This award provides support for a two-day workshop that would bring about 60 participants together to discuss the issues, challenges and opportunities in "Materials Education" and devise strategies for synergizing all stakeholders involved for further progress. "Materials Education" here refers to interdisciplinary education in the fields of materials science and materials engineering including physics, chemistry, engineering, and increasingly bio-related materials. This meeting will be held in early Fall at a venue near NSF. The workshop discussions will be focused on 4 topics: (1) Educating the public about the relevance of materials research through successful outreach; (2) Materials education for K-12 students and teachers; (3) Revolutionalizing undergraduate education toward flexible curriculum that includes multidisciplinary training; (4) Materials education for graduate students to prepare materials scientists and engineers with the skills to succeed in today's global research and development environment. The participants are expected to be those in a position to introduce change in the educational programs not only at their institutions but on a national level.
The meeting format includes half-day sessions consisting of keynote speeches and break-out group discussions followed by a common panel discussion on each topic. The anticipated outcome is a roadmap to enhance materials science and materials engineering education at all levels. A report which captures the conference discussions and recommendations to guide future planning by the materials community, professional societies, funding agencies, and others with strong materials education initiatives will be published within a few months following the conference.
This workshop is jointly funded by the Division of Materials Research(DMR), Physics (PHY), and the Office of Multidisciplinary Activities (OMA) within the Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS) directorate and by the Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings (DRL) and Undergraduate Education (DUE) in the Education and Human Resources directorate.
