Queens College is currently working toward building the borough\u2019s first nanofabrication facility, or \u201ccleanroom,\u201d for student use. Such facilities use state-of-the-art technology to create controlled environments for sophisticated micro-engineering.<\/p>\n
The facility is one of three student-focused STEM projects receiving over $3 million in federal funding secured by U.S. Representative Grace Meng and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. Over $1 million of that will fund the technology, equipment and personnel for the new cleanroom, which will be based out of QC\u2019s Physics Department. The estimated completion date for this facility is Fall 2028, according to QC Physics Assistant Professor Euclides Almeida.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Queens College nanofabrication facility \u2014 or \u2018cleanroom\u2019 \u2014 would place us at the forefront of research and workforce development in the borough of Queens and makes us competitive with other top colleges in New York City and beyond,\u201d said QC President Frank H. Wu to The Knight News.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The facility will allow students and researchers to design and build advanced prototypes directly on campus, increasing research activity and strengthening collaborations with New York City-based technology companies. Research areas that rely on nanofabrication at QC include semiconductors, laser technology, solar energy and the development of next-generation cancer sensors.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is critical that Queens College undergraduates are exposed to and trained in state-of-the-art technologies\u2026 Despite the high-tech nature of the program, the principles underlying nanofabrication would be within the reach of undergraduates in a number of STEM majors,\u201d Wu said.<\/p>\n
Assistant Professor Euclides Almeida, a physicist specializing in experimental nanophotonics and metamaterials, offered a glimpse into what students will encounter when the facility opens in an interview with The Knight News.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey will see a gowning area where they have to be properly dressed in order to avoid contamination of the cleanroom,\u201d Almeida stated. \u201cThey will see equipment for lithography, deposition, etching. They will see vacuum systems, yellow room for photolithography, fume hoods for chemical processing, and equipment for metrology.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
For students in Almeida\u2019s hands-on courses like the Photonics Laboratory, the cleanroom represents a shift from abstract concepts to tangible experience.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Almeida further explained, \u201cIt will provide a deeper hands on experience\u2026 A really immersive experience right on campus, so we can actually go deeper into topics so it won\u2019t just be an abstract idea. You will be able to touch and see and compare the theory with the practice.\u201d<\/p>\n
The facility also positions QC students competitively in a job market looking for nanofabrication skills.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Almeida pointed to a former student now working at TRUMPF Photonics, a company that makes high-powered lasers for manufacturing:<\/p>\n
\u201cMany of our graduates took positions in the industry. So there\u2019s an example of a student who is working at TRUMPF Photonics\u2026 She is working as a process failure analysis engineer doing microscopic images of photonics elements. She worked with me doing some imaging here, so she got the hands-on experience.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Almeida detailed how this facility will compare to those at other institutions with the following:\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis will be on the level of the top research institutions\u2026Like Cornell, Harvard, MIT. They all have these nanofabs, so students won\u2019t be behind in terms of skills that they will learn.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nanofabrication is the set of technologies used to build extremely small devices with features up to 100,000 times thinner than the width of a human hair. The technological process must be done in extraordinarily clean environments because it works at such a small scale.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The QC facility will be a Class 1000 cleanroom, meaning it removes more than 99.9 percent of airborne particles\u2014preventing any potential interference with device fabrication.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Wu emphasized that the facility sends a message about accessibility:<\/p>\n
\u201cThe establishment of the Queens College nanofabrication facility would make clear that an affordable education does not in any way limit Queens College students\u2019 access to training in cutting edge technology and career opportunities in STEM\u2026 The nanofabrication facility would further strengthen our connection to the local community, enhancing Queens College\u2019s role as an engine of economic growth and upward mobility.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
For students considering physics, engineering or related fields, Almeida offered this advice:<\/p>\n
\u201cBe curious, train your creativity, try to have a broad knowledge in physics. Try to search for career opportunities and make the most out of your undergraduate experience at Queens College. If you\u2019re eager to learn, that\u2019s basically all you need.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Queens College is currently working toward building the borough\u2019s first nanofabrication facility, or \u201ccleanroom,\u201d for student use. Such…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":198059,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[9,24,63,122,124,123],"class_list":["post-198058","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198058","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=198058"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198058\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/198059"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=198058"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=198058"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=198058"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}