1. Description of the Curricula

The Master’s Degree in Nanotechnology Engineering offers two tracks, with equivalent educational content, that differ essentially in the language of instruction:

• Ingegneria delle Nanotecnologie (Track A): courses mainly taught in Italian;
• Nanotechnology Engineering (Track B): courses taught entirely in English, dedicated in particular to international students.

Both tracks of the Master’s Degree in Nanotechnology Engineering are organized into two types of courses:

i) Compulsory;

ii) Complementary and Specialization.

The teaching load corresponding to each type is expressed using the University Educational Credit (CFU), the standard unit of the Italian university system, corresponding to about 25 hours of student commitment. The distribution of the teaching load between the two categories is as follows.

Note: For Track A, some courses are delivered in English (those with titles given in English), but the program is mainly taught in Italian.

In the following, the detailed structure is reported only for Track B.

Track B

I) Compulsory core courses (66 CFU)

1. Chemistry for nanotechnology [9 CFU, CHIM/07 (CHEM-06/A)]
2. Modern physics for nanotechnology (UDI) a. Elements of quantum mechanics [6 CFU, FIS/01 (PHYS-03/A)] b. Elements of condensed matter physics [6 CFU, FIS/03 (PHYS-03/A)]
3. Surface engineering and nanostructured materials (UDI) a. Nanostructured materials [6 CFU, ING-IND/22 (IMAT-01/A)] b. Surface engineering [6 CFU, ING-IND/22 (IMAT-01/A)]
4. Continuum mechanics [6 CFU, ICAR/08 (CEAR-06/A)]
5. Electron microscopies and related techniques (UDI) a. Electron microscopies [6 CFU, FIS/01 (PHYS-03/A)] b. Scanning probe microscopy [3 CFU, FIS/01 (PHYS-03/A)]
6. Micro-nanofluidics [9 CFU, ING-IND/06 (IIND-01/F)]
7. Micro-nano devices and materials for electrical/electromagnetic applications and fundamentals (UDI) a. Fundamentals of micro-nano devices and materials for electrical/electromagnetic applications [3 CFU, ING-IND/31 (IIET-01/A)] b. Micro-nano devices and materials for electrical-electromagnetic applications [6 CFU, ING-IND/31 (IIET-01/A)]

II) One core elective from an optional group (6 CFU) – choose 1

1. Transport phenomena in microsystems and micro-nano reactive devices [6 CFU, ING-IND/24 (ICHI-01/B)]
2. Physical metallurgy of innovative nano-structured materials [6 CFU, ING-IND/21 (IIND-03/C)]
3. Additive manufacturing and laser texturing [6 CFU, ING-IND/16 (IIND-04/A)]

III) One elective (6 CFU) from a second optional group – choose 1

1. Semiconductor devices [6 CFU, ING-INF/01 (IINF-01/A)]
2. Artificial materials, metamaterials and plasmonics for electromagnetic applications [6 CFU, ING-INF/02 (IINF-02/A)]
3. Optoelectronics [6 CFU, ING-INF/01 (IINF-01/A)]

IV) Two electives (12 CFU) from a complementary block – choose 2

1. Sensors and electrical/electromagnetic characterization laboratory [6 CFU, ING-IND/31 (IIET-01/A)]
2. Laboratory of electrorheology [6 CFU, ING-IND/31 (IIET-01/A)]
3. Laboratories of atomistic and micro-nano-fluidics simulations (UDI) a. Atomistic simulations laboratory [3 CFU, FIS/01 (PHYS-03/A)] b. Micro-nano fluidic simulations laboratory [3 CFU, ING-IND/06 (IIND-01/F)]
4. Nanoelectronics laboratory (UDI) a. Nanoelectronics device characterization [3 CFU, ING-INF/01 (IINF-01/A)] b. Nanoelectronics laboratory [3 CFU, ING-INF/01 (IINF-01/A)]
5. Biophotonics laboratory [6 CFU, FIS/01 (PHYS-03/A)]
6. Dynamics of micro-mechatronic systems [6 CFU, ING-IND/13 (IIND-02/A)]
7. Optics [6 CFU, FIS/01 (PHYS-03/A)]
8. LASER fundamentals [6 CFU, FIS/01 (PHYS-03/A)]
9. Macromolecular structures [6 CFU, BIO/10 (BIOS-07/A)]
10. Principles of biochemical engineering [6 CFU, ING-IND/24 (ICHI-01/B)]
11. Electromagnetic fields and nanosystems for biomedical applications [6 CFU, ING-INF/02 (IINF-02/A)]
12. Molecular dynamics and atomistic simulations (UDI) a. Statistical mechanics and Monte Carlo techniques [3 CFU, FIS/01 (PHYS-03/A)] b. Classical molecular dynamics [3 CFU, FIS/01 (PHYS-03/A)]
13. Nanobiotechnology [6 CFU, ING-IND/25 (ICHI-02/A)]

Completion of both tracks (120 CFU total)

V) Free electives chosen by the student (12 CFU) – activity type D
VI) Final thesis (17 CFU) – activity type E
VII) Other activities useful for entry into the job market (1 CFU) – activity type F

Some courses are organized, for reasons of cultural and educational homogeneity, into Integrated Didactic Units (UDI). Each UDI corresponds to a single recorded exam.

The activities under point VII) are approved in advance by the Degree Area Council and certified by the President or the designated faculty members.

For the preparation of the individual study plan, guidelines are available on the website: https://nano.web.uniroma1.it/

To ensure maximum flexibility, students may submit an individual study plan not aligned with the guidelines: in such case, they must justify their choices with cultural motivations. The proposal will be carefully reviewed by the Degree Area Council. In any case, the plan must comply with all the constraints established by the current regulations of this Master’s Degree Program.

2. Guidelines for the preparation of the individual study plan

The Study Plan must be submitted within the deadline set by the didactic office and, in any case, before taking any non-compulsory exam. Only one Study Plan per academic year may be submitted.

In addition to the 9 compulsory courses (78 CFU total), the Study Plan must be completed with electives for a total of 24 CFU. Specifically:

• students may freely include courses offered at the University for up to 12 CFU;
• students must include courses selected from lists L1E and L2E for Track B (or L1 and L2 for Track A) for at least 12 CFU.

To ensure consistency with the educational objectives of the program, the Degree Area Council recommends selecting complementary courses within the suggested thematic pathways (G1–G3 for Track B; P1–P6 for Track A).

To complete the cultural and technological training, it is further recommended to:

• select at least 2 courses (minimum 12 CFU) belonging to the same thematic pathway from lists L1E/L2E (Track B) or L1/L2 (Track A);
• ensure that the Study Plan includes at least 2 application/experimental courses (minimum 12 CFU) among those listed in list L1E (Track B) or list L1 (Track A).

Some courses, due to their content, are included in more than one pathway.

If students wish to include, as free electives, courses offered in other degree programs (for 12 CFU), it is recommended that they contact in advance the instructors of the chosen courses to verify prerequisites, semester/year of offering, and the absence of substantial overlaps with courses already in their Study Plan.

As for prerequisites, it is recommended to follow the chronological sequence of course offerings.

Thematic pathways (Track B)

G1 – Modelling and Design

• Sensors and electrical/electromagnetic characterization laboratory
• Laboratory of electrorheology
• Laboratories of atomistic and micro-nano-fluidics simulations (UDI)
• Dynamics of micro-mechatronic systems
• Molecular dynamics and atomistic simulations (UDI)
• Nanobiotechnology

G2 – Optics and Electronics

• Nanoelectronics laboratory (UDI)
• Biophotonics laboratory
• Optics
• LASER fundamentals
• Molecular dynamics and atomistic simulations (UDI)

G3 – Biotechnology

• Laboratories of atomistic and micro-nano-fluidics simulations
• Biophotonics laboratory
• Macromolecular structures
• Principles of biochemical engineering
• Nanobiotechnology
• Electromagnetic fields and nanosystems for biomedical applications
• Molecular dynamics and atomistic simulations (UDI)

List L1E – Application/experimental courses (Track B)

• Sensors and electrical/electromagnetic characterization laboratory (G1)
• Laboratory of electrorheology (G1)
• Laboratories of atomistic and micro-nano-fluidics simulations (G1, G3)
• Nanoelectronics laboratory (G2)
• Biophotonics laboratory (G2, G3)

List L2E – Specialization courses (Track B)

• Dynamics of micro-mechatronic systems (G1)
• Optics (G2)
• LASER fundamentals (G2)
• Macromolecular structures (G3)
• Principles of biochemical engineering (G3)
• Electromagnetic fields and nanosystems for biomedical applications (G3)
• Nanobiotechnology (G1, G3)
• Molecular dynamics and atomistic simulations (G1, G2, G3)

The Master's Degree Course in Nanotechnology Engineering aims to offer the student advanced scientific and professional training aimed at placing him in the international context of nanotechnology.

In the current context, it is necessary to prepare a new class of master's graduates, whose knowledge and operational skills combine those that characterize nano-science specialists (typically physicists, chemists, and biotechnologists) with the design, implementation and organizational skills that are natural for the prerogative of engineering specialists. The fundamental point is that there is a need for the design and functional vision of an engineer who at the same time possesses a much broader and deeper knowledge of the fundamental aspects compared to a traditional engineer. The Master's Degree Course in Nanotechnology Engineering therefore aims to train this new category of engineers capable of mastering the techniques necessary to manipulate matter at the micro and nanoscale to conceive, design, create, and control devices, processes, and systems that operate at the microscopic level. Such systems are characterized by functional parts that act at the nanoscale (nanometer scale, corresponding to millionths of a millimeter - the nanometer is an order of magnitude ten times the size of a hydrogen atom) which must be contained and organized in a well-controlled environment typically made up of micrometric scale devices (thousandths of a millimeter).

To train specialists with the characteristics illustrated, we can start from two distinct and complementary bases: on the one hand, focus on the training of level I engineers in industrial and electronic engineering classes and increase their skills in fundamental aspects by subsequently providing specific operational skills for nanotechnology engineering. This is the elective user base of the CDs. Alternatively, you can use the level I training in physics and chemistry, complement it with the necessary engineering skills, and finally provide specific skills in nanotechnology engineering.

To achieve these objectives, two paths are envisaged, one fundamentally aimed at students trained in the national university system and one aimed at students trained in extra-national university institutions. The latter path is delivered entirely in English, while the course aimed at students trained in Italy is built with courses delivered partially in Italian and partially in English. This subdivision allows Italian students to obtain a master's degree in nanotechnology engineering by following, where applicable, a training course entirely taught in Italian. This opportunity, although made available, is not encouraged by the CdS, given the typically international nature of the application context of nanotechnologies. On the contrary, it is clear that, in the context of the desired internationalization of the national higher education system, a course entirely delivered in English is to be considered necessary.