Preparing Future Generations

to Address Global Challenges

through Nanotechnology

R.P.H. Chang, Director

National Center for Learning and Teaching
in Nanoscale Science and Engineering
(NCLT)
Northwestern University
 Acknowledgements
• Symposium Organizing Committee
• SUNY-Albany CNSE for hosting this event
• Sponsors and Participants

Symposium on Undergraduate Nano-

Education:
“Addressing the Challenges of Nanoscale
Science & Engineering Education”
NCLT-CNSE
SUNY-Albany, New York
August 5-8, 2009
 Outline
I) Introduction
• The Challenges We Face
• STEM Literacy Concerns
• How Can Nanoscale Science and
Engineering (NSE) Help?
II) NCLT
• Structure
• Approach / Core Values
• Integrated Program
III) Conclusions
 Global Challenges
In the next 30 years…
• Oil production will peak
– Need “green energy” development
• Climate change
– Need advanced environmental
protection systems
• Increase in population density
– Global health protection issues (food,
water, disease control, etc.)
Nanotechnology will play a significant role
in global energy, environment, health, and
economic development!
 Meeting at the
Biology Nanoscale
Macro
Mathematics Scale

Chemistry
le
Sca
Physics pi c
sc o
100 nm i cro
Engineering Nano M
1nm Scale Infrastructure
a le
c Sc Health
to mi
A
Communications

Sub-Atomic Transportation
Scale
Energy/
Environment
 Nano and the Economy
• Nanotechnology is an enabling technology for all
future industrial sectors.
• Economic impact = trillions of dollars!

The US needs:
• 1 million nano-literate workers
• More nano-scientists and nano-engineers
• A nano-literate citizenry to support and manage the
use of nanotechnology
• Knowledgeable government leaders and policy
makers
• A cadre of nano educators
 STEM Literacy Concerns
Global Rankings: US 15-year olds are Achievement Gaps: US Black and Hispanic
lagging behind their international peers students score far below their White peers.
in STEM literacy (20th out of 28 countries)
OECD average 500
United States 483
Source: National Center for Education Statistics,
Program for International Student Assessment
(PISA) conducted by the Organization for
Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD)

Non-Major Teachers: Many US

students learn STEM from teachers with
no major/certification in the subject area.
Public School Grades 5-8 Grades 9-12
Math 69% 31%
Physical 93% 63% Engineering Pipeline: The US is currently
Science graduating about 8,000 PhDs per year in
Chemistry - 61% engineering, and nearly 70% of them are
Physics - 67% non-US citizens.
Source: Rising Above the Gathering Storm,
Engineering Education is not readily
National Academies Press, 2007 available at the pre-college level.
 All U.S. citizens must learn to:
1. Think critically and make sound judgments
2. Solve complex, multidisciplinary, open-ended
problems
3. Create and launch new enterprises
4. Communicate and collaborate effectively
5. Make innovative use of knowledge, information
and opportunities
6. Take charge of financial, health and civic
responsibilities
* Source: 21st Century Skills, Education & Competitiveness Report by
Partnership for 21st Century Skills (2008)
NCLT is part of the U.S. National
Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI)
• NCLT was launched in 2004 to
meet the human resource
development needs of the
NNI.
• NCLT is a formal education
center serving grades 7-16.
• NCLT works to quickly
transfer the latest NSE
research into US classrooms to
prepare US students to
address future economic and
social challenges.
NCLT Community
Education &
cognitive science
researchers

Nano Students &

researchers Postdocs

Teachers, faculty Government

members & officials
administrators

Editors, Learning
designers, and technology experts:
programmers visualization;
simulation;
modeling
 NCLT Mission & Vision
Mission: Build national capacity in Nanoscale Science
and Engineering Education (NSEE)
Vision:
1. Develop a globally competitive NSE workforce;
2. Train a cadre of effective nano educators; and
3. Establish a national NSEE community.

Focus: Inquiry and design of

nanoscale materials, devices,
and systems

Developing New Learning NSE Education

Curricula Standards Knowledge Base
 NCLT Approach - Big Nano Ideas
Three driving questions about nanostructured materials:
How can they be
What makes them How can they be
made and
unique? used?
characterized?

Topic 1: Behavior of Light Topic 3: Information Topic 5: Tools for

in the Nanoworld Storage and Processing Probing the Nanoworld
Modeling & Simulation, Size-Dependent Tools and
Discrete & Cooperative Properties Characterization
Phenomena

Topic 2: Physical Topic 4: Nanomaterials for Topic 6: Design &

Properties of Pharmaceuticals, Energy, Fabrication of
Nanomaterials Environment Nanomaterials
Structure of Matter, Size-Dependent Properties Dominant Forces,
Size- Dependent Properties Self-Assembly

Cross-Cutting Big Ideas:

Size and Scale, Surface Area to Volume Ratio, Societal Impact
How Can Nanostructured Materials
Help Solve Global Challenges?

Energy

Environment

Source:
 How Can Nanostructured Materials
Help Solve Global Challenges?

Health

Communications

Source:
 NCLT Approach/ Core Values
1. Vertical Integration: continuity across levels
2. Horizontal Integration: cutting across sectors
and disciplines
3. Inquiry and Design: re-enforces curiosity and
establishes self confidence in students
4. Classroom Linkages: we work closely with
end-users to design, implement and field-test
content with iterative improvements
5. Relevance: Deliver the latest research results
into classrooms, align them with standards and
learning goals and make them relevant to the
world around us.
Vertical Integration (Across Levels)
Education is a Long-term Investment
+ 15-20 years + 10-15 years + 5-10 years
Pre-college Undergraduate Graduate/Postdoc

• NCLT bridges gaps across grade levels 7-16 to lay

the necessary foundations for future learning and
avoid costly disconnects.
• Allows for research on learning progressions and
longitudinal studies of student progress.
 Horizontal Integration
(Across Disciplines)
NCLT content: Social Sciences:
(History, Economics, etc.)
• integrates STEM Physical
Physical Sciences
(Chemistry,
disciplines to support Education
g
Physics,
er inetc)
STEM learning; and n g ine
a n dE
• links to non-STEM c ie nce
a le S
fields to establish the Nanosc
Life
broader relevance of Sciences
Math
NSE to society, the English /Language
economy, and global Arts
challenges.
 Inquiry and Design
(Science and Engineering)
Inquiry - Students ask questions and perform experiments -
enhances discovery and critical thinking (science)
Design - Students apply what they learn to make functional
products - demonstrates in-depth understanding and fosters
creativity (engineering)
Inquiry and Design Model
The Hook (piques interest)

Staging Activities (Inquiry)

Design Challenge (team-based)

Testing and Redesign

 Classroom Connections
Close collaboration with our end-users
(teachers and their students in grades
7-16) ensures:
• Exciting, high-quality materials
• Classroom feasibility
• Alignment with existing standards,
learning goals, and curricula.

We also work with teachers, schools,

and school districts to:
• create new nano-based curricula
• revise existing science standards to
encompass nano phenomena.
 Relevance
NCLT connects NSE concepts to existing science standards,
learning goals, and real-world applications.
Standards: NSES/5-8/B/1/a, Properties and changes of properties in matter; NSES/5-
8/B/3/e, Transfer of energy; 2061/6-8/4D/1, The structure of matter; 2061/6-8/4E/4,
Energy transformation; 2061/6-8/11D/1, Scale; 2061/6-8/12B/9, Computation/estimation
Surface area increases while total Surface Area & Chemical
volume remains constant
Reaction
Concept: Surface area affects
the rate of chemical reaction.

Honeycomb
 NCLT Center Strategy
Content
Content
R&D
R&D

Evaluation
Evaluation &
& Professional
Professional
Assessment
Assessment NCLT Development
Development
Integrated
Program
Networking
Networking &
& Higher
Higher
Community
Community Education
Education
Building
Building Initiatives
Initiatives

Supported by NCLT Cyber Infrastructure

 Learning Research Framework
NCLT has developed a series
of methods for:
1. Investigating how students
learn and understand NSE
at the pre-college and
Construct Centered Design
(CCD)
Stages of CCD Process
1 Define Construct
2 Unpack Construct

college levels; and 3 Develop Claim

2. Producing 4 Define Evidence

– concept inventories 55 Design Tasks

– learning progressions Student Materials Teacher Materials Assessment

– typologies of student 6 Review Products

understanding internal review pilot materials outside review

This framework informs NCLT content development,

professional development, and assessment.
Content Research & Development
NCLT produces:

Pre-college Classroom Modules PD Lessons for

Teachers College Courses

Web-based Animations Simulations

Games
 Big Nano Ideas
Big ideas provide: Big Nano Ideas
Size & Scale
• a powerful way of
Surface Area-to-Volume Ratio
thinking about the world Size-Dependent Properties

• explanatory power Dominant Forces

Particulate Nature of Matter
within and across
Quantum Phenomena
disciplines and/or scales
Self-Assembly
allowing learners to Tools & Characterization
explain a variety of Modeling & Simulations

phenomena Societal Impact

 Connections BNI to Math, Science,
and Engineering
1
Size-Dependent Properties at the Nanoscale
EX: Charge and mass transport at the nanoscale
• Nanoparticle-based environmental remediation
• Nanoelectronics, fuel cells
• Nanoscale transport through ion channels

2 Dominant Forces at the Nanoscale

• Chemical bonding • Van der Waals forces
• Dipolar forces • Hydrogen bonding
The attraction force due to Van der
Waals forces provided by nanoscale
spatulae on a gecko’s foot is larger than
gravitational force. Source: UCB
 Connections to Math, Science, and
Engineering
3 Tools for Probing the Nano-world
• Near-field optical microscope and electron microscopy
• Key concepts include tunneling, resonances, and
spectroscopy
• Applications in nanoelectronics include flash memory
& new types of electronic devices

4 Connections to Math
Discrete and Cooperative Phenomena
at the Nanoscale Emphasize the
• Many phenomena that are continuous at the integration of
macroscale are discrete at the nanoscale: fundamental math
• Nano-sized semiconductor particles concepts and their
• Electrons scatter discretely in nanowires relevance to
rather than flowing continuously nanoconcepts.
• In self-assembly, disordered molecules or nanoparticles
interact to form a highly structured pattern
 Strategy for Developing Nano Modules
Big Nano Idea
Surface Area-to-Volume
Ratio (SA/V: As the object size
gets smaller, this ratio gets larger. At
the nanoscale, it is very large!
Learning Standards
• Size & Scale (NSES/Unifying Concepts/Scale,
AAAS/Common Themes/Scale; Mathematical
World/Shapes, NCTM/Geometry)
• SA / V (AAAS/Scale & Shapes, NCTM/Ratios and
Proportions; Graphical Representation)

Work with teachers to design learning activities and assessments,

based on what students need to know.
Size Surface Area
Task 1 Dependent Task 2
Powers of
Task 3 Design
10 & Scale & Volume Project
Properties
Which form of candy How do we express How does the surface area,
volume and their ratio change Design a Liquid Geyser
dissolves fastest? very large and very
small dimensional values? as a function of SIZE?

Claim: discover SA/V changes Claim: apply the SA/V

Claim: Students will infer that the
physical form of a solid influences
the degree to which it interacts
with its environment.
Evidence: Students will collect
data on relative rates of solid with
varying amounts of surface area.
Claim: Students will represent
values in wide range of scales
with powers of 10.
Evidence: Students will produce
visual representation using
powers of 10 to relate a wide
range of lengths.
with the shape or size of an object
and deduce this ratio changes
dramatically at the nanoscale.
Evidence: Students will construct
geometric representations and
make plots that show SA/V varies
inversely with size.
concept to the
nucleation and growth
leading to the eruption of
dissolved CO2 gas from
a carbonated beverage.
Evidence: Students’
prototype design.
 Four New Classroom Modules

Environmental
Nanotechnology
Catalysis
(High School Level)
(High School Level)

Introduction to Manipulation of Light

the Nanoscale in the NanoWorld
(Jr. High & High School Level) (High School Level)
Freshman Course based on Inquiry & Design
NanoEDC: Nanoscale Engineering Design & Communication
Professor Freshmen Classroom Implementation
teaches design “Clients” (students &
Nano concepts materials for teachers) evaluate &
to Freshmen middle school assess materials

Re-design
Freshmen
Sammy travelsuse the Giga scaleFeedback
feedback
from to the Pico scale in search of
to make
objects improvements
that are the wrong size.

Sammy the
Superscaler teaches
middle school
students about Size
& Scale.
 This Cascade Method is an example
of Vertical Integration
• Teaching and learning flow from
level to level
• Both levels benefit
– Freshmen are highly motivated by the
challenge and must truly master content
in order to teach it.
– Younger students get exciting age-
appropriate materials.
• Effective Knowledge Transfer
– Freshmen communicate very well with
younger students.
– Middle schoolers identify with
undergrads and see them as role
models.
 Undergraduate Courses Based on
a “Systems” Approach to NSE
• Systems Approach: integrates basic NSE
principles with design, fabrication,
manufacturing, and marketing
• Benefit: integration across sectors;
students see the “big picture”
• Examples of future courses:
– Solar Cells
– Flat panel displays
– Nanosensing systems
– Controlled drug delivery systems
– Environmental protection and monitoring systems
 Courses & Webinars for Community
Colleges
NSE Courses: video lectures, Monthly NCLT Seminars present
lecture notes, assignments, syllabi NSE concepts and educational methods

Webcast
and
archived

NCLT is working with NSF-ATE (Advanced Technology Education)

Programs at Penn State (National Center for Nanotechnology Applications and
Career Knowledge), and Dakota Community College (Midwest Regional Center
for Nanotechnology Education) to integrate NCLT content into community college
curricula.
Professional Development Framework
Pre-college Level College Level
Faculty workshops
• Expert presentations
• Group interactions
• Development of NSE(E)
Sustained contact model implementation strategies
• Summer institute with nano
concepts focus
• Academic year follow-up
• Development and use of
nanolessons

Hundreds of teachers and faculty and thousands of students have

been reached in over 200 schools and colleges
NCLT Professional Development
100+ Network of Schools &
Purdue
Teachers being trained to
ANL AAMU FISK HU UTEP incorporate NSE into their
classrooms
PSS PSS PSS PSS PSS
 Networking and Outreach Events
Summer Science Nanoscience Content
Institute for Days Development
Teachers Workshop

Global NSEE Workshop, Washington, DC

 NCLT Television Outreach
Dragonfly (PBS)TV –Nano-Metal Particles
NCLT has teamed with Dragonfly TV to develop an episode
exploring the role of nano metal particles in stained glass as
part of a PBS series on nanoscience
 NCLT Cyber-infrastructure
An Oracle Database
supports group interactions,..

….archiving resources, and

collection of field-test data.
The NanoEd Resource
Portal is a vehicle for product
dissemination and a forum for
participants to showcase their
work.
Expansion of Cyber-infrastructure
We are developing a community-based website to foster
dynamic interactions among participating faculty, students,
postdocs and STEM teachers.
New Web 2.0 capabilities
1.Member profiles (user-
managed)
2.File sharing
3.Group workspaces
4.Forums
5.Event management
6.Jointly authored web-content
(members can easily
contribute news and
research highlights)
Community Connections

Connections

Research
Summary
Biography Groups
Forum
 Role of NCLT: Build US Capacity in
NSEE
• Support the NSEE community by serving as:
– a coordinating body for NSEE initiatives around the country;
– a repository for resource sharing.

• Expand its partnerships to implement its program

nationwide.
• NCLT will work with you to plan, develop, and
implement NSEE programs appropriate to your region,
including:
– Joint proposals to obtain funding from national, state, local
corporate and foundations,
– Co-sponsor workshops and networking events
– Co-organize professional development sessions
– Disseminate your content and news about your work
Network of NCLT Regional Hubsites
Hubs will receive: Hubs will provide: expertise, field test
infrastructure support, capacity data, professional development, and
building, and joint funding. classroom outreach.

Regional
Hub Headquarters
TBA (Midwest) Regional
Hubs will Hub
SUNY
connect: Colleges,
Regional School Districts, NSE
Hub Centers, National Labs,
Regional CSU Industry, Museums,
Hub etc. Regional
UCLA Hub
TBA
Regional
Hub
LSU
UCLA & Los Angeles Unified School District
Western United States Hub Site

Leveraging CNSI and

UC CEIN
California Nanosystems Institute:
• 180,000 ft2 building opened on
UCLA campus in 2007
• 260-seat theatre, conference
facility, wet and dry
laboratories, state of the art
instrumentation
• >125 faculty from a broad
range of disciplines with diverse
activities
UC CEIN:
• New $25M NSF/EPA funded
center
• >35 faculty; 15 institutions
• Hub = UCLA
 NCLT Partnership with LAUSD

• Nearly 700,000 students and more

than 45,000 teachers
• Second largest public school
system in U.S.
• One of the most diverse counties in
the U.S.
Working with Taft High School
• Nearly 3000 students in 9th-12th
grades:
– 0.5% Al/Alsk (versus 0.3%
for LAUSD)
– 8.2% Asian/Pac Isl 6.4%
for LAUSD)
– 17.7% Black (6.4% for
LAUSD)
– 31.9% Hispanic (73.7% for
LAUSD)
– 41.2 % White (8.7% for
LAUSD)

• ~10% ESL (35% for LAUSD)

• 82% 4 year graduation rate
(“66%” for LAUSD*)
• 146 teaching staff; >20%
certified in Math or Science
(~12% for LAUSD)
 Nanotechnology Academy at
Taft High School A Small Learning
Community!
Vertical Integration: 4 years of High School

INTRODUCTION TO
NANOTECHNOLOGY
(Year 1 Passport Course)

Social Studies Unit I: Introduction to Mathematics

Nanotechnology
Unit II: Chemical Building Blocks
and Nanofabrication
Unit III Electric, Optical, and
Magnetic Nanomaterials
Unit IV: Nanoscale Biological
Language Arts Material and Applications Electives
Unit V: Ethics
Launch Date: September 2009

Horizontal Integration across STEM and Non-STEM Disciplines

 Colorado State University (CSU)
Central US Hubsite

• Pre-service Teacher Training: The only Engineering-based

Teacher Preparation Program in the US
• In-Service PD through NSF-MSP, RET and NSF-GK-12
• High School Outreach through NSF Math Science Partnerships,
Industry Partnerships, and NSF-GK-12
 Louisiana State University (LSU)
Southern US Hubsite

• Connection to 8,000 students

• Champion PD programs for STEM teachers
$20+ Million in Grants & Contracts: LSU Endowment, NMSI, NSF,
USDoE, Louisiana DoE, Rapides Foundation, U. of Texas, Louisiana Board of
Regents, Louisiana Legislature, Jason Foundation, Brookhill Foundation, NASA
 State University of New York at Albany
(SUNY-Albany)
Northeastern US Hubsite

Unique features:
• Multiplex collaboration (industry, government, academia)
• NSE-based degree programs prepare the next generation
of workers for micro and nanoelectronics industries
• Outreach to local and regional school districts
Thank you for your attention &
support
Please visit: www.NCLT.US