Brett Nance

UVSC biology junior Brett Nance will spend eight weeks at Purdue University this summer researching the synthesis of materials one-billionth of a meter small. Nance, a Springville native, is one of only 19 students chosen from applicants around the country to participate in the Summer Undergraduate Research Internship (SURI) program in Nanoelectronics and Computing at Purdue, joining a research-project team of faculty and graduate students in ongoing interdisciplinary research.

Although Nance is still new to the field, he’s acquired a passion for the miniature-scale science. “Actually, I didn’t even know there was such a thing as nanotechnology research until a few months ago,” Nance said. “I was reading an article on a website when I first heard about it. I was very interested ever since.”

Nance said the experience he has gained at UVSC and support from professors has helped prepare him for this opportunity. “There couldn’t possibly be better teachers and staff here. They do their best to prepare you for any graduate level test,” he said. “They go out of their way to find out interesting things about you so no letter of recommendation is generic, and by doing so, they become your friend.”