Nano Grande

Mar 25, 2010

Nano Grande is an exhibition of digital prints by Union College students using scanning electron microscopy. Collaboration among students was created by merging courses from across disciplines – Photography II, offered by the Visual Art Department, and Frontiers of Nanotechnology at Union College, offered through the collaboration of the Biology, Chemistry, and Electrical Engineering Departments. Learning from weekly hands-on participation in the laboratory over a full term, the nanotechnology students gained an understanding of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) imaging technique and sample preparation. Paired with the aesthetic knowledge of the photography students, the classes worked together to arrange each composition using the SEM machine and various samples. The students used materials both directly related to the nanotechnology course, such as clay nanocomposites with embedded quantum dots, and electrospun fibers, as well as samples from everyday life, including bees, electric circuits, and metal shavings from the nearby Peter Irving Wold Center construction site.

This project was organized by Palma Catravas, Associate Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, and Kevin Bubriski, Visiting Professor, Visual Arts Department, in collaboration with the Capital District Microscopy and Microanalysis Society. Additional support was made possible by Brian Cohen, Lecturer and Assistant Director of Advising, Biology Department; Michael Hagerman, Associate Professor, Chemistry Department; Mark Hooker, Bioengineering Technician, Biology Department; Doug Klein, Dean of Interdisciplinary Studies and Special Programs; and Cherrice Traver, Dean of Engineering. The project was sponsored in part by the National Science Foundation, the Dean of Interdisciplinary Studies, and an Internal Education Fund grant.