New LMU Center To Support Nanotechnology Industry source <http://www.lmu.edu/Page33508.aspx?DateTime=633064896000000000&PageMode=\ View> New LMU Center To Support Nanotechnology Industry
http://www.arizonabiotech.com/ <http://www.arizonabiotech.com/> Nanotechnology Center provides access to research and trainings on nanotechnology for the business, education and engineering communities Loyola Marymount University has created an open education and research center to provide business, education and engineering communities with access to e-learning, conferences, seminars and information exchange programs about nanotechnology. Nanotechnology is the study devoted to the design and production of extremely small electronic devices and circuits built from individual atoms and molecules. "Nano is just one more step in the history of technology that has and will change our lives," said John Wholihan, dean of LMU's College of Business Administration. "Establishing the Nanotechnology Center at LMU allows our students to graduate recognizing the impact science will have on their business and personal lives." The primary focus of the center is on the application and use of nanotechnology and its integration with the products that are manufactured today. Also, it is the foremost hub advocating the application and use of nanotechnology at the micro, nano and pico scales simultaneously. Business and engineering students investigate nanotechnology that is being undertaken worldwide and locate and identify companies that are applying nanoscale technology. As an open education research system, the center shares its results and discoveries, and advocates collaboration in all of its activities. "Our purpose is to complement other organizations and our competition is time," said Anthony Laviano, director of the Nanotechnology Center at LMU. "The understanding of nanotechnology will lead the way in tomorrow's product strategy solution." In order to fulfill this goal, the center offers a certificate program entitled "Essentials in Understanding and Managing Nanotechnology." Participants develop a working knowledge of nanotechnology and receive a top-level understanding of market and financial opportunities for application. Participants in the program must have a minimum of two years work experience and be internet literate. Additionally, the center has developed curriculum at the high school, undergraduate and graduate levels. LMU will offer its first undergraduate course in nanotechnology in Fall '07 and its first graduate course in Spring '08. The high school curriculum will be used at the Don Bosco Technical Institute in Fall `07. The institute plans to build a new computer lab that will accommodate 40 students for future trainings. The center also launched a partnership with the City of El Segundo to provide local businesses with immediate and skilled nanotechnology experts. The partnership is a model, developed with the hope of expanding to include all of Los Angeles County. "The rapid advancement of nanotechnology is critical to El Segundo and its business community because many of our companies stake their futures on using the best technology available in their products and services," said Kelly McDowell, mayor of El Segundo. "We look forward to engaging LMU and our city in this enterprise and to attracting and growing new businesses focused on nanotechnology." Laviano, who runs the center with a staff of four, has served on the National Academy of Sciences, National Research Council for Nanotechnology, and served as the LMU Frank R. Seaver College of Science and Engineering Chair for Nanotechnology. He received a B.A. from St. Charles College, Pa., an M.B.A. from Pepperdine University and a Ph.D. in business administration from Nova Southeastern University, Fla. Laviano is also the founder and executive director of NANOWorld, an outreach program that focuses on the education, application and use of nanotechnology in the physical and life sciences.
