This award provides funding for a 3 year standard award to support a Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) in Engineering Site program at Georgia Institute of Technology (GA Tech) entitled, "RET Site: National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network (NNIN)", under the direction of Dr. Nancy Healy.
This Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) in Engineering Site is a renewal of a successful RET Site program hosted by the National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network (NNIN) with the lead at Georgia Institute of Technology and partners at Arizona State University, University of California Santa Barbara, and the University of Minnesota. This site will provide a total of 48 (16 per year for 3 years), in-service, grades 6-12 science teachers and community college faculty within commuting distance of the NNIN university site, an opportunity to engage in high-quality, nanoscale science and engineering (NSE) hands-on research in state-of-the-art nanotechnology facilities at NNIN sites for 7 weeks during the summer with 1 week of follow-up activities throughout the year, and present their research experience at an annual NNIN Professional Development Workshop. The objectives of the program are to actively engage underrepresented science teachers and community college faculty, or those who serve underrepresented students, in NSE research, build a library of NSE classroom activities and broadly disseminate these activities, and develop a long-term support community of professors, graduate students, NNIN staff, science teachers and community college faculty who will advocate STEM and NSE education and career pathways.
