During the last week of October I attended the National Science Foundation Advanced Technology Education Conference in Washington DC. The ATE program is directed towards community colleges and technical colleges. This program supports advanced technical training in many different categories. My category is Nanotechnology and there seemed to be increased interest by other schools to start nanotechnology programs this year compared to last year. The NSF funds these programs through grants. Some of the most interesting programs are in: Biotechnology, Alternative Energy, Nanotechnology, MEMS, Medical Devices and Photonics

You can find out about the conference and the other programs at the ATE web site:

http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5464

Our school is also part of an ATE Center which supports the development and dissemination of nanoscience curriculum.

http://www.atecenters.org/

If your (US) community college or technical college is interested in developing an advanced technology program you should get involved with the ATE program.