Future City 2007-2008: Nanotechnology and City Infrastructure 

Getting Started

Many of the freely accessible resources listed on this guide have been recommended by the Future City Competition organizers. The information has been reorganized on this guide so that the best search terms and best available information at Helmke Library are highlighted first in each section.

[Free] Future City Competition > Resources > Essay Question Website References at http://www.futurecity.org

To simplify your searching for useful information about nanotechnology and city infrastructure, all of the freely accessible resources mentioned on this guide have been incorporated into this IPFW Helmke Library subject pathfinder. Follow the path indicated by the > symbol to follow links from one page to another.

[Free] Future City Competition > Resources > Tutorial Videos > Writing the Essay at http://www.futurecity.org

The suggestions in this two-minute video really make sense. Start early, and ask teachers and engineer-mentors for help in stating valid research questions. This effort will help you focus your essay on a researchable problem. An IPFW librarian has created this subject pathfinder to help you discover some of the best sources of information. Always feel free to Ask a Librarian for suggestions about finding and evaluating information.

A Note About Access

Electronic resources marked with IPFW or Inspire (Indiana's Online Research Library) require special user authentication. Teachers, students, and other visitors who are not affiliated with Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne can access licensed resources at public computer workstations located in Helmke Library on the IPFW campus.

Please follow the suggestions on Services for Visitors to make your campus visit more productive. For example, students under age 18 must present a signed consent form to check out library materials. Reference books at Helmke Library cannot be checked out but you are welcome to make photocopies. Photocopies cost $0.10 per page.

Inspire resources can be accessed by all Indiana residents who have registered for an Inspire password account.

Gaining an Overview

These encyclopedias are shelved in the Science Reference Collection on the fourth floor in Helmke Library. They cannot be checked out, but you are welcome to photocopy sections at the copiers located near the elevators.

[IPFW] McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology, 20 vols. McGraw-Hill, 2002. (Science Reference Collection Q121 .M3 2002)

This 20-volume set provides basic information about sensors and control systems, nanotechnology, construction of buildings and structures, and related engineering concepts. Use the index volume, and follow cross-references and suggestions for further reading at the end of longer entries to discover interesting leads into the technical literature.

[IPFW] Encyclopedia 20th-CenturyTechnology, 2 vols. Routledge, 2005. (Science Reference Collection T9 .E462 2005)

This two-volume set with index also provides entries on nanotechnology-related topics.

[IPFW] Handbook of Nanostructured Materials and Nanotechnology, 5 vols. Academic Press, 2000. (Science Reference Collection TA418.9.N35 H36 2000)

This five-volume set with index provides detailed overviews written by experts on all aspects of nanotechnology, organized by these broad subjects: v. 1, "Synthesis and Processing"; v. 2, "Spectroscopy and Theory"; v. 3, "Electrical Properties"; v. 4, "Optical Properties"; v. 5, "Organics, Polymers, and Biological Materials."

[IPFW] Encyclopedia of Architectural Technologies. Wiley-Academic, 2002. (Reference NA31 .G58 2002)

This single-volume encyclopedia is shelved in the Reference Collection on the first floor of Helmke Library, alongside other art and architecture reference books. It is a good basic source for learning about buildings, architectural styles, and building trades.

[IPFW] The Works: Anatomy of a City (Reference HT166 .A786 2005)

This superb graphics-heavy encyclopedia shelved in the Reference Collection on the first floor shows how cities manage their infrastructure, and includes chapters on Moving People, Moving Freight, Power, Communications, Keeping It Clear, and The Future.

Keywords To Look Up

The following keywords, related terms (synonyms), and subject headings are all possible entry points to the engineering and technology literature. Depending on your research problem, some of this vocabulary will be useful in searching reference books, online databases and indexes, and Web sites.

• Control systems
• Electromechanical devices
• Microelectromechanical devices
• Microelectromagnetic systems
• MEMs
• Molecular electronics
• Nanocontrollers
• Nanoelectronics
• Nanosensors
• Nanostructured materials
• Nanosystems
• Nanotechnology
• NEMs
• Sensors
• Smart buildings
• Smart structures
• Structural health monitoring

Subject headings related to city infrastructure include some of the following broad concepts. Use these terms to search for books that give a good overview of city insfrastructural issues in library catalogs such as Allen County Public Library's catalog, IUCAT Catalog (Indiana University's online library catalog), INCat, or WorldCat.

• Cities and towns
• City planning
• Civil defense
• Electronic surveillance
• Emergency management
• Infrastructure (Economics)
• Land use, urban
• Municipal services
• National security
• Public works
• Sustainable development
• Urban ecology

To improve precision, try combining search terms using Boolean operators and, or:

sensors and controls
smart buildings or intelligent buildings

See IPFW's Information Foraging Worksheet for help in constructing logical search statements.

IPFW's Compendex (Ei Engineering Village 2) database (see link below) has an engineering thesaurus linked to the Thesaurus tab. This feature will help you identify controlled vocabulary terms, find synonyms and related terms, and improve your search strategy with suggested and narrower terms, not only in this database but in other resources as well.

IPFW's Top Engineering and Technology Databases

All of these licensed databases must be accessed on campus by non-IPFW users. Use them to discover valuable scholarly, peer-review journal articles and technical reports.

Try out a search and look for the  icon in your list of search results. Our FIND IT Tutorial shows how to use this linking tool to discover if the item you need is available in electronic full text. FIND IT also points you to IUCAT Catalog (Indiana University's online library catalog) to discover if a printed resource is shelved in the periodicals collections at Helmke Library.

You may also check E-Journal Finder to see if the journal or periodical title is one of more than 20,000 full-text journals available at IPFW.

[IPFW] [Inspire]

Academic Search Premier -

Coverage: Indexing coverage varies, with full-text content for some titles beginning 1975 or earlier, and most titles indexed from the 1990s. Brief Description: Provides abstracts and indexing of articles in more than 8,000 popular magazines, scholarly journals, and major newspapers in all fields of study, with nearly 4,000 titles available full text. Tools Available: A complete list of titles covered is available.

[IPFW]

ACM Digital Library -

Coverage: 1952 to present Brief Description: Provides indexing, abstracts, and access to the full text of materials published by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), including journals, magazines, transactions, proceedings, newsletters, and publications of affiliated organizations. Tools Available: Contents of the ACM Digital Library Using the ACM Digital Library CrossRef Search My Binders Table-of-Contents TOC Service Guide to Computing Literature Computing Classification System

[IPFW]

Compendex -

Call Number: Science Reference Z5851 .E62 [Engineering Index] Coverage: 1969 to present Brief Description: Compendex is the world's most comprehensive interdisciplinary engineering database, providing abstracting and indexing of more than 5,000 international journals, conference proceedings, and trade publications in the fields of engineering, technology, and computer science. Other IPFW Formats: IPFW library owns the printed Engineering Index 1892-1997 [Compendex]. Tools Available: Compendex Thesaurus Compendex Source List Database Help and Training Materials My Profile (Manage Saved Searches and Search Alerts) Ask An Expert (Contact Linda Hall Library Staff or Compendex Engineers)

[IPFW]

Google Scholar -

Brief Description: Google Scholar is a specialized Google search engine that limits your search to scholarly material combed from Web sites, databases, and publication lists of the world's major academic publishers, scholarly and professional societies, and university repositories. Tools Available: Google Scholar Help is available.

[IPFW]

IEEE Xplore -

Coverage: Full-text content from 1988 to present, plus historical articles from 100 IEEE journals published 1913-1987. Brief Description: The IEEE Xplore search interface provides access to peer-reviewed records of research in electrical engineering, electronics, computer science and a growing number of related disciplines, including theoretical and experimental papers and quality magazines focusing on practical applications in research, design and specification. Tools Available: Browse IEEE Journals & Magazines IEEE Xplore FAQs IEEE Xplore 2.0 User Guide Print Promotional Materials and Guides IEEE Digital Library Training

Information Geared for K–12 Students

These Web sites are endorsed for K-12 students by the Future City Competition 2007-2008 organizers. Use them to discover leads to key individuals, organizations, and literature dealing with nanotechnology.

[Free] IEEE Virtual Museum at http://www.ieee-virtual-museum.org

[Free] National Nanotechnology Initiative Education Center at http://www.nano.gov/html/edu/home_edu.html

[Free] Nanooze: The Science Newsletter for Kids at http://www.nanooze.org

[Free] National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network (NNIN) Education Portal at http://www.nnin.org/nnin_edu.html

[Free] University of Wisconsin Educator Resources on Nanotechnology at http://mrsec.wisc.edu/Edetc/IPSE/educators/index.html

[Free] How Stuff Works > How Nanotechnology Will Work at http://science.howstuffworks.com/nanotechnology.htm

[Free] Nanozone at http://www.nanozone.org

Sensors and Control Systems

Future City Competion 2007-2008 organizers recommend free resources and reference handbooks as a way to get started finding out about sensors and control systems.

[IPFW] Handbook of Modern Sensors, 3rd ed. (Science Reference TA165 .F723 2004)

Reference handbooks, like this one and others shelved nearby in the Science Reference Collection, are excellent tools for quickly finding authoritative technical information and recommended sources for further research.

[Free] Wikipedia > Try search terms such as sensors, control systems, distributed control, and other terms at http://www.wikipedia.org

Be critical about the accuracy of any information you find on the World Wide Web. While Wikipedia is handy for looking up information quickly, it may contain errors or misleading information because it can be edited by anyone who takes an interest in writing for this free online encyclopedia. References cited at the end of Wikipedia articles vary greatly in quality, and some links lead to resources that can only be accessed by licensed users.

[Free] "Nanotechnology Enabled Sensors: Possibilities, Realities, and Applications." Sensors (November 1, 2003) at http://www.sensorsmag.com/sensors/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=361237

[Free] Pacific Northwest National Lab > Sensing and Measurement Technology Research at http://www.pnl.gov/research/sensing.asp

[Free] "Nanoelectrical Systems Face the Future" [on Nanoelectrical-mechanical systems, or NEMs] Physics World (February 1, 2001) at http://physicsweb.org/articles/world/14/2/8

[Free] "National Institute of Standards and Technology > IEEE 1451 Website > How Can IEEE 1451 Be Applied?" [on Smart Transducer Interface Standards] at http://ieee1451.nist.gov

[Free] Earth & Sky > "No Secrets in a Future With Nano Sensors?" [interview with Christine Patterson on Nanosensors and Privacy] at http://www.earthsky.org/article/50772/christine-peterson-interview

Nanotechnology

Here are some freely accessible Web sites as well as specialized IPFW resources that will help you investigate the role of nanotechnology in city infrastructure.

[Free] "Nanotechnology." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Available at http://www.britannica.com
This free view of the Encyclopedia Britannica Online offers Additional Reading tips.

[IPFW] Nanotechnology for Dummies [electronic resource]. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley, 2005.

Access this e-book in Helmke Library through IUCAT, Indiana University's online catalog. Find other books like it by doing a Keywords Anywhere search for some of the Keywords to Look Up, listed above.

[IPFW] MEMS Handbook. CRC Press, 2002. (Science Reference TJ151 .M46 2002).

This reference book is shelved in the Science Reference Collection on the fourth floor. It recommends scholarly resources on microelectromagnetic systems.

[Free] Nanoscale Informal Science Education (NISE) Network Resource Center at http://qt.exploratorium.edu/nise-resources

[Free] Foresight Nanotech Institute > Foresight Publications > Weekly News Digest at http://www.foresight.org

[Free] NASA > Ames Research Center > Center for Nanotechnology at http://www.ipt.arc.nasa.gov

[Free] NASA Tech Briefs > National Nano Engineering Conference (NNEC) 2007 > Agenda and Speakers at http://nasatech.com/nano

[Free] U.S. Department of Energy > DOE Nanoscale Science Research Centers at http://www.science.doe.gov/nano/index.htm

Follow the links on this page to the following partner research centers. Many of these government sites provide descriptions of their research programs and freely accessible publications.

[Free] Argonne National Laboratory > Center for Nanoscale Materials at http://nano.anl.gov

[Free] Brookhaven National Laboratory > Center for Functional Nanomaterials at http://www.bnl.gov/cfn/

[Free] Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory > Molecular Foundry at http://foundry.lbl.gov

[Free] Oak Ridge National Laboratory > Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences at http://www.cnms.ornl.gov

[Free] Sandia National Laboratories and Los Alamos National Laboratory > Center For Integrated Nanotechnologies at http://cint.lanl.gov

sandstrp@ipfw.edu 2101 E. Coliseum Blvd. Fort Wayne, IN 46805-1499 260-481-5404 Fax: 260-481-6509 Pamela Sandstrom M.L.S., Ph.D. Director of Library Programs & Development; Liaison to Anthropology, Computer Science, CIET, Engineering, Geosciences, MCET & Interior Design, Mathematical Sciences, Physics; Collection Developer for Library & Information Sciences Helmke Library, LB 148