Work in progress: 'Lab-on-a-Chip' micromanufacturing with a nanotechnology component for a first-year engineering program

Engineering students with interests in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and nanotechnology typically can only gain exposure to this new field in late undergraduate curricula, research offerings, or graduate school. Early exposure to this field is not typically an option in engineering programs. Perhaps the first of its kind, this 'Lab-on-a-chip' Micromanufacturing Lab with a Nanotechnology component is piloted and offered to regular first-year engineering students as an alternate lab section in the standard Fundamentals of Engineering course (ENG 183) for winter and spring 2004 at Ohio State University. Students participate in a hands-on design and fabrication of a working Lab-on-a-chip to detect the presence of a biological antibody through fluorescent antigen-antibody binding. They construct a simple photosensor to detect emission from the bound antigen. Coincident with the hands-on activity are Nanotechnology modules and lab tours that expose the students to the challenges in manufacturing at the nanoscale for similar devices.