This Nanotechnology Undergraduate Education (NUE) in Engineering program at the University of Massachusetts Lowell (UML), entitled "NUE: Interdisciplinary Course-Nanoscale Transport Phenomena for Manufacturing Nanodevices", under the direction of Dr. Zhiyong Gu, will involve five faculty from three engineering departments (Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Plastics Engineering) working together to create an interdisciplinary course in which nanoscle transport phenomena needed for manufacturing of nanodevics will be presented through lectures, hands-on laboratory exercises, demonstration experiments, and a final design project.
The proposed course will translate nanoscience discoveries in nanoscale transport phenomena into workable knowledge that will better prepare undergraduates for employment focused on nano/microfluidic systems, lab-on-a-chip devices, electronics devices, medical devices, and other emerging technologies. The impact of this senior-level course will significantly enhance the "Nanomaterials Engineering Option" in the Chemical Engineering undergraduate curriculum as well as the medical device industry focus in Plastics Engineering and may be used in the five-year BS-MS program which is popular in the UML College of Engineering.
Through the NUE award (Award Number EEC-1042119), five faculty from three engineering departments (Chemical, Mechanical, and Plastics Engineering) at UMass Lowell created a new interdisciplinary engineering course, "Nanoscale Transport Phenomena for Manufacturing Nanodevices". The course focuses on the principles of nanoscale transport phenomena needed for manufacturing nanodevices, specifically fluid mechanics, heat transfer, mixing, reaction engineering, electroosmosis, electophoresis, and manufacturing methods for micro and nanoscale devices. It helps to integrate the interdisciplinary knowledge required for designing and manufacturing nanodevices into undergraduate curricula and to close the large gap between nanoscience and commercial production of nanotechnology products. The course included lectures, ten hands-on laboratory exercises, and a final design project. It was offered as an elective to seniors in chemical, mechanical, and plastics engineering during the 2011 and 2012 fall semesters, and when transitioned to the regular University teaching system in fall 2013, opened to graduate students. Evaluation of the course and laboratory modules showed increased learning in the course topics by both the students and faculty. Student projects generally were successful in incorporating design for manufacturing. Adapted laboratory modules also were employed in lower level undergraduate courses. The course and its results were presented at the ANTEC 2011 Meeting (Society of Plastics Engineers), American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE) 2011 Northeast Section Conference, American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) 2012 Annual Meeting, 2011 and 2012 NSF Engineering Education Grantees Conference, and 2013 ASEE Annual Conference. A conference paper was published by the 2013 ASEE Annual Conference.
