This Nanotechnology Undergraduate Education (NUE) in Engineering program entitled, "NUE-WSU Nanotechnology and Nanoscience Laboratory Experience", at Wright State University (WSU), under the direction of Dr. Hong Huang, represents a collaborative effort among faculty members with appointments in the Departments of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Chemistry, and Physics at WSU. The primary goal is to develop a new, highly interdisciplinary laboratory course (Nanotechnology and Nanoscience Laboratory Experience) based on the investigators' expertise in cutting-edge nanotechnology research and educational areas. This will be the first nanotechnology/nanoscience laboratory on campus that will complement and strengthen the current, well-established Introduction to Nanoscience and Nanotechnology and Materials for Nanotechnology lecture courses at WSU. This independent laboratory course will be open to undergraduate and graduate students across the aforementioned departments.
Theoretical concepts learned during the already established lecture courses will be reinforced and supplemented by hands-on experience in the laboratory. Upon course completion, students will improve or develop new skills that will be useful in future nanotechnology endeavors in the Dayton area (e.g. the Air Force Research laboratory and local industries specializing in nanotechnology), regardless of their majors. This new laboraory course will support the development of the next generation of nanotechnology scientists and engineers at WSU through advanced, early scientific education at the undergraduate level. The resources and results derived from this proposal will be presented to and shared with both the local and external scientific and non-scientific communities (e.g., open house events for K12 students, publications and conference presentatons, and the WSU website).
We have developed an interdisciplinary laboratory-intensive course - Experimental Nanomaterials and Nanoscience - at Wright State University. This course covers cover a large breadth of topics including synthesize and processing of silver nanoparticles and graphene nanosheets, characterizations in terms of particle size, distribution, morphology etc. using various characterization techniques, and assessment their performances applicable in optical, sensing, and renewable energy areas. The twelve laboratories, selected from the research-inspired topics, are to complement and reinforce the concepts students learned in lecture courses in the areas of materials engineering, chemistry, physics, and nanotechnology. This course has been successfully offered two terms with continuous improvement, which is highly appraised by the participating students. Students’ interests in and awareness of nanotechnology have been increased. The major scientific and educational objectives of this course are to sustain and enhance intellectual enthusiasm and passion for education and research related to nanoscience and nanotechnology and eventually, via providing extensive hands-on experiences and skill trainings, to support the development of the next generation of nanotechnology engineers and scientists. Courses focusing on nanoscience and nanotechnology present a unique educational platform in that they allow for teaching interdisciplinary principles, while simultaneously covering the cutting–edge developments that are tied closely to applications. Such novel courses will enhance intellectual enthusiasm and passion for STEM studies and research. Meanwhile, they can provide faculty and students with new research and education collaboration opportunities that cross traditional disciplinary and departmental boundaries.
