IMPACTING UNDERGRADUATE NANOSCIENCE AND NANOENGINEERING EDUCATION

Dhananjay Kumar; Devdas M. Pai; Courtney Lambeth; Robin Guill Liles; Narayan Bhattarai

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Conference: 2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Publication Date: June 23, 2013
Start Date: June 23, 2013
End Date: June 26, 2013
ISSN: 2153-5965
Conference Session: NSF Grantees' Poster Session
Tagged Topic: NSF Grantees Poster Session
Page Count: 11
Page Numbers: 23.690.1 - 23.690.11
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--19704
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/19704
Download Count: 375

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Dhananjay Kumar North Carolina A&T State University

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Dr. Dhananjay Kumar is an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at North Carolina A&T State University. His teaching interests are courses related to Materials Science, Thin Film Technology, Nanoscience, and Nanoengineering. He is actively associated with developing and teaching new courses at North Carolina A&T under the NSF-funded Nanotechnology Undergraduate Education (NUE) project.

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Dr. Narayan Bhattarai is an assistant professor of Bioengineering at North Carolina A&T State University. His research areas are Biomaterials, Tissue Engineering and Nanotechnology. He teaches Biomaterials and Nanotechnology to undergraduate and graduate students.

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Abstract

IMPACTING UNDERGRADUATE NANOSCIENCE AND NANOENGINEERING EDUCATIONThis National Science Foundation supported Nanotechnology Undergraduate Education (NUE)project takes into account the need for a better integration of theory, experiment, andapplications. A team of engineering faculty members from the North Carolina A&T StateUniversity (NCAT), who are actively involved in nanomaterials-based research and have beencollaborating with each other for the past several years, have taken up the challenge to enhanceundergraduate nanoscience and engineering education in the area of devices and systems.We report our three-pronged approach toward enhancing undergraduate nanoscience andengineering education with an emphasis on devices and systems. We are using the practicalapproach of direct engagement of the students in ongoing research in our advanced materialslaboratories. Our first activity for enhancing nanoscience and nanoengineering education was tointroduce simple concepts of nanoscience and technology into existing required undergraduateengineering courses. Introducing the concepts of nanoscience and engineering at this early stageof undergraduate education was found to positively impact student interest in registering for atechnical elective nanotechnology course that we developed as our second initiative. Under ourthird initiative, a limited number of undergraduates well-imbued with this foundationalperspective were recruited and financially supported to engage in a semester-long researchproject related to nanotechnology.The three pronged approach adopted by the NCAT NUE team and has befitted mechanicalundergraduate students at sophomore, junior and senior levels. While the Nanotechnology-I andnanotechnology-II course have jointly attracted enrollments of more than 30 per year, theintroduction of basic concepts in existing course has impacted all the mechanical engineeringundergraduates (over 200) for the last two years. NUE fund has also been used to supportfinancially over 15 undergraduates students via stipend, wages, and REU programs. One of thestudents taking nanotechnology was selected and sent to Hannover Medical School, Germany asa part to provide international experience in the area of nano-biotechnology.To study the efficacy of the ‘Nanotechnology-I course (MEEN 530.1: Fundaments ofNanoscience and Engineering), a mixed-method design is being used for the second time. WithIRB approval, undergraduate students were asked to completed content-specific, pre-/post-testsinventory-surveys and participate in an exit interview at the end of the semester. The inventorywas developed by NUE team members with expertise in nanotechnology undergraduateeducation. Inventory items are clustered across five domains, including: (a) Nanoscale dimensionand basics, (b) Synthesis methods, (c) structural characterization, (d) Carbon-nanostructure andBioengineering, and (e) Device applications. The exit interview was recorded and is in theprocess of being transcribed. A preliminary comparison of the pre- and post- data review of pre-/post- assessment data suggests that students experienced positive change-in-learning related tocourse content in all the five categories. A detailed analysis of pre-and post- survey data isunderway. This analysis, along with information gathered from the exit interview, will be veryimportant as we will have now the survey data for two consecutive years.

Citation
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Kumar, D., & Pai, D. M., & Lambeth, C., & Liles, R. G., & Bhattarai, N. (2013, June), IMPACTING UNDERGRADUATE NANOSCIENCE AND NANOENGINEERING EDUCATION Paper presented at 2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Atlanta, Georgia. 10.18260/1-2--19704

TY  - CPAPER
AB  -    IMPACTING UNDERGRADUATE NANOSCIENCE AND NANOENGINEERING                         EDUCATIONThis National Science Foundation supported Nanotechnology Undergraduate Education (NUE)project takes into account the need for a better integration of theory, experiment, andapplications. A team of engineering faculty members from the North Carolina A&amp;T StateUniversity (NCAT), who are actively involved in nanomaterials-based research and have beencollaborating with each other for the past several years, have taken up the challenge to enhanceundergraduate nanoscience and engineering education in the area of devices and systems.We report our three-pronged approach toward enhancing undergraduate nanoscience andengineering education with an emphasis on devices and systems. We are using the practicalapproach of direct engagement of the students in ongoing research in our advanced materialslaboratories. Our first activity for enhancing nanoscience and nanoengineering education was tointroduce simple concepts of nanoscience and technology into existing required undergraduateengineering courses. Introducing the concepts of nanoscience and engineering at this early stageof undergraduate education was found to positively impact student interest in registering for atechnical elective nanotechnology course that we developed as our second initiative. Under ourthird initiative, a limited number of undergraduates well-imbued with this foundationalperspective were recruited and financially supported to engage in a semester-long researchproject related to nanotechnology.The three pronged approach adopted by the NCAT NUE team and has befitted mechanicalundergraduate students at sophomore, junior and senior levels. While the Nanotechnology-I andnanotechnology-II course have jointly attracted enrollments of more than 30 per year, theintroduction of basic concepts in existing course has impacted all the mechanical engineeringundergraduates (over 200) for the last two years. NUE fund has also been used to supportfinancially over 15 undergraduates students via stipend, wages, and REU programs. One of thestudents taking nanotechnology was selected and sent to Hannover Medical School, Germany asa part to provide international experience in the area of nano-biotechnology.To study the efficacy of the ‘Nanotechnology-I course (MEEN 530.1: Fundaments ofNanoscience and Engineering), a mixed-method design is being used for the second time. WithIRB approval, undergraduate students were asked to completed content-specific, pre-/post-testsinventory-surveys and participate in an exit interview at the end of the semester. The inventorywas developed by NUE team members with expertise in nanotechnology undergraduateeducation. Inventory items are clustered across five domains, including: (a) Nanoscale dimensionand basics, (b) Synthesis methods, (c) structural characterization, (d) Carbon-nanostructure andBioengineering, and (e) Device applications. The exit interview was recorded and is in theprocess of being transcribed. A preliminary comparison of the pre- and post- data review of pre-/post- assessment data suggests that students experienced positive change-in-learning related tocourse content in all the five categories. A detailed analysis of pre-and post- survey data isunderway. This analysis, along with information gathered from the exit interview, will be veryimportant as we will have now the survey data for two consecutive years.
AU  - Dhananjay Kumar
AU  - Devdas M. Pai
AU  - Courtney Lambeth
AU  - Robin Guill Liles
AU  - Narayan Bhattarai
CY  - Atlanta, Georgia
DA  - 2013/06/23
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - IMPACTING UNDERGRADUATE NANOSCIENCE AND NANOENGINEERING EDUCATION 
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/19704
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--19704
ER  -