A Multidisciplinary Undergraduate Nanotechnology Education Program with Integrated Laboratory Experience

In recognition of the global, national, and local importance of nanotechnology, a diverse team of educators and researchers are developing a multidisciplinary nanotechnology educational program with support from a National Science Foundation (NSF) Nanotechnology Undergraduate Education (NUE) in Engineering award. A previous NSF NUE grant resulted in the development of lecture courses and course modules, but lacked hands-on experiments and computer simulation exercises. The goal of this program is to address this deficiency by incorporating new laboratory and simulation modules into existing classes, and by developing a new nano/micro laboratory course. One novel aspect of this program is that it is coordinated across two colleges and includes faculty in aerospace, chemical, electrical, and mechanical engineering as well as geological sciences. This program includes outreach activities for students in grades 5 – 12 through an existing NanoClub. Outreach also includes tours of the Institute for Imaging and Analytical Technologies (IAT), an on-campus facility that emphasizes nanotechnology during demonstrations of confocal, atomic force, and electron microscopes. Current results from this program that started in January 2014 are presented including a discussion of progress with a focus on new developments since January 2015. These include course modules developed, outreach activities through the NanoClub, student enrollment, and the diversity of the students impacted by these courses.