Proceedings of the 2008 ASEE North Midwest Sectional Conference The Minor in Microsystems and Nanotechnology at UW-Platteville H. T. Evensen, O. Jadaan, H. Abdel-Aal, J. Hamilton, W. Li, M. Momot, E. Ofulue, M. M. Patterson*, N. Safari-Shad UW-Platteville, Platteville, WI / *UW-Stout, Menomonie, WI The interdisciplinary minor in Microsystems and Nanotechnology (MS/NT) at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville became available to engineering and science students beginning with the Fall 2007 semester. Though anticipated to grow into something more, this represents the culmination of several years’ work by collaborating faculty from Electrical, Mechanical, and General Engineering; Engineering Physics; Chemistry; and Biology. Beginning with the impetus of a new engineering building and the formation of an ad hoc committee, the process grew to include a survey of regional industry, creation of team-taught interdisciplinary courses, discussions with our College’s Industrial Advisory Board, and finally the presentation of the minor to a new MS/NT Advisory Board. This paper will present an overview of the minor, including its content, motivations, and justification. It will also discuss the “lessons learned” from its first year, and challenges still to be overcome. A. Introduction and Motivation In October 2005, the UW System granted UW-Platteville “Permission to Plan” a new program in Microsystems and Nanotechnology. This placed our university in position to offer a degree program in this area, if a Request for Authorization is submitted (and subsequently approved by UW System) by October 2011. This Minor proposal represented the first step toward this program. Since this time, we have taken another step with our university’s approval of a new Minor in Microsystems and Nanotechnology. These are growing fields, in which the university can make a contribution to the state: in these emerging technologies, Wisconsin is ranked in the lower half of the nation (#32). (Lux Research, 2005). Microsystems technology (MST) refers to products that have structures in the micron range and have their technical function provided by the shape of the microstructure. They combine several microscale components, optimized as an entire system, to provide one or several specific functions, in many cases including microelectronics. Predominantly referred to as microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) in the U.S., the term “microsystems” also encompasses bio-MEMS devices and microstructures made of glass or plastic, in which sub- microliter channels and chambers are used for biochemical reactions and DNA screening and manipulation. This field encompasses concepts from mechanical and electrical engineering, biology and chemistry, and is strongly interdisciplinary. Nanotechnology is the science, engineering and application of materials and objects at the sub- 100 nm scale. It exploits the novel properties of materials at this scale to create new materials and applications or to enhance existing materials. It involves the fabrication, manipulation, imaging and analysis of nanoscale features. Although the term often applies to research and applications that could at one time have been labeled “materials science” or “chemistry,” it is