This Nanotechnology Undergraduate Education (NUE) in Engineering program entitled, "NUE: NanoTRA-Texas Regional Alliance to foster 'Nanotechnology Environment, Health, and Safety Awareness' in tomorrow's Engineering and Technology Leaders", at Texas State University-San Marcos, under the direction of Dr. Jitendra S. Tate, will be a collaborative project with the University of Texas (UT) at Tyler, to develop introductory and advanced curricula that address the 'nanotechnology safety issues' that include social, ethical, environmental, health, and safety issues of nanotechnology. The curricula will be modular in nature, suitable for use either as two full semester courses that will be taught online at UT at Tyler or for insertion as separate modules into undergraduate engineering, engineering technology, and industrial technology courses at Texas State.
This project will initially impact more than 1,000 undergraduate engineering and technology students at Texas State and UT at Tyler, of which 350 are underrepresented minority students. The insights gained from the development of the courses and the rigorous assesment of learning outcomes will provide the basis for the inclusion of nanotechnology social, ethical, environmental, health, and safety issues in conventional engineering, engineering technology, industrial technology, and science courses. The experience gained from co-developing nanotechnology courses for two institutions will permit the replication of the courses at other institutions, including HBCUs and HSIs and community colleges, becoming a catalyst to promote nanotechnology safety education in two and four year institutions throughout the U.S. The development effort will enhance the qualifications of undergraduates, many of them women and Hispanics, as they pursue nanoscience and nanotechnology-related careers in industry or academia. The proposed project will help prepare a diverse workforce to supply the needs of emerging nanotechnology companies, over 100 of which are currently based in Texas.
