Wheeling High School to Host NANO Connect on Tuesday, October 9

SKOKIE, IL--(Marketwire - Sep 4, 2012) - Wheeling High School, a recognized Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education, announced today that it will host NANO Connect, a forum aimed at demystifying the rapidly emerging field of nanotechnology and demonstrating how nanotechnology education can be integrated into traditional high school science curriculums. The NANO Connect forum will be held at Wheeling High School on Tuesday, October 9 from 8 a.m. to noon and will feature keynote addresses from Illinois Congressman Bob Dold; Gayle E. Woloschak, Ph.D., Professor at Northwestern University; and Ted Fetters, Director of Program Management for the Illinois Science and Technology Coalition. NANO Connect is sponsored by NanoProfessor^®, a division of NanoInk^®, Inc., the global leader in hands-on undergraduate nanotechnology education.

The NANO Connect forum is open to students, educators, and those working in the nanotechnology field. In addition to the keynote addresses, graduate students from Northwestern University's International Institute for Nanotechnology will give hands-on demonstrations to Wheeling High School students, showcasing nanotechnology and its applications. The event will also include a complete display of the state-of-the-art, nano-focused instrumentation contained within the NanoProfessor Nanoscience Education Program, including NanoInk's NLP 2000 Desktop Nanofabrication System, the first desktop nanofabrication system allowing students to quickly and easily build custom-engineered nanoscale structures with a wide variety of materials from metal nanoparticles to biomolecules using NanoInk's proprietary Dip Pen Nanolithography^® (DPN^®). Local companies working in the nanotechnology industry will also be in attendance. More information about NANO Connect, including registration, is available at: http://whs.d214.org/academics/nano_conference.aspx

"We created NANO Connect to provide a forum to promote collaboration among educators, industry partners, post-secondary institutions, and government in support of the Illinois Research STEM Pathway and statewide economic development," said Dr. Lazaro Lopez, Principal of Wheeling High School. "Following the event, attendees will have a better understanding of nanotechnology and its impact on scientific research and future applications."

"We are thrilled to sponsor NANO Connect, which brings together educators, students, and the private sector with the goal of growing the nanotechnology industry in Illinois through education and development," said Dean Hart, Chief Commercial Officer of NanoInk. "Dr. Lopez should be commended for his leadership in bringing awareness to the need for true hands-on nanotechnology education at the undergraduate and high school levels."

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 in the United States. 

Wheeling High School is a public, four-year comprehensive high school with a STEM focus that opened in 1964 and graduated its first class in 1966. It serves Wheeling and sections of Arlington Heights, Buffalo Grove, Mount Prospect, Northbrook, and Prospect Heights and is one of the six schools in Township High School District 214. In the fall of 2010, Wheeling High School was officially rededicated as a STEM school and admitted as an institutional member of the National Consortium for Specialized Secondary Schools of Mathematics, Science, and Technology -- one of only three in Illinois. More information is available at: http://whs.d214.org.

About the NanoProfessor Nanoscience Education Program
The NanoProfessor Nanoscience Education Program aims to advance undergraduate nanotechnology education and address the growing need for a skilled, nano-savvy workforce. 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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