Hopkins to Start Nanotechnology Graduate Program

The Johns Hopkins University has announced that it is launching a graduate program in nanotechnology, aimed at training future doctors, scientists and engineers to work in the physical sciences with nanoscale devices.

The school has won a $1 million grant to design a program and begin training doctoral students in nanomedicine. The discipline shows promise in fighting cancer and genetic disorders.

"We really believe that a key to the future of medicine is technology and, in particular, nanotechnology," said Denis Wirtz, the Hopkins professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering who will direct the program.

"We'll be looking for people who are not only a new breed of scientist and engineer, but entrepreneurs as well," he said.

Hopkins also plans to announce the formation of a separate nanomedicine research institute in the weeks ahead.

The graduate program will select applicants admitted to Hopkins' schools of engineering, medicine or arts and sciences and train them so they can develop biomaterials - nano-sized drug delivery systems and diagnostic devices, Wirtz said.

In the first two years, Wirtz said, the money will go toward planning, a nanopartical lab, designing a curriculum and recruiting two faculty members. Six students will be enrolled in the third year, he said. Eventually, the program will enroll about 50 students.