Creating Modules for Contemporary Materials Challenges

非技术描述:为了通过提高工程师的社会素养和帮助非工程专业的学生了解他们如何在工程创新中发挥重要作用来提高材料工程创新，美国许多大学都开设了一门名为“材料对社会的影响”（IMOS）的课程，包括佛罗里达大学、普林斯顿大学、田纳西大学、博伊西州立大学、弗吉尼亚大学、休斯顿社区学院等。该课程由12个每周模块组成，每周向学生介绍不同类型的材料（铁，青铜，陶瓷，硅等），并向他们介绍12种不同的社会原则（可持续性，创造性破坏，纠缠，操作链等）。一系列的视频用来帮助学生了解正在开发的未来材料。学生们在小组中参与翻转课堂，进行思辨设计练习，将他们所学到的社会原则应用到他们创造的未来材料创新中。所有的课程教材都可以在材料研究学会（MRS）的网站上免费向公众开放，包括开源教材。该项目将材料工程师、人文研究人员、社会科学家和科学教育者联合起来，以提高工程和非工程专业学生的科学和社会素养。超过1000名工程师正在利用他们对社会挑战的进一步了解来改进工程创新。该课程获得了2018年北美材料教育杰出创新奖，并被《时代》杂志报道。有必要不断更新这个类并扩展提供的内容。例如，这项工作增加了处理塑料废物、清洁水和太阳能等挑战的模块。技术细节：第一个新模块侧重于目前回收的热塑性塑料，回收的社会挑战，以及正在开发的新的聚合物材料，可以提高塑料的可回收性。第二个模块侧重于目前用于水净化和海水淡化的聚合物膜材料，提供清洁水的社会挑战，以及正在开发的使海水淡化更有效的新材料。第三个模块侧重于太阳能电池的硅，飓风后波多黎各太阳能微电网的社会影响以及太阳能电池材料的未来创新。这个项目有助于支持国家讲习班和完成这些模块的开发所必需的后续工作。完成后，这些模块将被添加到国际海洋监测系统/海洋监测系统网站上，供免费传播。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

NON-TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION: In an effort to improve materials engineering innovation by both increasing the social literacy of engineers and helping non-engineering students understand how they play an important role in engineering innovation, a course entitled the Impact of Materials on Society (IMOS) is being offered at many universities around the U.S. including the University of Florida, Princeton University, University of Tennessee, Boise State University, University of Virginia, Houston Community College, etc. The course is composed of 12 weekly modules that introduce students to different types of materials each week (iron, bronze, ceramics, silicon, etc.) and also introduces them to 12 different social principles (sustainability, creative destruction, entanglement, operational chain, etc.). A series of videos are used to help introduce the students to future materials being developed. The students engage in flipped classroom, speculative design exercises in small groups in which they apply the social principles they learn to future materials innovations they create. All of the course materials to teach the class are free to the public on the Materials Research Society (MRS) website including the open source textbook. This project unites materials engineers, humanities researchers, social scientists, and science educators to increase the science and social literacy of engineering and non-engineering majors. Over 1000 engineers are using their increased understanding of the social challenges to improve engineering innovation. The course won the 2018 North American Award for Outstanding Innovation in Materials Education and has been featured in Time Magazine. There is a need to continually update this class and expand the offerings. For example, this effort is adding modules on the challenges of dealing with plastic waste, clean water, and solar energy.TECHNICAL DETAILS: The first new module focuses on the thermoplastic plastics that are currently recycled, the social challenges with recycling, and new polymer materials being developed that can enhance the recyclability of plastics. The second module focuses on the polymer membrane materials currently used for water purification and desalination, the social challenges with providing clean water, and new materials being developed to make desalination more available. The third module focuses on silicon for solar cells, the social impact of solar powered electrical microgrids in post hurricane Puerto Rico and future innovations in solar cell materials. This project helps to support the national workshops and the subsequent follow-up work necessary to complete the development of these modules. Upon completion the modules are being added to the IMOS/MRS website for free dissemination.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.