Experiments in Education: Development of a Week-long Summer Shortcourse in Polymer Chemistry for Undergraduates

该奖项将支持一个为期一周的大学生暑期高分子项目。参加者将从全国各地的申请者中选出。“PolyCamp”的目的是让本科生接触到迷人的聚合物科学领域，最终目标是让他们考虑读研并最终在该领域就业。第二个主要目的是让学生接触到高分子科学领域各种令人兴奋的职业机会。为期一周的课程包括一些高分子化学的入门讲座；参观工业厂房；工业和学术实验室参观；三个实验室实验；以及聚合物领域的职业道路和机会的小组和个人讨论。虽然PolyCamp的持续时间只有一周，但它特别吸引那些由于某种原因无法投入整个夏天的学生。有人提出，像PolyCamp这样的项目是增加对聚合物科学感兴趣的学生人数的绝佳途径，这将使整个聚合物社区受益。将收集并使用长期评估数据来确定PolyCamp的经历在多大程度上激发了学生对聚合物科学的兴趣，以及它如何帮助他们制定和执行他们的职业规划。该计划得到了工业附属公司的大力支持，他们渴望参观工厂并领导讨论就业机会。

This award will support a week-long summer program in polymer for undergraduates. Participants will be selected from applicants from across the nation. The purpose of "PolyCamp" is to expose undergraduate students to the fascinating field of polymer science with the ultimate goal of getting them to consider graduate school and eventual employment in the field. A second key purpose is to expose the students to the various exciting career opportunities in polymer science. The week-long program consists of a number of introductory lectures on polymer chemistry; industrial plant tours; industrial and academic lab tours; three laboratory experiments; and group and individual discussions of career pathways and opportunities in the polymer field. Although PolyCamp has is only one week in duration, it will especially appeal to students who, for whatever reason, cannot commit to a full summer. It is proposed that programs such as PolyCamp are an excellent way to increase the number of students who are interested in polymer science, which will benefit the entire polymer community. Long-term assessment data will be collected and used to determine to what extent the PolyCamp experience stimulated the students' interest in polymer science and how it has helped them develop and execute their career plans. The program has the strong backing of industrial affiliates, who eager to give plant tours and lead discussions of career opportunities.