This Nanotechnology in Undergraduate Education (NUE) award, funded by the Division of Materials Research, the Division of Undergraduate Education and the Division of Chemistry, supports Dr. Karen Quaal, Chemistry Department, and Dr. Joshua Diamond, Physics Department, at Siena College in collaboration with Evident Technologies, an Albany-based nanotechnology company, to develop two 5-week laboratory modules coupled with a summer research experience to introduce Siena undergraduate science students to nanotechnology and the science of advanced quantum devices. The NUE project will allow students to become acquainted with the field of nanotechnology, and to possibly pursue entry-level positions or further training in related fields.
The first 5-week laboratory module is designed for second semester Chemistry juniors. The module will be inserted into a newly developed Chemistry course entitled "Integrated Laboratory II." This course introduces modern synthetic methods of inorganic chemistry and the study of kinetics, quantum mechanics, and spectroscopy related to these synthesized compounds. The course will be team taught by one Chemistry Department faculty and a scientist from Evident Technologies. The second 5-week laboratory module is designed for second semester junior or senior physics majors. This module will be part of a Physics course entitled "Special Topics in Physics- Experimental Analysis of Solids and Nanocrystals." This course will cover the analysis of the nanocrystalline materials synthesized in the first module using techniques typically encountered in an upper level physics laboratory including absorption measurements, fluorescence measurements, X-ray diffraction, modeling based on particle-in-a-box calculations, and the effect of photo-oxidation on the integrity of the these materials. Upon completion of these modules, four (4) students and a faculty member will do research in nanotechnology with Evident Technologies. In an effort to support participation of historically underrepresented students, Drs. Quaal and Diamond will work cooperatively with Siena's Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP), a New York State college program for economically and academically disadvantaged students, to recruit physics and chemistry students to participate in the laboratory modules and summer research experience.
