Technological Leadership

California's technological leadership is founded on the quality of its schools and universities. Technology will continue to play a crucial role in the economic health of the state, and in order to reap the greatest benefit, California must ensure the excellence of education for its workforce. The challenge of properly educating our future science and technology leaders, is in providing a broad-based, thorough educational experience that will retain its relevancy in a rapidly changing society. The science and technology of nanosystems must draw from a diverse make-up of traditional academic disciplines as well as from a perspective that is well-grounded in economic and social context. At every level of employment, the high-tech workforce must be adequately prepared in critical evaluation and communication, as well as in technical skills.

The CNSI will establish an educational program designed to advance the field of nanosystems research and technology that includes a spectrum of innovative learning opportunities. The Institute will build on the interplay between nanosystems research and education to:

• Enhance the training of future researchers and decision-makers
• Create a leading set of multidisciplinary courses
• Enrich school and community resources
• Influence the technical capabilities of current industrial scientists and engineers

Educational Infrastructure to Support Cross-Disciplinary Research

The problem-oriented research agenda of the CNSI is interdisciplinary. The research programs will flourish only if the coursework structure is responsive to overcoming the language, training, and intellectual barriers that characterize the disciplines working within the Institute. The CNSI will approach this challenge by:

• Initiating a common CNSI graduate admissions program
• Creating one-week immersion courses where faculty, visiting scientists (including CNSI industrial partners), advanced students and postdoctoral students and introduce topics in nanosystems science and engineering
• Making an investment in infrastructure to share information in real time between labs and campus and facilitating distance education (This will build on the existing Internet2 link between UCLA and UCSB.)
• Rapidly developing visualization and display technology

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