RET in Engineering and Computer Science Site: Engineering of Polymeric Films and Interfaces

该奖项为阿克伦大学工程和计算机科学现场项目的教师研究经验（RET）提供了为期三年的标准奖，题为“工程和计算机科学现场的RET：聚合物薄膜和界面工程”，由Kevin a . Cavicchi博士指导。这个RET站点的目标是邀请10名来自俄亥俄州阿克伦公立学校和俄亥俄州坎顿市学校的高中科学教师，在三年的时间里，每年夏天花8周的时间（总共30名教师）到阿克伦大学校园参加一个专注于聚合物薄膜和界面的研究项目。聚合物是当今社会面临的许多工程挑战的关键组成部分，因此是一个很好的话题，让教师接触工程研究。阿克伦大学高分子科学与高分子工程学院、化学与生物分子工程系和生物医学工程系的十名教师组成了一个小组，在教师实验室的独立研究项目中指导教师。这项工作的主要成果将是教师学习工程和工程研究，并通过夏季RET经验开发的新课程有效地在高中课堂上传播这些知识。这将对教师、教师导师和研究生/博士后导师产生有益的影响。对于教师来说，他们将获得更多的信心和知识，在课堂上执行和指导基于探究的科学。这将有助于使他们的教室充满活力，并鼓励学生在大学里继续接受科学和工程教育。阿克伦大学的导师们将接触到更广泛的科学实践者。这种经验将发展大学和高中之间的长期关系，从而更好地为美国的教育目标服务。

This award provides funding for a three year standard award for a Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) in Engineering and Computer Science Site Program at the University of Akron entitled, RET in Engineering and Computer Science Site: Engineering of Polymeric Films and Interfaces, under the direction of Dr. Kevin A. Cavicchi. The objective of this RET site is to bring ten high school science teachers from the Akron, Ohio Public Schools and the Canton, Ohio City Schools, for eight weeks each summer over a three year period (total of 30 teachers) to the University of Akron campus to participate in a research program focused on polymeric films and interfaces. Polymers are a key component of many engineering challenges facing society today and are therefore an excellent topic to expose teachers to engineering research. A group of ten University of Akron faculty members has been assembled from the College of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering and the Departments of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and Biomedical Engineering in the College of Engineering to mentor the teachers on independent research projects in the faculty members' laboratories. The primary result of this work will be the teachers learning about engineering and engineering research and effectively disseminating this knowledge in their high school classrooms through new curriculum developed during the summer RET experience. It will have a beneficial impact on the teachers, the faculty mentors, and the graduate student/post-doc mentors. For the teachers they will gain increased confidence and knowledge in performing and mentoring inquiry based science in their classrooms. This will help invigorate their classrooms and encourage students to pursue further science and engineering education in college. The University of Akron mentors will be exposed to a broader range of science practitioners. This experience will develop long-term relationships between the University and high schools that will better serve the education objectives of the United States.