Nanoscience

Nanoscience has the potential to become the sunrise sector in the years ahead. “From converting sunlight into power, to targeting a drug to a single malignant cell, from creating sensors in the form of biochip to the ability to produce garments which can act as a chemical shield, possibilities are immense in this (nanotechnology) domain.

In the field of nanoscience, it is material versus molecule. Nanoscientists operate from either of these major vantage points. Some are excited about the behaviour of materials, when brought down to nano levels. In other words, nanoscientists deal with reducing materials to nanosizes and observing the changes in their properties and behaviour.

A leading scientist, contends that, “material such as gold, which is chemically inert at normal scales, can serve as a potent chemical catalyst at nanoscales. Much of the fascination with nanotechnology stems from these different phenomena that matter exhibits at the nanoscale.”

On the other hand, another group of scientists are interested in using nanoscience to assemble individual atoms into a desired molecule so as to evolve molecular-level machines.

But research in this domain is very much in its infancy the world over, and India has negligible presence in the area.

One millionth of a millimetre or 10-9 m, is a nanometre, and study of matter at that level is nanotechnology. Initiated as an idea by Nobel Prize winning physicist, Richard Feynman in the early 1950s, nanotechnology caught up as a separate discipline only during the early 90s. The nanotechnology initiative set up in 2000, by the US federal government played a crucial role in providing seed funding for long-term research in the area. It has also caught up well in Europe. India was one of the early entrants in the domain, thanks to the pioneering work of Prof. CNR Rao, Linus Pauling Research Professor at JNCASR. As a field of study nanoscience is truly interdisciplinary in nature.

The nature and structure of the course depends upon the area of specialisation that the course focuses on. Normally, the three chief divisions of nanotech are nanomaterials, nanoelectronics and nanobiotechnology. And the concentration of courses would be a function of your specialisation