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Undergraduate and Graduate Education Plan for the Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center for High-Rate Nanomanufacturing

C. M. F. Barry, J. A. Isaacs†, J. L. Mead, N. E. McGruer†, G. P. Miller*, A. A. Busnaina† † Northeastern University / University of Massachusetts Lowell / *University of New Hampshire

Abstract

The academic partners in the Center for High-rate Nanomanufacturing (CHN), an NSF-sponsored Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center (NSEC), have created a comprehensive education program for the Center. All three core academic institutions, Northeastern University (NEU), the University of Massachusetts Lowell (UML), and the University of New Hampshire (UNH), have been leaders in advancing engineering education and in providing outreach activities to high school students, undergraduate and graduate students, science teachers, and industry. This paper focuses on the strategies for undergraduate and graduate student education.

With the three-campus Center and advances in on-line education, opportunities for collaborative development of unique cross-disciplinary and cross-university courses are possible. Three sets of nanomanufacturing courses will be offered to undergraduate students at all three campuses. Introductory course modules, designed to fit into existing freshmen science and engineering curricula, should prepare and motivate these students to become interested in the challenges associated with nanotechnology. Similar courses developed for non-science and non-engineering majors are intended to broaden the technological understanding of these students. Senior capstone design projects (in engineering) and senior thesis projects (in the sciences) are the basis for interdisciplinary, industry-sponsored projects in nanomanufacturing. Implementation of these course activities is expected to begin in the spring semester of 2005, and outcomes will be reported. The primary evaluation of this activities related to this education plan will be conducted by the Research and Evaluation Group of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Donahue Institute.

Introduction: The Proposal

The plan was simple. As shown in Table 1, the three universities would offer four collaboratively developed, interdisciplinary courses to students at all three campuses and disseminate these courses to other programs in the country. An undergraduate “Introduction to Nanomanufacturing” course was planned fit within existing freshman introductory engineering courses at all three institutions and within freshman seminar courses in some science programs. The freshman material was intended to prepare and motivate in-coming students to become interested in the challenges associated with nanotechnology. A nanomanufacturing capstone course would support cross-university, cross-disciplinary senior design or thesis projects. Capstone design projects (in engineering) and senior thesis projects (in the sciences) would be the basis for interdisciplinary, industry-sponsored projects in nanomanufacturing. Graduate students at all three universities could also enroll in a common graduate-level nanomanufacturing course, which would provide the foundations for students to pursue advanced research in nanomanufacturing.

“Proceedings of the 2005 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright ©2005, American Society for Engineering Education”

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Isaacs, J. (2005, June), Undergraduate And Graduate Education Plan At The Chn Nsec Paper presented at 2005 Annual Conference, Portland, Oregon. 10.18260/1-2--14377