Graduate Students from Across the Country Attend Hands-on NanoCamp

NanoCamp is part of a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant that Nanomechanics received in 2014. Each NSF proposal must include a science component and broader impact component. Through this grant, NanoCamp was developed. In addition to educational sessions and hands-on training, Nanomechanics provided transportation, housing and meals for the attendees during the weeklong camp.

"Our goal for NanoCamp is to provide the most current information to the graduate students working in this field and enable them to engage with pioneers of the industry and ask questions on these topics," said George Pharr, Ph.D., professor at Texas A&M University. "We also want to provide hands-on experience to lead them into the next generation of nano science."

Each day, the student were involved in morning lectures on theory followed by hands-on experience with Nanomechanic's nanoindentation equipment. Students were broken into groups of four to increase the hands-on training they received.

"One thing that has surprised me about nanoindentation is how broad the applications can be," said Wesley Higgins, material science and engineering Ph.D. student at Texas A&M University. "It includes everything from testing a NASCAR tire to make better tires for a race to bone samples to help the future of health care."

Nanomechanical science has developed over the last three decades as the technique of choice for measuring the mechanical properties of thin films and other small volumes of materials.

"The hands-on experience at NanoCamp has been incredible," said Ashton Etan, material science and engineering Ph.D. student at The Ohio State University. "We would not have been able to perform these tests and get this type of experience in the typical classroom setting. This training will assist us with writing our dissertations while doing our Ph.D. research."

Nanomechanics plans to host the NanoCamp again next summer. In order to continue to the valuable hands-on experience, the attendees will be limited to 20.

"NanoCamp has taught me that smaller is stronger and sometimes, smaller science is better science," said Higgins.

About Nanomechanics Inc.
Nanomechanics Inc. designs and produces advanced nano-scale metrology products, including turnkey nanoindenters, modular devices for nano-scale actuation and sensing, and contract testing. Drawing on decades of experience in material science, precision mechanical design and instrumentation software, Nanomechanics offers products that satisfy the intense demands of both industry and academia, with unparalleled ease-of-use, accuracy, up-time and technical support. In addition to turnkey solutions, Nanomechanics provides modular components to microscopy companies in order to integrate nano-scale mechanical testing with advanced visualization. To learn more about what Nanomechanics is doing worldwide, please visit http://nanomechanicsinc.com/ or contact us at [email protected].

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SOURCE Nanomechanics Inc.