SENAI/SESI of Sao Paulo Selects NanoProfessor as Foundation for "Nanomundo" Nanotechnology Education Initiative

SKOKIE, IL--(Marketwire - Oct 8, 2012) - NanoProfessor®, the global leader in hands-on undergraduate nanotechnology education, announced today that SENAI (Serviço Nacional de Aprendizagem Industrial) and SESI (Serviço Social da Indústria) of São Paulo, Brazil recently incorporated the NanoProfessor Nanoscience Education Program into five mobile nanotechnology classrooms in launching its Nanomundo Nanotechnology Educational Program. 

SENAI is Brazil's largest organization of professional and technological education in Latin America, while SESI is Brazil's leader in promoting improved quality of life for workers and their dependents including providing high quality basic education for students from first through twelfth grade.

The mobile Nanomundo nanotechnology classrooms can accommodate up to 30 students at a time and will travel between the SENAI/SESI network of schools within São Paulo. Each Nanomundo classroom comes equipped with nano-focused instrumentation provided by the NanoProfessor Program including NanoInk's NLP 2000 Desktop NanoFabrication System, a student-friendly atomic force microscope, and a best-of-class fluorescence microscope. The Nanomundo classrooms will also use the NanoProfessor textbook, "Introduction to Nanoscale Science and Technology," and the cutting-edge lab experiments provided by the NanoProfessor Program. Both the NanoProfessor textbook and lab guide have been translated into Portuguese to further support the Nanomundo Program. The SENAI/SESI teachers will undergo an intensive two-week training program in São Paulo conducted by NanoProfessor's Scientific Education Team.

"Nanotechnology is a rapidly emerging industry that is responsible for life-changing breakthroughs in fields such as medicine, manufacturing, alternative energy, and electronics," said Professor Walter Vicioni, Diretor Regional and Superintendente Operacional of SENAI/SESI São Paulo. "By using the NanoProfessor Program as the foundation of the Nanomundo Program and the five mobile nanotechnology classrooms, we are ensuring that students throughout our vast network of schools in São Paulo will have access to state-of-the-art nanotechnology education and be prepared for exciting jobs in the nanotechnology industry."

"We salute SENAI/SESI São Paulo for their ingenuity, visionary thinking, and strong commitment to nanotechnology education," said Dean Hart, Chief Commercial Officer of NanoProfessor. "By integrating the NanoProfessor Nanoscience Education Program into its five Nanomundo mobile nanotechnology classrooms, SENAI/SESI is not only providing their students with the skills and education needed to succeed in nanotechnology-related careers, but also building a nano-savvy workforce to help support the strong economic growth within São Paulo and Brazil as a whole." 

In just over 24 months, the NanoProfessor Nanoscience Education Program has been chosen to serve as the foundation for undergraduate hands-on nanotechnology education by over 20 institutions in five countries. The NanoProfessor Program alternates between classroom lectures and exciting, hands-on nanoscale lab work. The NanoProfessor curriculum includes a textbook authored by leading nanotechnology experts, covering the topics of Nanotechnology Instrumentation, Imaging and Nanofabrication techniques, Nanophysics, Nanochemistry, Nanobiology, and perspectives on Environmental, Health, and Safety within nanotechnology. In conducting the hands-on lab experiments, students work with state-of-the-art nano-centric instrumentation 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 biomolecules to metal nanoparticles using NanoInk's proprietary Dip Pen Nanolithography® (DPN®).

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 6 million nanotechnology workers will be needed worldwide by 2020, with 2 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. 

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 state-of-the-art, nano-centric 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.

NanoInk, NanoProfessor, Dip Pen Nanolithography, DPN, and the NanoProfessor logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of NanoInk, Inc.