Senior Planning and Research Associate in the Office of Planning and Institutional Assessment at The Pennsylvania State University.Dr. Amy L Freeman, Pennsylvania State University, University Park Dr. Amy L. Freeman is Assistant Dean of Engineering Diversity at The Pennsylvania State University where she received the M.S. in Architectural Engineering, and a Ph.D. in Workforce Education. She is Co-PI on the NSF-sponsored Toys’n MORE grant and currently manages several retention programs targeting over 2500 women and underrepresented technical students at all levels of the academic and career development pipeline. She is also an executive member of the National Association of Multicultural Engineering Program Advocates
at Pennsylvania State University where she received her Ph.D. in Workforce Education and her M.S. in Architectural Engineering. She is co-PI on the NSF-sponsored Toys’n MORE grant and currently manages several retention programs targeting over 2000 women and underrepresented technical students at all levels of the academic and career development pipeline. She is also an executive member of the National Association of Multicultural Engineering Program Advocates (NAMEPA) organization.Dr. Javier Gomez-Calderon, Penn State NK Dr. Javier Gomez-Calderon is a professor of mathematics and mathematics coordinator at Penn State-New Kensington. He is the author or co-author of 31 articles, four textbooks, four in-house
140 paired with PHYS 211, andPHYS 212 paired with EE210. This approach is designed to foster a sense of community amongstudents and provide them with a more meaningful education, where abstract mathematicalconcepts gain practical significance in physics, and challenging physics concepts are elucidatedthrough applications in engineering. Moreover, students enrolled in this program receive supportthrough peer tutors, dedicated academic advisers and faculty mentors, and tailored mentorshipfrom alumni engineers possessing industry experience. These additional resources aim to furtherbolster the academic and career success of the students involved.The program aims to offer valuable insights to faculty and institutions currently engaged in
renewable energy-based nanotechnology education module that is focused on the development of next-generationsolar cells. This specific topic was selected due to the rising interest of early-career engineers inadvanced energy conversion technologies. Furthermore, the local expertise regarding thisspecific form of solar energy conversion allowed for a complete, yet simplified, picture of thefundamental scientific and nanotechnology principles to be communicated to the FYE students.That is, by having a technical expert that was both familiar with the utilization of quantum dotsolar cells and the FYE program at Purdue, a clear overlap in student abilities andnanotechnology relevance was established.Quantum Dot Solar Cells. To establish how