The Regional Center has resulted in associate degree programs in nanofabrication at 20 institutions across Pennsylvania including every Pennsylvania community college. To provide opportunities for associate degree graduates, the Center has supported baccalaureate-level nanotechnology programs at eight Pennsylvania public universities including Penn State, with articulated 2+2 pathways. The Center also offers professional development programs for educators and industry personnel, and outreach programs for secondary school students. Key features of the Center are its broad approach to education in all nanotechnology application areas, and its emphasis on the hands-on laboratory experience provided at the Penn State site of the NSF sponsored National Nanofabrication Infrastructure Network (NNIN).
Evaluation and oversight of Center programs and activities have taken place continuously during the four years of operation. External evaluators including the Western Michigan University and the Center's formal evaluator, Professor Melvin M. Mark, as well as Center staff, have assessed the Center. The NSF National Visiting Committee and a separate industrial advisory board also provide oversight and guidance for the Center. Activities for the renewal period are based on findings from these evaluations and oversight bodies. The activities are:
Curriculum Improvement: Because of the Center's broad approach, nanotechnology is being incorporated into a widening range of degree programs at Center partner institutions, including biology, chemistry, physics, and industrial technology. The Center is continuously updating nanofabrication curricula to accommodate students from increasingly diverse fields.
Development of New Learning Tools: As nanotechnology permeates more areas of education and industry and thereby generates more interest, the limits of the Center's "centralized facility" model are becoming apparent. To augment this model, the Center is developing, piloting, and refining hands-on nanotechnology learning activities and instructional materials that can be delivered in classrooms across the state, incorporating web-based remote equipment access.
Outreach and Student Recruitment: Outreach to female and disadvantaged minority communities is ongoing. The Center website is continuously maintained and upgraded, and additional promotional videos are being produced and disseminated. The Center's outreach programs reach large numbers of female and minority secondary students. These students are encouraged toward a goal of increased matriculation into associate degree programs.
Industry Outreach: The Center is expanding efforts to identify Pennsylvania companies using nanotechnology and promote Center students as potential workers for these companies. Further, the Center is undertaking a research effort to improve understanding of employment trends and emerging job opportunities in nanotechnology, and using this information to support outreach and student recruitment efforts.
The intellectual merit of this renewal proposal lies in its potential to contribute to improved understanding in a number of education-related issue areas such as higher education collaboration, student participation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education, educator professional development, and others. The proposal will have broad impact because it further develops a proven program addressing the growing need for nanofabrication workers.
