Two-Year Colleges and the Invention of Nano-Labor: Between Promise and Possibility

Drexel University, Philadelphia PA

Investigators

Abstract

Two-Year Colleges and the Invention of Nano-Labor: Between Promise and Possibility Amy E. Slaton, PhD Associate Professor, History, Department of History and Politics, Drexel University Mary F.E. Ebeling, PhD Assistant Professor, Sociology, Department of Culture and Communications, Drexel University As heavy industry and even newer service sector jobs contract in many parts of the United States, regional schemes for economic redevelopment turn toward high-tech areas, including the many scientific and engineering specialties included under the term ?nanotechnology.? In southeastern Pennsylvania, a partnership among schools, industrial firms, and government agencies has emerged in the last decade to prepare a new workforce for this nanosector. This study considers the goals and content of certificate and associate?s degree programs among the 22 two- and four-year colleges involved in the Pennsylvania Nanofabrication Manufacturing Technology Partnership (PaNMT). Many PaNMT partners see widening opportunities in nanomanufacturing, in much the same way that enthusiastic planners embraced computing technology in the 1960s and biotech initiatives in the 1990s. Today, proponents forecast nanoindustries as likely to provide both steady corporate expansion and means of economic uplift for disadvantaged citizens. These outlooks have in part been accurate, but in part overly optimistic, as nanomanufacturing grows slowly and continues to employ primarily those with doctorates. Combining methodologies of the sociology and history of science, this project examine examine the hiring and bench-level practices in use by PaNMT?s 30 partner firms in nanomanufacturing, positions intended to employ those who undertake associate's-degree training in nanofabrication. The expectations and experiences of students form a significant focus for the ethnographic research. Finally, the study examines the goals and practices of private organizations and local and state governments that have lent support to the PaNMT. Research questions include: ? How well do educational practices fulfill the workforce needs of regional nano-based industries? ? To what degree do industrial expectations about technical skill and mobility determine the nature of two-year degrees? ? Are optimal practices, for students or industrial employers, likely to result from these, or from other practices? ? Do educators, employers, planners, and students see these matters in the same way? The outcomes of this study will include a book aimed at social scientists interested in science and technology, and associated articles and presentations on workforce planning and technical education. This study will provide suggestions that may lead to more efficacious workforce training policies and practices. Because two-year technical training programs have historically engaged a disproportionate number of economically disadvantaged and minority students, this project should also shed light on longer patterns of occupational equity in high-tech engineering fields.