Feb 6 2015
Supporting Governor Andrew Cuomo’s high-tech educational paradigm for New York’s students, 300 middle and high school students visited SUNY Polytechnic Institute’s Colleges of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (SUNY Poly CNSE) on Thursday, February 5, to take part in an exciting “NanoCareer Day” program.
During the quarterly event, students learned about the 21st Century science behind New York’s rapidly expanding high-tech economy through hands-on experiments and presentations.
Students from seven New York State counties took part in nanotechnology-enabled activities where they gowned up in cleanroom “bunny” suits, learned how small a nanometer is, investigated polymers, and toured SUNY Poly CNSE’s $20 billion Albany NanoTech Complex. Students also gained a better understanding of clean energy technologies by experimenting with thin films, solar panels, and Ultraviolet beads. They also saw first-hand the growing number of high-tech careers at New York’s top global corporations and at SUNY Poly CNSE. Additionally, students from Long Trail School in Bennington, Vermont took part in the day’s activities as interest in SUNY Poly CNSE’s unique public-private innovation partnership model expands beyond New York State.
Participating schools and their counties included: Cohoes High School, Cohoes City School District (Albany); SUNY Adirondack Career Academy PTECH, Saratoga Springs City School District (Saratoga); SUNY Adirondack Career Academy PTECH, Queensbury Union Free School District (Warren); SUNY Adirondack Career Academy PTECH, Hudson Falls Central School District (Washington); Walter B. Howard Elementary School, New Lebanon Central School District (Columbia); Long Trail School (Bennington, VT); Hoosick Falls High School, Hoosick Falls Central School (Rensselaer); Richard H. O’Rourke Middle School, Burnt Hills–Ballston Lake Central School District (Saratoga); Hudson River Catholic Homeschools Co-op (Dutchess); and Berkshire Junior - Senior High School, Berkshire Union Free School District (Columbia).