Visionary NE3I -- Nanotechnology Employment, Education, and Economic Development Initiative -- Chooses NanoProfessor Nanoscience Education Program as Cornerstone

SKOKIE, IL--(Marketwire - Jul 16, 2012) - NanoProfessor®, a division of NanoInk®, Inc. focused on nanotechnology education, announced that the newly launched Nanotechnology Employment, Education, and Economic Development Initiative (NE³I) has chosen the NanoProfessor Nanoscience Education Program to serve as the cornerstone of its educational activities, with the goal of making nanotechnology education accessible for high school and community college students in the northern suburbs of Chicago. 

The NE³I is a partnership between the Village of Skokie, Oakton Community College (Oakton), the Illinois Science + Technology Park (IS+TP), and NSERVE, which is a consortium of nine local high schools representing approximately 24,000 secondary students. Oakton recently received a $250,000 grant from the Searle Funds at The Chicago Community Trust to support the launch of the NE³I; and that grant was matched by the Village of Skokie, using funds from the Village's Downtown Science + Technology Park Tax Increment Finance (TIF) District.

"NanoProfessor is a global leader in undergraduate nanotechnology education, working with universities, community colleges, and high schools around the world to provide students with the necessary skills and real-world experiences needed to succeed in the fast growing nanotechnology industry," said Dean Hart, Chief Commercial Officer at NanoInk. "We commend Mayor Van Dusen, the Village of Skokie, Oakton Community College, the Illinois Science + Technology Park, NSERVE, and the Searle Funds at The Chicago Community Trust for their collaborative and visionary efforts in establishing Skokie and the surrounding communities as leaders in nanotechnology education."

"The NE³I partner organizations share a common goal of training 125 to 300 local students each year to address a growing and documented need for a nano-savvy work force at the Illinois Science + Technology Park and other northern Illinois locations," said Skokie Mayor, George Van Dusen. "I am grateful to the Searle Funds at The Chicago Community Trust for supporting the initiative, and am pleased that the Village of Skokie has the resources to contribute to this important jobs training initiative. With a locally trained, professional nanotechnology work force, it is expected that additional nanotechnology firms will establish a presence at the Illinois Science + Technology Park and regionally throughout northern Illinois."

"The nanotechnology field is growing rapidly and as it does, technicians will play an increasingly important role in the lab," said Oakton Community College President, Margaret B. Lee, Ph.D. "We're excited to be working with NanoProfessor and the NE³I group because ultimately this partnership will help meet that need and create a skilled workforce -- and career pathways for our students."

Oakton's Departments of Math, Technologies, Science, and Health Careers will lead the NE³I's nanotechnology training curriculum, which will build upon the strong foundation provided by the existing curriculum from NanoProfessor. The NE³I will be housed at the IS+TP in Skokie and is expected to be available to students through Oakton in spring 2013. 

Nanotechnology is the understanding and control of matter at dimensions between approximately one and 100 nanometers (nm), where unique phenomena enable novel applications which are not feasible when working with bulk materials. A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter. Encompassing nanoscale science, engineering, and technology, nanotechnology involves imaging, measuring, modeling, and manipulating matter at the nanoscale. A study funded by the National Science Foundation projects that six million nanotechnology workers will be needed worldwide by 2020, with two million of those jobs in the United States. However, as of 2008, there were only 400,000 estimated workers worldwide in the field of nanotechnology, with an estimated 150,000 of those jobs in the United States. 

The NanoProfessor Nanoscience Education Program alternates between classroom lectures and hands-on lab work. The curriculum includes a textbook authored by leading nanotechnology experts, covering the topics of Nanotechnology Basics, Nanophysics, Nanochemistry, Nanobiology, and Environmental, Health, and Safety perspectives on nanotechnology. In conducting the hands-on lab experiments, students learn the fundamentals for building custom-engineered nanoscale structures while working with state-of-the-art equipment including NanoInk's NLP 2000 Desktop NanoFabrication System, a student-friendly atomic force microscope (AFM), a best-of-class fluorescence microscope, an advanced nanoparticle characterization instrument, and various chemical and biological materials used today within current and emerging nanotechnology applications. 

About NanoProfessor
The NanoProfessor Nanoscience Education Program aims to advance undergraduate nanotechnology education and address the growing need for a skilled, nano savvy work force. The NanoProfessor Program, including instruments, an expert-driven curriculum, and student/teacher support materials, is available for high schools, community colleges, technical institutes, and universities worldwide. More information is available at www.NanoProfessor.net or (847)679-NANO (6266). You can also like NanoProfessor on Facebook® at www.facebook.com/NanoProfessor1 and follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/nanoprofessor1.

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