For those of you interested in the PEY option and the job market after graduation, here are the stories of some of your predecessors in the nano class.

In the past, the nano class has had no problems applying or getting PEY positions. 0T3 students had placement at nanotechnology, aerospace and materials companies such as Zyvex, MDRobotics, Inco, and Shawcor. 0T4 students have done the same, and many of the most competitive electrical engineering positions have gone to nanos. Although the PEY office does not have jobs that are explicitly described as being 'nano', with the program being as cross-disciplinary as it is, all of the jobs are possibilities. In addition, there are many small and large companies that have research, product development, and manufacturing in the nanotechnology arena, and students are encouraged to apply to these companies, and create their own PEY position.

Past Student Bios:

Michael Brougham (0T3 + PEY)

My scientific interests are centered on bioengineering and bioethics, the environment and renewable energy, microeconomics, structural dynamics and the control systems and emergent behaviour found in nature. I feel that the nano program has provided me with a unique outlook on the challenges in these fields from an advanced materials perspective. Since most fields, including these, depend on the distribution and redistribution of matter, the importance of understanding atomic and molecular structures and their multiscale organization cannot be overstated.

As a background on my PEY, I carried out the following projects during that time:

[Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto]
-Wrote pattern recognition software to characterize AFM/DNA binding
-Designed a microfluidic shear cell to study collagen growth

[Edward S. Rogers Sr. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering]
-Researched carbon nanotube growth through plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition

[Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute, Mt. Sinai Hospital]
-Helped develop a new multi-platform viewer for biomedical data viewing

I feel that the first two years of engineering science provided me with an excellent basis in programming, mathematics and physics. The third year supplied the necessary exposure to organic chemistry and biochemistry to work closely with biomedical researches in two departments. The 'Physical and Inorganic Chemistry', 'Materials Chemistry, 'Atoms, Molecules and Solids' and 'Structure and Characterization of Nanostructured Materials' courses were invaluable for my research on nanotubes, especially when working with high resolution microscopes and interpreting results.

If you have a strong desire to create a challenging and rewarding career for yourself, study nano-, bio- and infotechnologies together in parallel while constantly considering how the three can be integrated for new applications. If you have any questions regarding the above projects or share some of my interests, please feel free to contact me at mvbrougham@hotmail.com.

Joyce Wong (0T4 + PEY)

City of Atsugi, Japan, Researching quantum point contacts for the Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corporation (NTT)

I don't think the nano program itself prepared me much for my PEY placement; I think that all 3 years of Nsci so far has prepared me more. Let me elaborate: in 3rd year Nano, everything I've learned is so broad, like general quantum mech and other fundamentals. But it never told me what *kinds* of researchable nano topics are out there. When I got to NTT, it boggled me to realize there's so much out there, like specifically what quantum dots/wires, point contacts, carbon nanotubes etc. could be used for, and what types of physics could be researched. Nsci in general has helped, because I needed stuff from my circuits/calc/E&M etc., pretty much everything I have learned.

Nano is a great jumping off point for anyone interested in nano grad school or related stuff in the future.

Tanya Monga (0T4 + PEY)

I did my PEY term in Richardson, Texas with Zyvex Corporation. I was part of the product development team and worked on the business and research aspects on projects such as designing and building a nanomanipulation system to put inside an SEM, some high sensitivity electrical measurements, carbon nanotube solubilization and composites, and also imaging using SEM and TEM. The nano program definitely helped me with this job because it provided an introduction to the various types of analytical techniques and fundamental background knowledge with courses like quantum mechanics, all of which were really important for me to climb the learning curve as quickly as possible. Familiarity with many of the scientific concepts that we faced in research there ensured that I could learn quickly and therefore contribute scientifically quickly as well. Eng sci teaches us how to learn. I think we can all be successful in any field. Nano is a great way to go if you are interested in the science of small or are sure that you want to go into grad school in an area where you are going to deal with nano-scale structures and phenomena every day.