Nanosystems Engineers
Tasks
Core Tasks Include:
- Write proposals to secure external funding or to partner with other companies.
- Supervise technologists or technicians engaged in nanotechnology research or production.
- Synthesize, process, or characterize nanomaterials, using advanced tools or techniques.
- Identify new applications for existing nanotechnologies.
- Provide technical guidance or support to customers on topics such as nanosystem start-up, maintenance, or use.
- Generate high-resolution images or measure force-distance curves, using techniques such as atomic force microscopy.
- Prepare reports, deliver presentations, or participate in program review activities to communicate engineering results or recommendations.
- Develop processes or identify equipment needed for pilot or commercial nanoscale scale production.
- Provide scientific or technical guidance or expertise to scientists, engineers, technologists, technicians, or others, using knowledge of chemical, analytical, or biological processes as applied to micro and nanoscale systems.
- Engineer production processes for specific nanotechnology applications, such as electroplating, nanofabrication, or epoxy.
- Design or conduct tests of new nanotechnology products, processes, or systems.
- Coordinate or supervise the work of suppliers or vendors in the designing, building, or testing of nanosystem devices, such as lenses or probes.
- Design or engineer nanomaterials, nanodevices, nano-enabled products, or nanosystems, using three-dimensional computer-aided design (CAD) software.
- Create designs or prototypes for nanosystem applications, such as biomedical delivery systems or atomic force microscopes.
- Conduct research related to a range of nanotechnology topics, such as packaging, heat transfer, fluorescence detection, nanoparticle dispersion, hybrid systems, liquid systems, nanocomposites, nanofabrication, optoelectronics, or nanolithography.
- Apply nanotechnology to improve the performance or reduce the environmental impact of energy products, such as fuel cells or solar cells.
- Design nano-enabled products with reduced toxicity, increased durability, or improved energy efficiency.
Supplemental Tasks Include:
- Prepare nanotechnology-related invention disclosures or patent applications.
- Design nano-based manufacturing processes to minimize water, chemical, or energy use, as well as to reduce waste production.
- Design nanoparticle catalysts to detect or remove chemical or other pollutants from water, soil, or air.
- Design nanosystems with components such as nanocatalysts or nanofiltration devices to clean specific pollutants from hazardous waste sites.
- Develop catalysis or other green chemistry methods to synthesize nanomaterials, such as nanotubes, nanocrystals, nanorods, or nanowires.
- Develop green building nanocoatings, such as self-cleaning, anti-stain, depolluting, anti-fogging, anti-icing, antimicrobial, moisture-resistant, or ultraviolet protectant coatings.
- Integrate nanotechnology with antimicrobial properties into products, such as household or medical appliances, to reduce the development of bacteria or other microbes.
- Reengineer nanomaterials to improve biodegradability.
The data sources for the information displayed here include: O*NET™. (Using onet291)
