Nanoscale Materials Technology A.A.S.

     

Click here to view the program requirements for the Nanoscale Materials Technology program.

The mission of the Nanoscale Materials Technology program is to provide students a foundation in materials science, chemistry, physics, mathematics, and electronics. With strong supporting courses in Computer Aided Drafting, Vacuum Science and Technology, and Thin Film Deposition Techniques, students will be prepared for employment as highly qualified technicians in the emerging and highly technical semiconductor and superconductor manufacturing and research and development field.

This new SCCC program is a perfect fit with New York’s Tech Valley, a region that stretches from the Canadian border near Montreal to just north of New York City. Tech Valley is brimming with opportunity and excitement as cutting-edge companies (nanotech, information tech, biotech and superconductor) move into the Capital Region. Tech Valley offers rewarding career and business prospects, world-class educational and research facilities and a fantastic quality of life. Through the Nanoscale Materials Technology program, students can pursue paid internships including those at SuperPower, Inc., which provide invaluable career experience.

The Nanoscale Materials Technology program at SCCC is part of a joint venture with SuperPower, Inc. and Union College, both located in Schenectady, New York. SCCC has received a $1 million grant from the New York State Senate to renovate two laboratories for physics/electronics and vacuum science and to purchase an atomic force microscope, as well as optical microscopes, computers and software.

Annual salaries for technicians in this field currently range from $30,000 to $50,000. There are a growing number of firms in the Capital Region ready to hire newly graduated technicians.

Jodi Reeves, former Manager of Quality Control at SuperPower, Inc. commented that technicians are already very much in demand. “That type of employee, we needed yesterday,” Dr. Reeves said. "We‘ve been around for more than seven years and it's really hard to find technicians with the right level of math, science and chemistry that we can take into superconductor manufacturing.” Reeves continued, “Graduates of the SCCC program would be suitable for many other high tech companies in the area. I’m thinking of all the possibilities that exist with Albany Nanotech and semiconductor manufacturing. We would much rather hire people from the local area because they have ties to the community. They give back to the community and we have a high quality workforce.”

Phil Ardell (SCCC ’04, A.A.S., Electrical Technology) noted, “We need a variety of top-notch technicians at SuperPower. I joined SuperPower as a Test Technician in 2004 and I was promoted to Senior Engineering Technician after just six months on the job. I am also the Principal Technician for the Superconducting Fault Current Limiter project. I‘m convinced that what I learned at SCCC has helped me to succeed at SuperPower.”

Visit techvalleycareers.org for more information about this emerging field.

For more information on the SCCC Nanoscale Materials Technology program, please contact:

Dr. Ruth McEvoy
Professor and Chairperson
Department of Mathematics, Science, and Technology
Schenectady County Community College
78 Washington Avenue
Schenectady, NY 12305

(518) 381-1268
mcevoyrl@sunysccc.edu