Organized by Drs. Paul Sieving and Richard Fisher of the NEI, the course features streaming video of speakers with their corresponding PowerPoint presentation slides. The seven-presentation course runs approximately three hours. Each presentation can be viewed separately and ranges from seven to 35 minutes in length. A online transcript of the course is also available.

The course introduces fundamental concepts, including changes in the properties of materials at the nanoscale, and the potential of nanotechnology and its application to biomedical sciences. The underlying physical sciences, conveyed by renowned experts in nanoscience, are emphasized and the course includes examples of NEI-funded studies of either applied or fundamental nanoscience in vision research.