ATE Regional Center for Nanofabrication Manufacturing Education

该地区中心已经在宾夕法尼亚州的20所机构开设了纳米制造方面的副学士学位课程，包括宾夕法尼亚州的每一所社区大学。为了给副学士毕业生提供机会，该中心支持包括宾夕法尼亚州立大学在内的八所宾夕法尼亚州公立大学的学士学位水平的纳米技术课程，这些课程有2条2条途径。该中心还为教育工作者和行业人员提供专业发展计划，并为中学生提供外展计划。该中心的主要特点是其在所有纳米技术应用领域的广泛教育方法，并强调在宾夕法尼亚州立大学由NSF赞助的国家纳米制造基础设施网络(NNIN)提供的动手实验室经验。在四年的运营中，对中心计划和活动的评估和监督一直在进行。包括西密歇根大学和中心正式评估员梅尔文·M·马克教授在内的外部评估者以及中心工作人员对中心进行了评估。NSF国家访问委员会和一个单独的行业咨询委员会也为该中心提供监督和指导。续展期的活动以这些评价和监督机构的调查结果为依据。活动包括：课程改进：由于中心的广泛方法，纳米技术正在被纳入中心合作机构范围更广的学位课程，包括生物、化学、物理和工业技术。该中心正在不断更新纳米制造课程，以适应来自越来越多不同领域的学生。新学习工具的开发：随着纳米技术渗透到更多的教育和工业领域，从而引起更多的兴趣，该中心的“集中设施”模式的局限性越来越明显。为了加强这一模式，该中心正在开发、试点和完善实践纳米技术学习活动和教学材料，这些活动和教材可以在全州的教室中提供，包括基于网络的远程设备访问。该中心网站不断得到维护和升级，并正在制作和传播更多的宣传片。该中心的外展方案覆盖了大量女性和少数民族中学生。这些学生被鼓励朝着提高进入副学士学位课程的预科的目标前进。行业推广：该中心正在扩大努力，寻找使用纳米技术的宾夕法尼亚州公司，并促进中心的学生成为这些公司的潜在工人。此外，该中心正在进行一项研究工作，以加强对纳米技术领域就业趋势和新出现的就业机会的了解，并利用这些信息来支持外展和招生工作。这项更新建议的智力优势在于其潜在的潜力，有助于在一些与教育相关的问题领域增进理解，如高等教育合作、学生参与科学、技术、工程和数学(STEM)教育、教育工作者专业发展等。这项提案将产生广泛的影响，因为它进一步开发了一个经过验证的计划，以满足对纳米制造工人日益增长的需求。

The Regional Center has resulted in associate degree programs in nanofabrication at 20 institutions across Pennsylvania including every Pennsylvania community college. To provide opportunities for associate degree graduates, the Center has supported baccalaureate-level nanotechnology programs at eight Pennsylvania public universities including Penn State, with articulated 2+2 pathways. The Center also offers professional development programs for educators and industry personnel, and outreach programs for secondary school students. Key features of the Center are its broad approach to education in all nanotechnology application areas, and its emphasis on the hands-on laboratory experience provided at the Penn State site of the NSF sponsored National Nanofabrication Infrastructure Network (NNIN).Evaluation and oversight of Center programs and activities have taken place continuously during the four years of operation. External evaluators including the Western Michigan University and the Center's formal evaluator, Professor Melvin M. Mark, as well as Center staff, have assessed the Center. The NSF National Visiting Committee and a separate industrial advisory board also provide oversight and guidance for the Center. Activities for the renewal period are based on findings from these evaluations and oversight bodies. The activities are:Curriculum Improvement: Because of the Center's broad approach, nanotechnology is being incorporated into a widening range of degree programs at Center partner institutions, including biology, chemistry, physics, and industrial technology. The Center is continuously updating nanofabrication curricula to accommodate students from increasingly diverse fields.Development of New Learning Tools: As nanotechnology permeates more areas of education and industry and thereby generates more interest, the limits of the Center's "centralized facility" model are becoming apparent. To augment this model, the Center is developing, piloting, and refining hands-on nanotechnology learning activities and instructional materials that can be delivered in classrooms across the state, incorporating web-based remote equipment access.Outreach and Student Recruitment: Outreach to female and disadvantaged minority communities is ongoing. The Center website is continuously maintained and upgraded, and additional promotional videos are being produced and disseminated. The Center's outreach programs reach large numbers of female and minority secondary students. These students are encouraged toward a goal of increased matriculation into associate degree programs.Industry Outreach: The Center is expanding efforts to identify Pennsylvania companies using nanotechnology and promote Center students as potential workers for these companies. Further, the Center is undertaking a research effort to improve understanding of employment trends and emerging job opportunities in nanotechnology, and using this information to support outreach and student recruitment efforts.The intellectual merit of this renewal proposal lies in its potential to contribute to improved understanding in a number of education-related issue areas such as higher education collaboration, student participation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education, educator professional development, and others. The proposal will have broad impact because it further develops a proven program addressing the growing need for nanofabrication workers.