NUE: Integration of Nanotechnology into the Core Chemistry Curriculum at Mount Holyoke College

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This Nanotechnology in Undergraduate Education (NUE) award to Professor Sean M. Decatur at Mount Holyoke College is made by the Division of Chemistry in the Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences and the Division of Undergraduate Education in the Directorate for Education and Human Resources to increase the experience of students in nanoscale science and to enhance their perspectives on the social, political, and ethical considerations regarding nanotechnology.The project seeks to integrate topics on nanotechnology throughout the core chemistry curriculum and to involve undergraduates in research on phenomena at the nanoscale, while engaging the broader community in critical issues regarding nanotechnology. The project has four primary goals: (1) Developing new lab experiences for undergraduate courses. (2) Involving undergraduates in nanotechnology research. (3) Engaging the broader community in critical analysis and discussion of nanotechnology. (4) Creating a cross-disciplinary faculty working group on nanotechnology. Faculty involved in the project will meet regularly to read and discuss new literature related to nanotechnology from a variety of fields. The project is designed so that students learn to make connections between the macroscopic and atomic level descriptions of matter by relating bulk properties to molecular structure through techniques for imaging and manipulating molecules at the nanoscale, such as atomic force microscopy (AFM) and directed self-assembly. These tools will be introduced in courses for the first two years of the chemistry curriculum (general and organic chemistry) and expanded upon in the advanced courses.The project will sponsor a series of seminars involving nanotechnology, including speakers, who will address questions concerning the social, political, ethical, and historical implications of nanotechnology for a broad, interdisciplinary audience. Units on nanotechnology will also be added to a new interdisciplinary course on the History of Chemistry.The proposal for this award was received in response to the Nanoscale Science and Engineering Education announcement, NSF 03-044, category NUE.