Dr. Steve Fonash, Bayard D. Kunkle Professor in Engineering Science and Mechanics and Director of the Nanotechnology Applications and Career Knowledge (NACK) National Center, has been mentioned in the April 2012 report to the President and Congress on the Fourth Assessment of the National Nanotechnology Initiative.

The President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) is an advisory group of the nation’s leading scientists and engineers, appointed by the President to augment the science and technology advice available to him from inside the White House, from cabinet departments and other Federal agencies. PCAST is consulted about and often makes policy recommendations concerning the full range of issues where understandings from the domains of science, technology, and innovation bear potentially on policy choices before the President.

With the support of the NSF’s Advanced Technology Education (ATE) program, Penn State and Professor Steve Fonash have developed a nation-wide partnership of research universities and community colleges that is bringing meaningful core-skills nanotechnology workforce education to technical community colleges across the nation. The partnership, the NSF NACK network fosters (1) resource sharing among community colleges and research universities for nanotechnology workforce development, (2) the availability of course materials, for web or in-class use, covering a core-set of industry recommended nanotechnology skills and (3) broad student preparation for careers in the wide spectrum of industries utilizing micro- or nanotechnology. NACK has been created and offers continually updated, free-of-charge core-skills course lecture and lab materials, web accessible equipment capability, and faculty development curricula. To learn more about the Penn State NACK center, please visit their web site.