Colgate University

First-Year Course Offerings — Fall 2019

FSEM 125   Emerging Tech: Nanotechnology
Credits1
RestrictionsNo 2022 2021 2020 Open to first-years only
Pre-Requisites
Co-Requisites
Core Area Sciences
Area of Inquiry
Liberal Arts Practices

Faculty Profile for Professor Geier

Emerging Technologies: The Science and Potential Implications of Nanotechnology

Imagine repairing your body without surgery and no longer burning fossil fuels. Imagine everyone enjoying abundance with no manufacturing costs. Imagine also the loss of all personal privacy and the irreversible poisoning of the planet. Such are the hopes, hype, and fears of nanotechnology—the study of materials and devices with dimensions on the nanoscale (1 x 10-9 m, the realm of assemblies of molecules). This course provides an introduction to the science and potential implications of molecular nanotechnology. Scientific and sensationalist visions of nanotechnology will be critically examined through a combination of readings, lectures, discussions, and student presentations. Students develop an appreciation for the nanoscale, an understanding of the excitement and challenges, and an awareness of societal and ethical implications. Through the lens of nanotechnology, students learn about the process of science, and gain insights applicable to the broad landscape of scientific discovery and emerging technologies. Students who successfully complete this seminar will receive credit for CORE 105S and satisfy the Scientific Perspectives core requirement.

Professor Rick Geier is an organic chemist whose research group studies reaction routes and conditions used to synthesize porphyrinoids. Porphyrinoids are important in nature (e.g., the red heme group responsible for oxygen transport in blood, and the green chlorophyll pigments that allow plants to absorb energy from the sun are members of the porphyrinoid family). Beyond their relevance in biology, porphyrinoids are used in molecular devices for application in solar energy, computing, data storage, catalysis, and medicine.