October 3, 2007 — A hearty serving of nanotechnology, designed to spark an interest in math and science, is now part of the breakfast menu for children throughout the Northeast, thanks to a new cereal box — believed to be the first in the United States with information on nanotechnology — developed exclusively by Price Chopper Supermarkets as part of the “Spotlight on Science” initiative with the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) of the University at Albany.

Three hundred middle school and high school students from 11 schools throughout the Tech Valley region got a first look at the new cereal boxes during a visit to CNSE’s Albany NanoTech complex for NanoCareer Day.

Boxes of Price Chopper’s Koo-Kies and Peanut Butter Cocoa Spheres cereals, which feature kid-friendly information on the growing impact of nanotechnology on society, are now on store shelves in 116 Price Chopper stores in New York, Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania.

The cereal boxes define nanotechnology and discuss the role it is playing in improving our quality of life, from better cell phones and video games to new medical treatments and alternative energy sources. Children are urged to study math and science to become educated about the field that may define their careers as adults, and invited to learn more by visiting the website of CNSE, ranked this year by Small Times magazine as the world’s number one college for nanotechnology and microtechnology.

The boxes also feature photos from the cleanrooms and laboratories inside CNSE’s Albany NanoTech complex, a $4.2 billion education, research, development and commercialization facility.

According to the National Science Foundation, the United States will need more than two million nanotechnology-savvy workers by 2014. Of those, 20% are expected to be scientists, with the remaining 80% consisting of highly skilled engineers, technicians, business leaders, economists, and others. The National Science Foundation projects that the nanotechnology job market will require expertise ranging from two-year associate degrees to doctoral degrees.