REU Site for Nanotechnology in Health, Energy and the Environment

技术总结：石溪大学正在继续一个为期十周的本科生多学科纳米技术研究体验项目，涉及四个工程系，由大学全纳教育中心管理。该计划整合了针对每个学生兴趣的个人研究项目，在教师导师的指导下，协调小组努力解决特定的科学问题，或最大限度地深入了解纳米技术和纳米材料在健康、能源和环境中的应用。参与的实验室为REU实习生提供纳米技术和纳米材料开发各个方面的研究经验，包括用于医疗应用的聚合物纳米结构、电池、用于能源和环境修复的催化表面以及纳米传感器的开发。现场方法整合了一个全面的研究生教育准备模式，该模式已被证明在学生成功过渡到有竞争力的研究生课程方面是有效的，包括沟通技巧的发展，每个实习生创建的电子作品集，以及关于纳米技术的伦理和社会影响的研讨会。网站协调员积极招募来自不同学术背景的高素质学生；促进研究机会有限的小型地区性大学的招生；并通过与少数民族服务机构的联系和地区会议，从代表性不足的群体中招收学生。到目前为止，该网站在三年多的时间里直接支持了25名学生，并通过补充支持增加了10名学生。REU的实习生中有一半是女性，近30%是少数族裔。该项目还将包括两名高中教师的研究经验，他们将与REU实习生并肩工作，并将其经验转化为高中水平的课程开发和教育材料。本项目感谢工程教育司和国家科学基金会中心的支持。非技术概述：从概念上讲，纳米技术是一种工具。它可以使非凡的事情发生，但我们才刚刚开始了解它的能力，它是如何工作的，以及它对我们的生活和社会的潜在影响，例如，在电子产品的革命性小型化和相应的计算能力的扩展方面。但是，正在被发现的新特性和新材料有望在从医药到能源到维持我们的环境和经济等领域带来最大的变革。如今，人们正在设计和制造新技术，使我们能够理解纳米级现象，并最终控制它们，但一个关键的挑战是，如何激励和培养下一代科学家、工程师、企业家和实践者，以负责任和合乎道德的方式，利用这些发现，为社会带来更大的利益。这就是石溪大学（Stony Brook University）在健康、能源和环境纳米技术领域开发本科生研究经验网站背后的动机。该项目提供了一个多学科的经验，充分整合了研究和教育，这是一种增强学习和动力的方法，并加强了来自不同背景的学生的招聘和保留。从代表性不足的群体和各种教育水平的学生招聘是拟议计划的标志，因为他们已经通过REU网站的前三年。该项目还为青年教师在指导和领导方面的专业发展提供了机会，并为开发新的学习和推广工具和方法提供了范例。该项目促进了研究密集型博士学位授予机构与地区社区学院和较小的文理学院之间合作活动的增长，进而为开发新的研究项目、开发教学和评估工具以及创造新的机会来提高两年制大学的教育水平提供了基础。

TECHNICAL SUMMARY:Stony Brook University is continuing a ten week multidisciplinary nanotechnology Research Experience for Undergraduates site involving four engineering departments and administered by the University's Center for Inclusive Education. The program integrates individual research projects tailored to each student's interests under the guidance of a faculty mentor with a coordinated group effort to address a specific scientific question or gain maximum insight into the application of nanotechnology and nanomaterials in health, energy and the environment. The laboratories involved provide research experiences for REU interns in all aspects of nanotechnology and nanomaterials development, including polymeric nanostructures for medical applications, batteries, catalytic surfaces for energy and environmental remediation, and development of nanosensors. The site approach integrates a comprehensive graduate education preparation model that has proven to be effective in successful transition of students into competitive graduate programs, and includes development of communication skills, an electronic portfolio created by each intern, and a symposium on the ethical and societal implications of nanotechnology. The site coordinators actively recruit highly qualified students from a diversity of academic backgrounds; promote recruitment at small regional colleges with limited research opportunities; and recruit students from underrepresented groups through contacts at minority serving institutions and through regional conferences. To date, the site has supported 25 students directly over three years, augmented by 10 additional students through supplemental support. Half the REU interns were female and nearly 30% were members of underrepresented minority populations. The project will also include research experiences for two high school teachers who will work side-by-side with the REU interns, and who will translate their experiences into curricula developments and education materials at the high school level.This program gratefully acknowledges support from the Division of Engineering Education and Centers of the National Science Foundation.NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY:Conceptually, nanotechnology is a tool. It can make remarkable things happen, but we are just beginning to understand its capabilities, how it works, and its potential impact on our lives and our society, for example in the revolutionary miniaturization of electronics and corresponding expansion of computing power. But it is the new properties and materials being discovered which promise the greatest transformation in areas from medicine to energy to sustaining our environment and economies. While new technologies are today being designed and built to enable us to understand nanoscale phenomena and ultimately to control them, a key challenge is how to inspire and prepare the next generation of scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs and practitioners to make and leverage these discoveries, in a responsible and ethical fashion, for the greater good of society. That is the motivation behind development of the Research Experiences for Undergraduates site in Nanotechnology for Health, Energy and the Environment at Stony Brook University.This program provides a multidisciplinary experience which fully integrates research and education, an approach shown to enhance learning and motivation, as well as enhance recruitment and retention of students from diverse backgrounds. Recruitment of students from underrepresented groups and from a full range of education levels are hallmarks of the proposed program, as they have been through the first three years of the REU site. The project also provides opportunities for the professional development of young faculty in mentorship and leadership, and aids in development of a paradigm for the development of new learning and outreach tools and methods. The project has led to growth in collaborative activity between a research intensive PhD-granting institution and regional community colleges and smaller liberal arts colleges, in turn providing the basis for the development of new programs in research, development of teaching and assessment tools, and creation of new opportunities to enhance education at two year colleges.