By the year 2020, it is estimated that we will have over 6 million workers in nanotechnology industries, says Dr. Amir Farnoud, an Assistant Professor of Chemical, Biomolecular and Biomedical Engineering at the Russ College of Engineering and Technology at Ohio University. The development of nanoscience is exploding at such a rate, it is difficult to predict with any accuracy how much and how fast the field will grow in an extremely short period of time, Dr. Farnoud adds. Nanotechnology is the science of examining extremely small things such as atoms and molecules and adjusting them to have certain beneficial characteristics. To give you an example of the tiny nature of a nanometer, if a nanometer was a marble then one meter would be the size of the Earth, Dr. Farnoud noted. Scientific journals also cite that there are 25.4 million nanometers to an inch. Nanoparticles are now used in many products from sunscreens and carpet stain protection to devices delivery lifesaving medications. Nanoparticles are being developed synthetically for everything from mundane commercial applications to highly sophisticated cancer and other disease treatments. Nanoparticles are being developed to not only fight cancer but to detect the presence of cancer within the human body. They also can detect bacteria and identify, with specificity, the types of infections a person may have so that treatments can be more effective and quicker to act. The nanoscale materials can deliver medications with pinpoint accuracy to fight diseases. They also can be quick acting or slower acting – similar to time released over-the-counter medications. This may allow immediate relief and also protect a person on a long term basis, says Dr. Farnoud. Nanoscience and nanotechnology began in 1959 with a lecture by famous physicist Dr. Richard Feynman. Advancements were made in the science in the 1980’s but it really has only been expanding, as a discipline and an industry, for the past 20 years. Commercial and medical applications are being rapidly discovered and tested as well as potential for nanoparticle toxicity. Dr. Farnoud feels that he has a personal mission to educate the public about nanotechnology. In addition to his work in the Farnoud Lab at Ohio University, he is planning to launch a national podcast to help people understand both the complexities and the usefulness of nanoscience.