIO 210, 220, 305, 1 year of Chemistry	x		3
		BIO 503	General and Cellular Physiology	BIO 210, 220 and Organic Chemistry or consent of instructor	x	x	4
		MAT 512	Elements of Mathematical Modeling	MAT 260			3
		EGR 406	Survey of Nanotechnology	CHE 202, MAT 152, PHY 202 or Consent of mentor			3
D	SELECT ONE Take two semesters of research credits, each semester 2-12 research credits, with a minimum of 4 total research credits.   Upon conclusion of the second research course, the student is required to submit a comprehensive project report based on nanoscience-related research.	PHY 491	Senior Research Topics in Physics	Consent of Mentor	x	x	2-12
		CHE 314-315	Introduction to Chemical Research	Consent of Mentor	x	x	3
		CHE 414-415	Chemical Research Applications	Consent of Mentor	x	x	3
		BIO 408	Research Problems	Consent of Mentor	x	x	2-4
		BIO 505	Research Problems	Consent of Chair	x	x	2-6
		MAT 424	Research Problems	Consent of Chair			2-4
		EGR 391	Intermediate Research Topics in Engineering	Consent of Mentor	x	x	2-9
		EGR 491	Senior Research Topics in Engineering	Consent of Mentor	x	x	2-12
		CSC 291	Basic Research Topics in Computer Science - Introduction to Robotics	CSC 152	x		3
		CSC 391	Intermediate Research Topics in Computer Science	Consent of Mentor	x	x	3

The minor in Nanoscience requires 20 credit hours from the following list of courses: *

• 3 credit hours - SCI 203
• 7-8 credit hours selected in courses outside of student’s own major from: PHY 202, PHY 204, CHE 201, BIO 105, MES 130
• 6-8 credit hours with at least 3 credit hours outside of student’s own major, selected from: PHY 211, PHY 212, PHY 526, CHE 401, CHE 402, CHE 408, CHE 421, CHE 505, CHE 510, CSC 204, BIO 224, BIO 412, BIO 502, BIO 503, MAT 512, EGR 406
• 4 credit hours minimum of research related to nanoscience, divided between two semesters, selected from: BIO 408, BIO 505, CHE 314-315, CSC 291, CSC 391, EGR 391, EGR 491, MAT 424, PHY491. The student is required to submit a comprehensive project report based on nanoscience-related research.

*Note: The Office of the Dean in the School of Science will appoint a faculty mentor who will serve as the advisor for the minor.

 

For more information, please email: NanoHU@hamptonu.edu or call the program office 757-728-6705, or visit us at 110 Turner Hall, Hampton University.