Nano-Education Initiatives from the MRSEC programs

Dan Steinberg, Princeton MRSECEileen Sheu, Univ. of Chicago MRSEC

Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers (MRSECs)

• Currently 31 University-based Centers across the country*

• Research: Biomaterials, Hard Condensed Matter Phenomena, Electronic Materials, Energy/Sustainability, Magnetism/Spintronics, Mechanics of Materials, Multiferroics, Nanotechnology, Photonic Materials, Polymers, Soft Condensed Matter/Materials

• 73 Interdisciplinary research groups (IRGs), 4 initiatives

• 50 IRGs have nano-focus

• Educational Outreach and Knowledge Transfer

• Shared Instrumental and Computational Facilities

(*4 Centers phasing out)

Integration of Research & Education

High School student, Moyukh Chatterjee , develops a high vacuum system at the Princeton MRSEC in Jason Petta’s lab. He won lots of NJ science fair awards.

Bi nanowires via AAO templating, produced in Chatterjee’s vacuum system.

Univ. of Chicago REU student, Rodney Goldsmith from Xavier University of LA, at the AFM.

K. E. Mueggenburg, X.-M. Lin, R.H. Goldsmith, and H.M. Jaeger, “Elastic membranes of close-packed nanoparticle arrays,” Nature Materials 6, 656 - 660 (2007).

Faculty-student teams from UPR-San Juan in Christian Binek’s lab, and from UPR-Humacao in Peter Dowbe’s lab, Nebraska MRSEC

Focus on Diversity/ Emphasis on MentoringPartnerships for Research & Education in Materials (PREM)

Cal-Northridge/ PrincetonCCNY/ ChicagoClark Atlanta/ GA TechHoward-PGCC/ JHUJackson State/ UCSBNorfolk State/ CornellNM Highlands/ U Wash STCTuskegee/ CornellUNM/ HarvardUPR-Humacao/ PennUPR-Mayaguez/ WisconsinUT-Pan Am/ MinnesotaUT-San Antonio/ NorthwesternXavier Univ. LA/ NYU

Programs for Local K-12 Students

Undergrad and gruaduate tudents from the UPR-Humacao/Penn PREM

High school student participants in the Jackson State/UCSB PREM

Middle school students participate in NWU MRSEC, UCSB MRSEC activities

Consideration for Different Learning Styles

Gigantic carbon nanotube balloon structure from UW Madison MRSEC

Giant buckyball from UMD MRSEC. Sometimes bounces around physics building atrium.

Itai Cohen, Cornell MRSEC, illustrates the nanoscale through dance

“Plasma etched imprint resist,” UMass MRSEC

“Reaction-induced phase separation in thermosets, UMass MRSEC

The UMass MRSEC initiated a partnership with the Boston MOS. This included an exhibit of images from the VISUAL program

Real nano-phenomena and experiences

Philippe Guyot-Sionnest, Chicago MRSEC, with desktop interactive to demonstrate properties of CdSe quantum dots.

OK/AR and Yale MRSECs use table-top SEMs for programs for local schools.

Harvard MRSEC REU students, and others, after a tour of the Clean Room

Portable MBE system from the Yale MRSEC used for teacher professional development programs Nationwide access to MRSEC Shared Facility Intrumentation.

Especially Invites researchers from PUIs, high schools

Partnerships in Formal and Informal Science Education

UW MRSEC (GEMSEC) graduate student talks about her research in conjunction with the Strange Matter exhibit at the PacSci Center

MIT graduate students demonstrate nanoscience at the Cambridge Science Festival

MRSECs involved with a number of ISE partners & collaborations

Vin Crespi, shares ideas at a FI/Penn State MRSEC activity development meeting

Northwestern MRSEC member, R.P.H. Chang initiated both Materials World Modules and NCLT.

Christine Jones (Colorado MRSEC), Marni Goldman (Stanford MRSEC), collaborated with the NanoLeap Curriculum

Working together to achieve excellence

Creation of inter-MRSEC logic models at Princeton Education Coordinators’ meeting

Inter-MRSEC logic model resulting from Princeton meeting.

At MIT, Prof. Isiah Warner from LSU talks to Education Coordinators about importance of mentoring.

Acknowledgements

DMR-MRSEC Program OfficersThomas RiekerSean JonesCharles Ying

(& former program officers)Rama BansilWilliam BrittainW. Lance HaworthCarmen HuberMaija KuklaUlrich Strom

MRSEC CentersBrandeis University University of MinnesotaBrown University University of NebraskaCalifornia Institute of Tech. University of Oklahoma/Carnegie Mellon University University of ArkansasColorado School of Mines University of PennsylvaniaColumbia University University of Southern MississippiCornell University University of WashingtonHarvard University University of Wisconsin, MadisonJohns Hopkins University Yale UniversityMassachusetts Inst. of Tech.New York UniversityNorthwestern UniversityOhio State UniversityPennsylvania State UniversityPrinceton UniversityStanford/IBM ARC /UC Davis/UC BerkeleyUniversity of AlabamaUniversity of California, Santa BarbaraUniversity of ChicagoUniversity of ColoradoUniversity of MarylandUniversity of Massachusets, Amherst

National Science Foundation