Departmental Focus
The Department of NanoEngineering focuses on nanoscience, nanoengineering, and nanotechnology that have the potential to make valuable contributions to new materials development, environmental remediation, energy efficiency, biology and medicine, to name just a few. Nanoengineering refers broadly to engineering on the atomic and molecular scale, normally 1 to 100 nanometers, and the fabrication of devices and systems with nanostructured materials within that size range. As it is a highly multidisciplinary field, graduate research programs will cover a broad range of topics, but focus particularly on biomedical nanotechnology, nanotechnologies for energy conversion and storage, computational nanotechnology, and molecular and nanomaterials. Our degree programs focus on integrating the various science and engineering disciplines necessary for successful careers in the evolving nanotechnology industry.
The education goals of the program are:
- Prepare students for nanotechnology by providing them with a sound grounding in multidisciplinary areas of nanoscience and nanoengineering
- Increase students' understanding of materials and their properties at the atomic and nanometer scales, including an understanding of the intimate relationship between a material’s scale and the properties of materials from macroscale to nanoscale
- Prepare graduates who, while skilled in areas of nanoscience and nanoengineering, will be qualified for jobs in traditional science-based industries and government laboratories and, as the nanotechnologies emerge and mature, will be positioned for jobs in this applied area. This program will be anticipating trends and providing students with integrated, cross-disciplinary scientific knowledge and professional skills
- Educate a new generation of scientists who can participate in, and indeed seed, new high-technology companies that will be the key to maintaining jobs, wealth and educational infrastructures as nanotechnology results in a new industrial revolution
- Enable the students to develop a range of professional, scientific and computational skills that will enhance employment opportunities in a wide range of industrial and governmental institutions
- Prepare students for the workplace through developing their ability to contribute constructively to multidisciplinary teams, learn team engineering principles and methods, to communicate both orally and in written form, and to be familiar with modern, computer-based communication technology. This will be achieved using non-traditional education techniques including group-based problem-based learning, flexible delivery and web-based interactive tutorials.
The Department of NanoEngineering is also the administrative home of the interdepartmental Chemical Engineering Program (CENG).
Undergraduate Program
Degree and Program Options
The B.S. degree in NanoEngineering has been approved and students may now join the major. The B.S. program in Chemical Engineering (CENG) is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology (ABET/EAC).
Graduate Program
Degree and Program Options
The Department of NanoEngineering Department offers graduate instruction leading to the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in NanoEngineering.
The Chemical Engineering Program offers graduate instruction leading to the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Chemical Engineering. Chemical Engineering offers a concentration in Nanotechnology within the Graduate Program.
NanoEngineering Program
Student Affairs: 2801 Atkinson Hall, Warren College
Graduate Program
The Department of NanoEngineering (NE) offers graduate instruction leading to the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in NanoEngineering.
Admission is in accordance with the general requirements of the graduate division, which requires at least a B.S. in some branch of engineering, sciences, or mathematics; an overall GPA of 3.0; and three letters of recommendation from individuals who can attest to the academic or professional competence and to the depth of their interest in pursuing graduate study.
In addition, all applicants are required to submit GRE General Test Scores. A minimum score of 550 on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is required of all international applicants whose native language is not English. Students who score below 600 on the TOEFL are strongly encouraged to enroll in an English as a second language program before beginning graduate work. UC San Diego Extension offers an excellent English language program during the summers as well as the academic year.
Applicants are judged competitively. Based on the candidate’s background, qualifications, and goals, admission to the program is in one of three categories: ‘M.S.-only’, ‘M.S.’, or ‘Ph.D.’ Admission to the ‘M.S.-only’ category is reserved for students for whom the M.S. degree is likely to be the terminal graduate degree. The M.S. designation is reserved for students currently interested in obtaining an M.S. degree but who at a later time may wish to continue in the doctoral degree program. Admission to the Ph.D. Program is reserved for qualified students whose final aim is a doctoral degree.
Non-matriculated students are welcome to seek enrollment in graduate level courses via UC Extension’s concurrent registration program, but an extension student’s enrollment in a graduate course must be approved by the instructor. All graduate students in NanoEngineering will be required to take each of five core classes that have been carefully crafted to provide an in-depth understanding of the chemistry, physics, materials, and interface science germane to the nanoscale [courses NANO 201, 202, and 204]. In addition, NANO 203 focuses on the complex and innovative new technologies in place and being developed for the tailored synthesis of controlled, functional nanostructures and directed self-assembly of complex nanostructures and nanosystems. NANO205 specifically addresses the challenge of nanoscale systems integration, focusing on making connections of scientific principles across physical boundaries between diverse materials to achieve new, unique, nanoscale functionality. The additional courses required for completion of each graduate degree, beyond the 5 core classes, will come from a series of NanoEngineering elective courses, sub-divided into the three research focus areas: Biomedical Nanotechnology, Molecular and Nanomaterials, or Nanotechnologies for Energy and the Environment. Additional courses needed to develop team engineering, technology leadership, and entrepreneur skills will be made available to our graduate students through the new series of engineering-wide courses [ENG-100, 101, and 101L] developed in collaboration with the Rady School of Management, the von Liebig Foundation, and engineering faculty.