College undergraduate and high school teacher internships are significant factors in materials science education. Traditionally, NSF-supported internships are done in academia. The NSF-supported academic/industrial internship programs involving Stanford University, San Jose University and the IBM Almaden Research Center extend the impact by the inclusion of an industrial research component. Internships through San Jose State University have existed since 1994 under a variety of NSF grants, most recently with NSF-REU support for undergraduate internships. Internships through Stanford university have existed since 1995 through an NSF Materials Research Science and Engineering Center, the “Center for Polymer Interfaces and Macromolecular Interfaces” (CPIMA). In these programs, the interns become members of an existing research group for 10 weeks and have their own project under a mentor. The interns attend a weekly seminar series on industrial research frontiers, a career day, a Graduate Record Examination workshop, a graduate school workshop, and tours of industrial research labs. Every participant presents a poster at an internal technical meeting at IBM at the end of the summer. For the industrial internships at IBM, the research is publishable but closely related to a technical area important to IBM. While the undergraduate and teacher internship programs are the major components of educational outreach of CPIMA, many other projects have been pursued, including public science, programs with local high schools, and science outreach to local community colleges. Dr. Marni Goldman was the Director of Educational Outreach for CPIMA from 2000 until her death in 2007, and she started many of the educational projects and programs. She was especially interested in diversity and initiated an internship program for students who are disabled. The programs will be reviewed and her contributions emphasized.

Within materials science and engineering industries there exists a need for continual professional development and lifelong learning. University materials science and engineering departments and materials related centers have highly qualified instructional faculty, and course management infrastructure that can be utilized to deliver needed continuing education to working professionals via distance learning. This work examines the development and first year delivery results of an online graduate certificate in modern materials characterization techniques for working scientists and engineers.

In this work we present two teaching modules, based on the combination of Scratchboard and Scratch, to be used for the study of materials' thermal properties such as thermal conductivity and heat capacity. These properties are very important for the understanding of many applications. In the design of the modules we have taken into account two scenarios, one for elementary and secondary school students and one for high school students. This determines not only the type of measurement and the analysis of the data but also the Scratch interface. The main emphasis for the lower grades is placed on the introduction of the concepts and a demonstration of the differences of the properties of different materials, while for the upper grades for making accurate measurements through inquiry based projects. Both modules have been implemented in a high school laboratory, providing reliable measurements and engaging the students in a higher level than usually.

The Center for Research on Interface Structures and Phenomena (CRISP) is a National Science Foundation (NSF) Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC). CRISP is a partnership between Yale University, Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU) and Brookhaven National Laboratory. A main focus of CRISP research is complex oxide interfaces that are prepared using epitaxial techniques, including molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). Complex oxides exhibit a wealth of electronic, magnetic and chemical behaviors, and the surfaces and interfaces of complex oxides can have properties that differ substantially from those of the corresponding bulk materials. CRISP employs this research program in a concerted way to educate students at all levels. CRISP has constructed a robust MBE apparatus specifically designed for safe and productive use by undergraduates. Students can grow their own samples and then characterize them with facilities at both Yale and SCSU, providing a complete research and educational experience. This paper will focus on the implementation of the CRISP Teaching MBE facility and its use in the study of the synthesis and properties of the crystalline oxide-silicon interface.

Applications of nanoscience in the non-traditional classroom have successfully exposed students to various methods of research with applications to micro- and nano-electronics. Activities obtained from the NanoSense website associated with current global energy and water concerns are solid examples. In this regard, all 36 students in the 2008-2009 Science Research Program (SRP) prepared and delivered individual and group lesson plans in addition to their authentic, year-long research projects. Two out of 36 students selected nanoscience based projects in preparation for science fair competition in 2009. Additionally, preliminary research was conducted while participating in the Center for Research on Interface Structures and Phenomena (CRISP) Research Experience for Teachers (RET) Program in summer 2008 which supported the idea of developing a photolithography kit. This kit is intended to introduce high school students to the fundamentals of photolithography. In this paper, the design, implementation and feasibility of this kit in the high school classroom is described as well as details involving individual and group nanoscience based projects. Supporting educational models include self-regulated learning (SRL) concepts; situated cognition; social constructivism; Renzulli's (1977) enrichment triad and Types I – III inquiry enrichment activities.

The Women in Materials (WIM) program is an on-going collaboration between Simmons College and the Cornell Center for Materials Research (CCMR). Beginning in 2001, during the initial four years of the project, materials-related curricula were developed, a new joint research project was begun, and nearly 1/2 of Simmons College science majors participated in materials-related research during their first two years as undergraduates. We have previously reported the student outcomes as a result of this initial stage of the project, demonstrating a successful partnership between a primarily undergraduate women's college and a federally funded Materials Research Science and Engineering Center. Here, we report the evolution and impact of this project over the last three years, subsequent to the initial seed funding from the National Science Foundation. The Women in Materials project is now a key feature of the undergraduate science program at Simmons College and has developed into an organizing structure for materials-related research at the College. Initially, three faculty members were involved and now eight faculty members from all three laboratory science departments participate (biology, chemistry, and physics). The program now involves research related to optoelectronics, polymer synthesis, biomaterials, and green chemistry, and each semester about 80% of the students who participate in these projects are 1st and 2nd year science majors. This structure has led to enhanced funding within the sciences, shared instrumentation facilities, a new minor in materials science, and a spirit of collaboration among science faculty and departments. It has also spawned a new, innovative curricular initiative, the Undergraduate Laboratory Renaissance, now in its second year of implementation, involving all three laboratory science departments in incorporating actual, on-going research projects into introductory and intermediate science laboratories. Most importantly, the Women in Materials program has embedded materials-related research into our science curriculum and has deepened and broadened the educational experience for our students; the student outcomes speak to the program's success. Approximately 70% of our science majors go on to graduate school within two years of completing their undergraduate degree. Our students also have a high acceptance rate at highly competitive summer research programs, such as Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) programs funded by the National Science Foundation.

This talk will reflect on the challenges of designing educational opportunities that broaden diversity in the ranks of future scientists and engineers. The speaker, who is Education Director at the California Nanosystems Institute (CNSI) at the University of California, Santa Barbara, will report on the design and evaluation of a program that integrates academic, career and social components to engage a community of undergraduates, graduate mentors and research faculty at UCSB. The program builds on key practices such as academic mentorship, community networking and early undergraduate research. Evaluation of this program, Expanding Pathways to Science, Engineering and Mathematics (EPSEM) indicates that it has been successful in recruiting and retaining students from under-represented (URM) groups into science, technology, engineering and math disciplines (STEM disciplines).

This paper reports on a multi-faceted evaluation of science communication workshops conducted during the summer of 2009 with Research Experience for Undergraduate (REU) students from the Center for High-rate Nanomanufacturing and the Harvard University School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, in a partnership between the Museum of Science, Boston Strategic Projects department and faculty from the Nanoscale Science and Engineering Centers headquartered at Harvard and at Northeastern Universities. The workshops were shown to (1) increase student interest in exploring and understanding the broader impacts of research, and (2) increase student knowledge, confidence and practice of communication skills for both professional and non-professional audiences.

The College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) at the University at Albany has developed an academic curriculum leading to the degree of Bachelor of Science in Nanoscale Science. This curriculum represents a 132-credit program designed for completion in eight academic semesters and is consistent with the SUNY General Education Program requirements as implemented at the University at Albany. This curriculum comprises a cutting-edge, inherently interdisciplinary, academic program centered on scholarly excellence, educational quality, and technical and pedagogical innovation. The blueprint for this curriculum is comprised of four basic components: a “Foundational Principles”’ component, a “Core Competency” component, a “Concentration” component and a “Capstone Research/Design” component. The first two components are designed to integrate the dissemination of fundamental, cross-disciplinary, nanoscale science and engineering principles with the cultivation of the critical skill set necessary for advanced undergraduate coursework and interdisciplinary research. The remaining two components expand on these foundational skills to develop the topical expertise, technical depth, and independent research abilities that are essential to a well-rounded undergraduate educational experience. The combination of these instructional tools ensures a customizable and coherent undergraduate degree program that trains the student's intellect how to explore, discover, and innovate, while ensuring its proficiency in a specific nanoscale discipline. The outcome is a unique undergraduate experience that taps into CNSE's global academic leadership in nanoscale science and engineering to attract and educate a diverse and talented pool of qualified scientists and engineers at the baccalaureate level.

We report on a pair of MSP (Mathematics & Science Partnership) START pilot projects designed to identify nanoscience experiments that will fit within the Alabama course of study for use in Alabama K-12 classrooms. As part of the first project we are testing the development, refinement and evaluation of an activity already partly developed. The form of this activity has had input from a focus group of RETs who were tasked to provide input into the activity and how it can be matched to components of the Alabama Course of Study. This activity consists of using sparks generated by abrasion of misch metal by sand paper of different grit size. Different grit sizes produce metal particles of different sizes, resulting in sparks of different size and length. If done in a dry box no sparks are produced and the powder left is not pyrophoric, demonstrating that high surface area, heat and oxygen are all required to produce sparks. SEM characterization of the powder allows the particle sizes to be determined, giving the correlation between size, grit size and spark track length. The activity was tested on groups of middle school science campers at McWane Science Center, and after evaluation, further modified to increase student interest and impact. The activity was then tested on grades 6-8 in a middle school classroom by a graduate student/undergraduate student team.

This symposium is a memorial to Dr. Marni Goldman. Although she never walked and had only limited use of her arms, Marni's academic and professional accomplishments placed her in elite company. She obtained two bachelors degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and a Ph.D. in Materials Science from the University of California at Berkeley. Even with a heavy course load, she was involved in educational outreach during her studies. She started her career as a Research Associate (Education Director) in Stanford's NSF Materials Research Science and Engineering Center on Polymer Interfaces and Macromolecular Assemblies in 2000 and retained those responsibilities until her death in 2007. During this period she rapidly added the responsibilities as Education Director for Stanford's Nanofabrication Facility and was ultimately named Associate Director of Stanford's Office of Science Outreach. Marni was a dynamo whose activities at Stanford included a large summer undergraduate internship program, a Research Experiences for Teachers program (local and national activities), a program to bring community college students (especially minority students) to the campus, public science (San Jose Tech Museum of Innovation, San Francisco Exploratorium), outreach to high schools with high minority populations, and a program with summer internships for students with disabilities. Marni's achievements are thanks in no small part to her extraordinary family, to her own intelligence and tenacity, and to a wide and loving circle of friends, drawn to her by the spirit of her determination and the unmistakable largeness of her heart.

By changing the high school science curriculum from Freshman Science, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics (BCP); to Physics, Chemistry, and Biology (PCB), we have an opportunity to create a new Senior level science elective. The entire high school science core curriculum has been reviewed and parts rewritten to create a coherent, integrated program based on common themes such as energy, particulate nature of matter, and forces. Nanoconcepts including size and scale and surface area to volume ratio are integrated where appropriate. In our school, we began PCB during the 2008-2009 academic year. In anticipation of these students becoming upperclassmen, a capstone elective course of Materials Science has been developed based on scientific models and literacies shaped in the PCB course sequence. Deployment of this new model centered course is set for the 2010-2011 school year.

Many programs promote professional development for teachers in laboratory settings. In fact, some research has shown these experiences can improve student achievement. However, it is unclear what aspect of the laboratory experience helps bring about this effect. In order to ensure all teachers participating in Stanford's Research Experiences for Teachers program received maximum benefit from the laboratory experience, supplementary seminars were delivered that emphasized a variety of skills and tasks required of career scientists and engineers. Teacher feedback indicates that participants found these seminars valuable and that they would prefer additional time for peer interaction and curriculum development.

Smart Materials are those which can undergo a reversible property change in response to an external influence. An important polymeric Smart Material is poly(vinylidene fluoride), or PVF2, which is piezoelectric. The structure of PVF2 determines which crystal phases will be electrically active. Recent research has shown that the electrically active beta phase of PVF2 grows preferentially in nanocomposites of PVF2 mixed with organically modified silicates (OMS) ‘1-4’. These nanocomposite Smart Materials offer a new processing strategy for PVF2 piezo-films. Using PVF2 nanocomposites as the research focal point, a summer internship program was developed for deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) undergraduate students [5,6]. This paper describes the program and presents research results achieved by the interns. It is written from the perspective of the Principal Investigator, Cebe, on behalf of all the co-authors.

In the present work we describe an experimental apparatus of very low cost , aiming at the experimental study of the mechanical properties of solid materials, using the method of indentation. The measurements allow, through a simple analysis, the quantitative determination of the materials' hardness and bulk modulus. A very important class of commonly used materials, namely thermoinsulating materials, is proposed for a case study. The method can furthermore be used to demonstrate the elastic and the plastic behavior of materials. The educational exploitation of the specific apparatus at a technical high school class in Larissa (Greece) and at a university physics students' laboratory practice on the subject of mechanical properties of materials are also described. The responses of the students on the whole process, and specifically on observations related to the pedagogical-educational aspects (active participation, challenge of interest, easiness of measurements, easiness of processing experimental data), as well as related to metrological aspects (uncertainty of measurements), were very positive and are also presented and discussed.

As part of the NSF supported SUMMIT (San Jose State University/IBM Almaden Research Center collaboration) REU and CPIMA (Stanford University/Almaden) SURE undergraduate internship programs we have developed a workshop that emphasizes the scientific community's dependence on ethical behavior for its success and advancement at this nascent stage of a scientific career. We have successfully introduced open-ended role playing based on recent real life ethics cases as reported in the scientific news to a foundation presentation based on the APS Ethics and Professional Conduct Guidelines for Physicists. The goal is to foster discussion of complex cases and their effects not only on the protagonists but on the scientific community.

As engineering becomes more and more specialized, both the faculty resources and number of interested students become limited. Consequently, very frequently highly specialized graduate courses are not offered, especially in disciplines like Materials with small faculty and enrollment. NSF's International Materials Institute for New Functionality in Glass (IMI-NFG) has successfully addressed this problem by successfully introducing the concept of multi-institution team teaching (MITT). It brings together via internet both the expert professors and students from many universities. By pooling the talent of various instructors, the courses become technically stronger and students learn advanced topics that would be available otherwise. As an example, a recent MITT course included instructors from 10 US institutions, and students from many more US and international universities.

Software such as ‘Adobe Connect’ is used for the live delivery of lectures, wherein students can see the instructor and Power Point slides as in a normal classroom. The students may ask questions any time during the lecture, and the instructor would respond immediately. They register and pay tuition at their home institution, so that no exchange of funds is involved between universities. Survey results support that a majority of the enrolled students liked the format and delivery of the course, and more than 75% students felt that multiple instructors, who “taught information of their expertise”, made the course stronger. In conclusion, the concept of MITT has been successfully demonstrated for teaching highly specialized graduate courses.

Many materials science concepts can be developed into animated, interactive spreadsheets to create engaging discovery learning tools. These Excel spreadsheets do not require programming expertise. Learning how to create and use these didactically useful spreadsheets is simple and new examples can be quickly created by teachers.

The Princeton Center for Complex Materials (PCCM) is an NSF-funded Materials Science and Research Center (MRSEC) at Princeton. PCCM currently has four Interdisciplinary Research Groups (IRGs) and several seed projects. PCCM runs a variety of education outreach programs that include: Research Experience for Undergraduates, Research Experience for Teachers, Materials Camp for Teachers, Middle School Science and Engineering Expo (SEE) for 1200 students, and Princeton University Materials Academy (PUMA), for inner city high school students. In this paper we focus on new evaluation efforts for the PUMA and the Science and Engineering Expo. We will discuss first PUMA the SEE and elaborate on the new evaluation efforts for each program.

Created in 2002 by PCCM, PUMA has an inquiry based materials science curriculum designed to work at the high school level. PUMA's activities are paired with an inquiry based evaluation of scientific ability and attitude change. An evaluation of high school students' ability to formulate scientific questions as a result of their participation in this summer program based was developed based on similar studies of college students questioning ability in inquiry learning environments. Created in 2004 by PCCM and partners in Molecular Biology, SEE is run once per year in the spring. It is a day dedicated to capturing the imaginations of young students through science demonstrations and direct interaction with materials scientists and engineers. 1000 middle school students from local schools come to Princeton University to interact with Princeton scientists and engineers and explore science with the help of demonstrations and hands-on activities. Throughout the day, they explore a wide range research from Princeton that is at the cutting edge of science and engineering to generate excitement about science and engineering. In addition to studying over 5000's student written essays we have constructed a pre and post test for student attitudes administered to over 500 students in 2009 to determine the impact of the SEE on students' attitudes about materials science and STEM fields. This large scale attitude assessment and student written statements help to establish the impact of this one day program.

We have developed a program to connect students, as well as the general public, with glass science in the modern world through a series of hands-on activities and learning experiences using sucrose based glass (a.k.a. hard candy). The scientific content of these experiments progresses systematically, providing an environment to develop an understanding of glassy materials within a framework of “active prolonged engagement” with the material. Most of the experiments can be assembled in a high school lab, or even in a home setting with minimal cost, and yet are appropriate for inclusion in an undergraduate materials lab. The cost is minimized by utilizing common, everyday materials and devices. Some of the activities included in our experiments include: synthesis, density, refractive index determination, glass transition, crystallization, kinetics of devitrification, thermal properties, etc. Temperature measurement, temperature control, and even automated data collection are part of the experience, providing an open path for the students to continue their own interesting and creative ideas.