This ten week REU site program at Rice University will provide community college students with a hands-on research experience in the field of nanotechnology. Specific research areas span the whole range of nanotechnology, including the synthesis and characterization of new nanomaterials such as carbon nanotubes and quantum dots (QDs); application of nanomaterials to air and water purification; nanoparticle (NP) photonics and plasmonics; application of nanomaterials in medical imaging, diagnosis, and treatment; and engineering the energetics of nanomaterials.