The Cornell NanoScale Facility (CNF) participates in numerous outreach activities -- including but not limited to -- educational tours for all ages, our twice-yearly short course "Technology & Characterization at the Nanoscale" (CNF TCN), vendor workshops, our annual meeting, and many many special events including 4H Career Explorations and the Jr FIRST LEGO League Expo. K-12 visits now include hands-on experimentation and FaceTime with a CNF staff member who is in the cleanroom! We also have a newsletter, Nanooze, our educational publication aimed at K-12 students.
Over the past year, CNF hosted visits to and tours of our home base, Duffield Hall -- and staffed off-campus events -- for over 3500 participants; from prospective graduate students and new faculty members, to visiting dignitaries, corporate executives, K-12 and college groups.
In addition, the CNF hosts an NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Program. This program takes undergraduate students from across the United States and exposes them to CNF’s state of the art facility and our world class staff. The application is typically available at the beginning of November for the coming year.
We enjoy outreach! That is, we love sharing our excitement about nanoscience and we welcome all inquiries.