Faculty Scholarly Dissemination Grants
Title
Development and Implementation of a Comprehensive Nanotechnology Fundamentals Lab for Engineering Students
Department
School of Engineering
College
Padnos College of Engineering and Computing
Date Range
2011-2012
Abstract
Nanotechnology findings and products have exponentially increased in the last decade without any parallel development in workforce to support this increase. The gap between supply of skilled workforce and demand in nanotechnology is expected to continue in growth for a while. This paper describes efforts to help in bridging this void of workforce through the development and implementation of a comprehensive lab component for educating an interdisciplinary class of engineering and science students at the junior level. The course is introduced as part of a larger plan to bring nanotechnology into undergraduate education. The approach followed in this lab development is unique since it aims at providing the students with a comprehensive set of hands-on skills and practical knowledge that will enable them to expand and work in the field of nanotechnology, in as many directions as possible. The lab includes eleven separate activities divided into four categories and was implemented as part of a course entitled: Fundamentals of Nanotechnology, at Grand Valley State University during the spring semester of 2010. Sixteen students from multiple engineering disciplines were enrolled in this course during its first offering. Objectives of the course and lab were developed previous to the offering and outcomes were assessed during and after the offering. In particular, the lab part was distinctly assessed and the results were evaluated. This resulted in action items and conclusions which have already been integrated in the next offering for continuous improvement.
Conference Name
118th American Society for Engineerig Education Annual Conference and Exposition
Conference Location
Vancouver, Canada
ScholarWorks Citation
Jiao, Lihong and Barakat, Nael, "Development and Implementation of a Comprehensive Nanotechnology Fundamentals Lab for Engineering Students" (2011). Faculty Scholarly Dissemination Grants. 394.
https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/fsdg/394
