Support from the Community Foundation helped Henry Ford Community College in Dearborn and the University of Michigan’s Lurie Nanofabrication Facility in Ann Arbor create the first-of-its-kind nanotechnology and microsystems technician training and internship program. This collaboration gives the community college’s biotech students access to a world-class facility where they serve as entry-level technicians on cutting-edge research.

The internship not only prepares the students for lucrative 21st century jobs, it is also creating an important regional economic asset: a pipeline of qualified technicians to support advanced materials research and manufacturing in southeast Michigan.