The Donald F. Averill Applied Technology Training Center (ATTC) was notified today of a $2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor for establishing a California Nanotechnology Collaborative and a Nanotechnology Training Center (NanoCenter). The grant is part of the nearly $123 million awarded by the DOL to community colleges and community-based institutions that competed successfully under the President's Community-Based Job Training Grants Initiative.
"We couldn't be more excited about winning this competitive grant. I would like to thank the Economic and Workforce Development Division of the California Community Colleges Chancellors Office for providing us the seed money through a $400,000 grant I received in 2007 for nanotechnology training" said Dr. Matthew Isaac, Executive Director of the Economic Development and Corporate Training Division at the San Bernardino Community College District. The Applied Technology Training Center (ATTC) is part of the Economic Development and Corporate Training Division of the District. "As an arm of the ATTC, the NanoCenter will provide nanotechnology training for preparing the workforce for this emerging high technology field. Nanotechnology is the next wave of scientific and technological innovation that will revolutionize the way we manufacture products, medicine, and treat cancer and other diseases," said Dr. Isaac.
The ATTC curently offers a Nanotechnology Training Series through a grant from the Economic and Workforce Development Division of the California Community Colleges System office. The training is designed to teach the fundamentals and applications of nanoscience and nanotechnology in the manufacturing industry. "This Department of Labor grant will enable us to expand our nanotechnology training," said Albert Maniaol, Director of Applied Technologies Training. "This is very exciting for our region to be able to offer training in such a specialized area."
This grant will provide the District the funds needed for increasing the capacity of its training delivery capabilities and enable it to meet the anticipated increase in demand for highly-skilled, highly-trained nanotechnology workers. Albert Maniaol and Dr. Matthew Isaac are the Principal Investigators (PI) of the grant.
Partners in the nanotechnology training include University of California, Riverside; NASA; Workforce Investment Board (WIB); California Community College Chancellor's Office and San Bernardino Valley College.