Nanotechnology Integration to enhance Undergraduate Engineering Education

Nanotechnology Integration to enhance Undergraduate Engineering Education Nael Barakat, Ph.D. P.Eng. FASME Associate Professor Mechanical Engineering Program Chair School of Engineering, Grand Valley State University 301 W Fulton St. KEN 136 Grand Rapids, MI. 49504 Voice: 616.331.6875 barakatn@gvsu.edu Heidi Jiao, Ph. D. Associate Professor Electrical Engineering Program Chair School of Engineering, Grand Valley State University 301 W Fulton St. KEN 136 Grand Rapids, MI. 49504 Voice: 616.331.6875 jiaoh@gvsu.edu ABSTRACT Nanotechnology has been moving from the laboratory environment into applications and consumer products for some time now. As a result, demand has risen significantly for a workforce capable of supporting this promising technology [1]. This workforce is required in the trenches of nanotechnology implementation more than in the research and development level. This, in turn, increases requirements for the fast development and implementation of specific courses and curricula at the undergraduate level to help produce this much needed workforce. Nevertheless, nanotechnology is an interdisciplinary platform that encompasses most Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) as well as humanities [2]. Therefore, nanotechnology shares inherently common challenges with other STEM fields, including the lack of availability of courses and modules to educate undergraduate students on nanotechnology as well as the usual challenge of recruiting and retaining students in STEM area [3]. To solve this problem, multiple governmental and funding agencies have come together to support efforts in the area of Nanotechnology Undergraduate Education (NUE). In the United States, the National Science Foundation (NSF) is leading the effort in this direction through highly competitive grants to build nanotechnology education programs at the undergraduate level. The School of Engineering (SOE) at Grand Valley State University (GVSU), Grand Rapids, Michigan, has begun a project to develop and integrate nanotechnology into undergraduate engineering and science education in January 2010 through the support of a two-year NSF grant. The goal of the project is to develop and integrate a sustainable nanotechnology program into the undergraduate engineering and science curricula. This goal will be fulfilled by: 1) establishing a new EE/ME interdisciplinary WEE2011, September 27-30, 2011, Lisbon, Portugal. Editors: Jorge Bernardino and José Carlos Quadrado. program of nanotechnology education, 2) development of a twocourse sequence as a core for this program as well as additional modules to integrate in other courses, 3) development and offering of opportunities for further undergraduate involvement in nanotechnology, and 4) providing educational opportunities for K-12 students. The broad spectrum and interdisciplinary nature of this program is positioned to better attract and prepare students for the future of nanotechnology. The two-course sequence developed provides students with the nanotechnology fundamentals, nanoscale applications of engineering and science, and the societal implications of nanotechnology. In addition, students gain indepth understanding and hands-on experiences in the design and fabrication of nanoscale MEMs/NEMs and BioMEMs [4]. The additional modules offered in combination with these courses form a wider net of expansion providing opportunities of exposure to nanotechnology to students and educators from all levels. Furthermore, students are offered opportunities to apply their acquired knowledge through participation in activities such as the summer research program and industry sponsored capstone projects. This paper describes the details of developing and implementing a sequence of two courses to teach nanotechnology to undergraduate students. The courses are designed to overcome most of the challenges facing nanotechnology education and to provide a multidisciplinary pool of engineering students with the elements needed to continue and expand into the nanotechnology field, regardless of their discipline or focus. The sequence was developed and implemented. Results from this offering were assessed to help close the quality loop and improve the next offering. Keywords Nanotechnology education, Nanotechnology curriculum, Nanotechnology courses. 1. INTRODUCTION Nanotechnology has revolutionized science and engineering through characterization, control, and manipulation of matter at the atomic level. As a result, materials and systems with novel properties and functions were produced presenting the beginning of a new era of immense potential for science, technology, and 623

humanity in general. The far reaching outcomes of nanotechnology did not just stop at this stage, but have already started to influence multiple aspects of human lives. Some of these aspects include economy, consumer products, healthcare, energy, environment, fundamental scientific research, and education [5]. As the potential of nanotechnology is realized, the need for understanding, appreciating, and further applying nanotechnology into useful products will continue to grow with time, in an accelerating pattern. Parallel to this growth will be the growth in need to inform citizens about nanotechnology and its potential and the growth in need for a competitive workforce that is capable of supporting nanotechnology and its outcomes. These needs are growing exponentially as nanotechnology moves from the laboratory setting to the production lines [1]. It is estimated that the workforce needed to support this growth would be around 2 million workers by 2015 [6]. A considerable indicator of the growth in nanotechnology can be detected through monitoring of governmental support. The US government has invested over $6.5 billion through the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) between 2001 and 2006. The spending for FY 2008 alone was $1.5 billion [7]. NSF continues to hold NNI as a prominent endeavor at the top of the funding priorities, even in their 2012 fiscal year. Other competing nations have been following the same trend in investing in nanotechnology. This data clearly shows that demand on workforce to support this promising technology as a career will soon exceed supply, which is directly translated into demands on education and training serving the field of nanotechnology. However, in spite of the opportunity presented by this situation for educators, a spectrum of challenges remains evident in providing such training and education to produce this much needed workforce. These challenges stem from many sources and form the constraints within which an educator have to work to optimize a course or an educational activity. Consequently, the solution might not be optimal, but it will definitely have to be a creative solution to satisfy most of the constraints, if not all. This paper outlines the challenges faced by educators as they attempt to respond to the growing need of nanotechnology education by designing and providing suitable curricula, courses, or educational activities. The paper also provides the details of developing and implementing a nanotechnology program consisting of a sequence of two courses to teach nanotechnology to undergraduate students. The program is designed with a full consideration of most of the known challenges facing nanotechnology education. The courses are also developed to provide a multidisciplinary pool of engineering students, and possibly science students, with the elements needed to continue and expand into the nanotechnology field, regardless of their respective discipline of specialty or focus. The program was offered and some parts of it are still being implemented at the time of writing this paper. Results from the parts which were already offered were assessed to help close the quality loop and improve the next offering. Some interesting observations regarding recruiting of potential students into the field of nanotechnology resulted in a new project plan emphasizing the role of educators at K 12 and pre-college levels. 2. CHALLENGES TO NANOTECHNOLOGY EDUCATION 2.1. Interdisciplinary nature The field of nanotechnology is interdisciplinary by nature which presents compound challenges to the educator in multiple dimensions. The first of these challenges to the educator, while designing and implementing any activity, is that interdisciplinary goes against the traditional division of specialty areas amongst departments and schools. In most traditional universities around the world, different sciences and engineering areas are compartmentalized in departments, which allow for depth and concentration. Although many schools are looking at creating interdisciplinary education areas, the traditional division of specialty still exists. This actually is the reason why multidisciplinary courses like nanotechnology become skewed towards the department to which the driving professor belongs [8, 9]. Nanotechnology courses driven by an electrical engineering professor end up focusing on electrical engineering applications while nanotechnology courses introduced by the chemical engineering professor focus on chemistry applications. This phenomenon, combined with the interdisciplinary nature of nanotechnology, formulate the second challenge, mostly facing students coming from a field or department different from the one offering nanotechnology courses, or relating to student preparedness and background. Nanotechnology education requires coverage of multiple bases from science, engineering, and humanities by the instructor before and during the deep handling of theory and applications. This calls for creative solutions including team teaching and collaboration between the different departments that constitute the knowledge base for nanotechnology, which is actually the third challenge in this category. This also calls for a careful selection of pre-requisites for students to be close enough in their background to the optimum required knowledge base allowing them to pursue nanotechnology education with the least possible difficulty [10]. The interdisciplinary nature of nanotechnology, combined with other factors would also present another challenge which belongs to the lack-of-resources category, characterized by the difficulty in finding the appropriate text book or educational resources which include enough coverage of all of the needed topics. This later challenge is the fourth amongst this group of challenges stemming from the interdisciplinary nature of nanotechnology. 2.2. STEM nature challenges Nanotechnology is based on the STEM areas of knowledge. Therefore, it shares the same inherited challenges with STEM areas such as students aptitude and students preparedness in Science and Math. Nevertheless, the new part about this challenge is the integrative nature of nanotechnology of most STEM areas. This will always be challenging to students particularly the majority who compartmentalize their knowledge and shelf it as they finish a course or a grade level. These students find it difficult to utilize skills and knowledge learned in one course into another parallel or following course. The 624

difficulty increases if the two courses are from different STEM fields, like applying math to model biological phenomena and so on. Proper preparation at the pre-college, and early-college levels will significantly help alleviate this challenge. Including education about this part within efforts to tackle the awareness challenge, which is explained later, can also help in overcoming this challenge. 2.3. Cost of equipment and facilities Nanotechnology applications and hands-on activities are mostly carried out in a cleanroom environment, which requires a significant investment to build and to maintain. Moreover, the equipment utilized in manipulating and characterizing matter at the atomic levels usually has a very high price tag. At any school, this type of facility and equipment would be dedicated to research and externally funded endeavors. This is a real challenge that faces educators and requires creativity in finding alternatives like building collaborative programs. An example solution would be to place the pieces of equipment and specialized facilities from multiple educational and industrial entities into a pool available to students from all of the participating organizations [11]. 2.4. Availability of educational resources As was mentioned previously, the interdisciplinary nature of nanotechnology, combined with the novelty of the topic causes another challenge that is characterized by the difficulty in finding a suitable textbook or educational material at the level of undergraduate students. Most available publications are still at the level of researchers with layers of assumptions that the reader has a sufficient background to understand the written material. It is extremely difficult to find a textbook with balanced coverage between theory and applications to teach undergraduate students without having to add a lot of supplemental material to help students. It is also difficult to find a textbook that balances the handling between the different disciplines contributing to nanotechnology. 2.6. Societal literacy and community support The influence of this particular challenge can easily be felt, in combination with the previous challenge, in the difficulties in recruiting students for the program. Societal literacy in STEM fields generally comes from the vague information transferred to the public about the benefits and consequences of science and technology. Leaving the task of educating the public about such topics to media outlets and other unspecialized entities in the past has resulted in more vagueness and confusion about the facts. The ultimate results of this would range from unjustified fear of new technology to unreasonable expectations of the same new technology, leading to uninformed public decisions. Lessons from past experiences indicate that scientists and engineers should be doing more in this area as informed citizens. However, the task is challenging because it requires combining humanities as part of sciences and engineering activities, which is another item that educators of nanotechnology have to deal with. Nevertheless, ethics and societal impact of nanotechnology have been considered at very early stages by scientists and engineers and that is expected to produce positive results, particularly in the form of well informed public decisions [2]. Industry and community support are critical to the success of nanotechnology education and that is usually facilitated by proper inclusion of this challenge in the planning stage. 2.7. Sustainability of the program The majority of challenges listed above are of a continuous nature. As educators plan nanotechnology courses and programs, sustainability of the program must be a goal within these plans. Therefore, continuous collaboration with other organizations for resource pooling and with pre-college education organizations for proper recruiting would be vital for the sustainability of such a program. Moreover, links between nanotechnology programs and well established fields in universities would also be crucial to the sustainability and growth of a new nanotechnology program. 2.5. Awareness of relevant career options This challenge is at a higher level than just one educator or a school. Awareness of the opportunities provided by nanotechnology to a point of attracting students is still at its infancy. To recruit students in the field of nanotechnology with a passion and self confidence for them to succeed requires educating the public with a plan targeting potential students. Precollege education is a prime area for spreading this awareness and cultivating open and passionate minds about nanotechnology. Through the experience of the authors of this paper, it was found that working closely with STEM teachers in high schools to educate potential students about nanotechnology would yield superior results compared to general advertisement or public awareness plans. 3. NANOTECHNOLOGY UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION PROGRAM In response to the demand for a trained workforce in nanotechnology to work in the design and application fields, the SOE at GVSU, Grand Rapids, Michigan, has begun a project to develop and integrate nanotechnology into undergraduate engineering and science education in January 2010 through the support of a two-year NSF grant. The goal of the project is to develop and integrate a sustainable nanotechnology program into the undergraduate engineering and science curricula. This goal will be fulfilled by: 1) establishing a new interdisciplinary program of nanotechnology education combining expertise from both Mechanical Engineering (ME) and Electrical Engineering (EE), 2) development of a two-course sequence as a core for this program as well as additional modules to integrate in other relevant courses and organizations, 3) development and offering 625

of opportunities for further undergraduate involvement in nanotechnology, and 4) providing educational opportunities for K-12 students. The program was designed and developed with an approach to challenges as constraints to optimize, and with a vision to capitalize on opportunities. Sustainability of the program beyond NSF funding was also planned through linking the program into traditional, well-established majors like EE and ME, in engineering. The program consists of a two-course sequence that provides students with the nanotechnology fundamentals, nanoscale applications of engineering and science, and the societal implications of nanotechnology. In addition, students gain indepth understanding and hands-on experiences in the design and fabrication of nanoscale MEMs/NEMs and BioMEMs [4]. The additional modules offered in combination with these courses form a wider net of expansion providing opportunities of exposure to nanotechnology to students and educators from all levels. Furthermore, students are offered opportunities to apply their acquired knowledge through participation in activities such as the cooperative education program, the summer research program, and the industry sponsored capstone projects. 4.2. Course Content To balance the breadth and depth of the course, topics covered included a mix of theory, applications, and societal impact of nanotechnology. The outline of the course is listed in table 1. Table 1 Outline of the course "Fundamentals of Nanotechnology" Section Introduction Nanomaterials Content History Size matters Scaling laws Nanoscale physics Particles and wires Thin films Organic materials Carbon fullerenes & Nanotubes 4. THE FIRST COURSE: FUNDAMENTALS OF NANOTECHNOLOGY The first course in the sequence titled: Fundamentals of Nanotechnology, was developed to balance breadth and depth while serving a multidisciplinary pool of student from science and engineering. It included both lecture and lab components and was offered during the spring semester of 2010. Course assessment was also performed to help improve the next offering and the umbrella plan as well. The course is offered again during the spring semester of 2011, as this paper is being written. 4.1. Course Objectives The course content and teaching format were carefully crafted and designed so that students finishing the course should be able to achieve the following objectives of the course: 1. Describe the concepts and context of nanotechnology 2. Measure nanoscale materials and structures using appropriate equipment like the Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) and the Scan Electron Microscope (SEM) 3. Identify the approach followed in building nanotechnology elements as being either top-down or bottom-up 4. Synthesize nanoparticles 5. Communicate technical concepts of nanotechnology effectively 6. Identify societal and ethical implications of nanotechnology products and activities. Nanotools Nanoelectronics Nanophotonics Nanomechanics Chemical nanoengineering Biological environmental nanoengineering and Societal implications of nanotechnology Quantum dots Characterization methods Fabrication methods Quantum confinement Tunneling Molecular switches and memory storage Photonic properties of nanomaterials Optical tweezers Nanomechanical oscillators Scanning probe microscopes Chemical interactions at nanoscale Synthesis Nanocomposites Biomimetic nanostructures Molecular motors Societal impact Ethical considerations Economic impact 626

As shown in table 1, a wide range of topics is included. To overcome the challenge of finding a textbook that suits the course, supplemental lecture material had to be added by the instructor to the selected textbook [12]. One main advantage of the selected textbook was its simplified technical language. The course targeted junior level undergraduate students from both science and engineering. Currently there are four majors in the SOE at GVSU which are: Electrical Engineering (EE), Computer Engineering (CE), Mechanical Engineering (ME), and Product Design and Manufacturing (PDM). Both ME and PDM students take Materials Science and Engineering in parallel to EE and CE students taking Electronic Materials and Devices, in their sophomore year. Therefore, one of these courses, or an equivalent (for science students), was selected to be a pre-requisite for the nanotechnology course. This helped alleviate some of the challenges resulting from the differential in students background. The first section of the course started with size matters, scaling laws, and nanoscale physics. The students were introduced to the nanometer scale by comparing different sized objects and scaling laws in mechanics, electricity, optics, heat transfers and biology. Matters behave differently at the nanometer scale where they are governed by the quantum mechanical theory. Therefore, quantum mechanics (QM) is essential to know in order to explain the behavior of nanomaterials. This presented one typical problem with interdisciplinary courses where students in some disciplines do not necessarily acquire QM knowledge before going in nanotechnology. As a result, the basic QM theory was introduced in this course while carefully using a variety of examples and activities to ensure keeping the interest and attention of students who have learned this topic previously. The interactive java applet was used to emphasize the quantum nature of electrons and the correlation between the size of the confinement and quantum states [13]. Figure 1 shows the screen shot of one of the cases studied. The particle is confined in a 1-D infinite potential well and its allowable energy states are quantized as seen in the top portion of the figure. The particle s wave function, probability, and position uncertainty at energy level two are illustrated in the middle portion of the figure. The particle s momentum uncertainty can be seen in the bottom portion of the figure. Both the well width and particle s mass can be altered to reveal the size-dependent nature of the energy states and the uncertainty principle of position and momentum. In the nanomaterials sub-section, the students were introduced to the different types of nanomaterials, such as nanoparticles, nanowires, nanotubes, and thin films as well as the electrical, optical, and mechanical properties of these materials. Emphasis was placed on the van der Waals Forces through utilizing the Lennard-Jones potential model [12]. The interaction energy, E, of a pair of same type atoms separated by a distance of x can be written as: 2r E( x) x vdw 12 2r 2 x vdw 6 (1) Where is the well depth, r vdw is the van der Waals radius. The relationship can be easily visualized with Figure 2. The van der Waals interaction is short - range in nature. While the attractive forces dominate at larger separation distances, the repulsive forces dominate at closer distances. The equilibrium separation distance Figure 1: A screen shot of the java applet for particles in a 1 D infinite well. Interaction Energy Repulsive Figure 2: The Van der Waals interaction. is twice of the van der Waals radius. Attractive In the nanotools subsection, a variety of fabrication and characterization techniques was covered. Students learned both the top-down and bottom-up nanofabrication processes. For the top-down methods, the emphasis was placed on the lithography techniques and for the bottom-up methods, the self-assembly process was emphasized. Students also learned the in-situ and ex-situ characterization techniques. The focus was on the operational principles and applications of the following: optical microscopy, scan electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, scan probe microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and four-point probe techniques. To provide students with comprehensive hands-on skills, a series of lab activities were developed as companion sessions to the first x 627

section of the lecture [4]. In addition, these activities were aimed at increasing students interests in exploring nanoscience and nanotechnology. The six lab activities related to the theoretical concepts of nanotechnology are listed in Table 2. At the end of this section, students were able to synthesize nanoparticles, deposit metal thin films, and characterize the surfaces using the SEM and the AFM. In the second section, the applications of nanotechnology in electronics, optics, mechanics, and biomedical engineering were discussed. Examples of implementing nanotechnology in these areas were provided. Five lab activities, also listed in Table 2, were developed to provide students with hands-on experiences. In addition to the theory and application parts, the ethical and societal dimensions of nanotechnology were discussed and the students were asked to write and present a short paper on one of the following topics: 1. Nanotechnology Ethical Implications. 2. Nanotechnology Social Implications. 3. Nanotechnology and social justice 4. Nanotechnology and Ecology. 5. Nanotechnology and Military Applications. 6. Nanotechnology: International Perspective. 7. Future implications of Nanotechnology. 8. Other nanotechnology and humanities related topics. Table 2: Lab activities related to the different sections of course. Section Theoretical concepts Companion lab activities Gold Nanoparticles - Synthesis and Application Silver Nanoparticles Synthesis and Application Cleanroom Introduction and Safety Training Introduction to Physical Vapor Deposition Thermal Evaporation Scanning Electron Microscopy 4.3. Assessment of the first offering A survey was conducted at midterm of the semester containing questions related to the content and delivery of the course. Results indicated that 7 of the students thought that assignments were helpful to them in understanding the material. Also, 76 of the students indicated that class examples helped them understand the material. Moreover, 88 of the students expressed that they can comfortably explain and simplify the concepts of nanotechnology at that point in the course. During the end of term evaluation, majority of the students indicated that the course was taught well. Table 3 lists key assessment results from this survey. Table 3: End of term evaluation - key assessment results. [1: strongly agree; 2: agree; 3: neither agree nor disagree; 4: disagree; 5: strongly disagree]. Questions 1 2 3 4 5 The course was taught well The sequence of topics seemed logical to me The exams and other assignments made me think rather than just memorize The amount of work was appropriate for the level and number of credit hours I have benefited by having this instructor This instructor motivated me to do my best work for this class 9 9 9 50 71.4 57.1 4 57.1 4 57.1 4 50 28.5 7 9 9 7.14 7.14 7.14 7.14 Atomic Force Microscopy Applications Nanotechnology of Exploring Nanoproducts Alternating Surface Properties Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Microencapsulation and Smart Paper Organic Light Emitting Diode Fabrication and Characterization Quantum Dot Simulation Students also indicated that lectures were well planned and that the instructor used lab activities as an effective way to stimulate thinking about subject matter outside of the scope of the lab itself. In addition to the effectiveness of the course, students expressed some areas in the courses which could be improved. One area which was a concern was that the amount of material covered is overwhelming. Another area for improvement was the applications of nanotechnology where students experienced more difficulty and would like to see more time devoted to it for them to grasp it better. These were excellent points and will be taken into consideration during the second offering. 628

5. THE SECOND COURSE: NANODEVICES AND NANOSYSTEMS This is the second course in the nanotechnology sequence. The course was developed to capitalize on knowledge gained in the previous nanotechnology course and to extend that knowledge into applications, fabrication methods, and experiences. This course has not been offered and there is no assessment for it yet, due to scheduling priorities. However, the course is scheduled to be offered during the fall semester of 2011. The course targets senior students in a project based learning (PBL) format. In other words, laboratory and hands-on activities are designed to serve projects which are direct applications to the theoretical part of the course. 5.1. Course objectives By the end of this course, students will be able to: 1. Describe the concepts micro/nanosystems 2. Design micro/nanosystems 3. Carry out the steps of the fabrication process of micro/nanosystems 4. Fabricate and test sample micro/nanosystems 5. Communicate technical concepts of micro/nanosystems effectively 6. Identify safety, societal, and ethical implications of nanoscale products and include these issues in the design and production process. 5.2. Course content This course includes the following topics: micro/nano systems and micro/nano electronics, essential electrical and mechanical concepts, Micro/nanosystems design, micro/nano fabrication processes, electrostatic sensing and actuation, piezoresistive sensing and actuation, piezoelectric sensing and actuation, assembly, packaging, and testing of micro/nanosystems. As was mentioned, the course is project based where the hands-on activities are a direct application of the theoretical part and the concepts of PBL are used as a guide. The application is done on one or two long term projects to accommodate the lengthy processes involved in manufacturing a nano or micro system. This is due to the need to send the products to facilities external to GVSU-SOE, in a collaboration setup, to finish their fabrication. Examples of micro devices to be built as projects by the different groups of students include an accelerometer and a pressure sensor. The plan is to try and design, then fabricate, these devices while varying the techniques and tools as possible. This will expose the students to as many facets of this industry as possible while linking all of these experiences to the proper science and engineering background. The course outline is provided in table 4. There is not yet a textbook selected for this course because of the challenge of finding a suitable one. This means that numerous hand outs and supplemental material packages will be provided to the students by the instructor. 5.3. Assessment plan Assessment instruments, similar to those used in the previous course will be implemented to close the quality feedback loop and improve future offerings of this course, and the program in general. Table 4 Outline of the course "Nanosystmes and Nanodevices" 1 Introduction Section 2 Review essential electrical and mechanical concepts 3 Micro/nanosystems design 4 Micro/nanofabrication processes 5 Electrostatic sensing and actuation 6 Piezoresistive sensing and actuation 7 Piezoelectric sensing and actuation 8 Optical sensing 9 Assembly, packaging, and testing of micro/nanosystems 10 Societal impacts of nanoscale engineering 6. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS A program for undergraduate education in nanotechnology has been proposed and implemented at GVSU-SOE, with the help of a grant from NSF. This program contains two courses titled: Fundamentals of Nanotechnology and; Nanodevices and Nanosystems. The courses were designed including many challenges stemming from the nature of the course, like the interdisciplinary composure of the topic and the lack of educational resources to support that. Other challenges included the cost and availability of resources, public awareness and support, and the sustainability question of such a new program. These challenges were included as constraints requiring an optimized solution and to capitalize on opportunities and partnerships, towards building and implementing the program. The first course was offered during the spring of 2010, as an elective for engineering students in both ME and EE. The second offering of the course is being implemented as this paper is being written; taking into consideration the feedback obtained from the first offering through different assessment instruments. The number of students allowed in the course during this second offering had to be capped because of the demand by students on registering for it. The sequel course is scheduled to be offered during the fall of 2011 as an elective for engineering students as well. Both courses provide a comprehensive coverage of the background, tools, and skills, needed for a trained workforce in the area of nanotechnology. Integrating the courses into the traditional engineering programs aims at supporting the sustainability of this new nanotechnology program. Both courses are now approved electives for 629

engineering students and draw resources from traditionally strong programs, ME and EE. The program includes outreach activities which involve interaction with high school students and educators. These activities resulted in the hiring of two full time high school students during the summer of 2010 to learn nanotechnology and work in the cleanroom. By the end of the experience, both students decided to apply for engineering schools and pursue the area of nanotechnology. Moreover, a collaborative program was established with a local school district to introduce modules of nanotechnology into STEM courses, as an integrative experience. It has been realized that recruiting students in STEM in general, and in nanotechnology in specific, is more successful if awareness and exposure is provided to students at the pre-college level. Therefore, capitalizing on this experience and the different partnerships, the authors have proposed a new plan to educate educators at high schools on nanotechnology, on a regular basis, and bring this knowledge into the classroom of high schools. The proposal is now in place, requesting NSF funding. Undergraduate students were also interested in pursuing more education and even research in nanotechnology. This resulted in the hiring of three undergraduate students to work through the cooperative education program and help in carrying out research on nanotechnology. Challenges related to introducing nanotechnology into undergraduate education will continue to exist. Therefore, managing them as constraints at the design stages helps significantly in producing a smooth and successful nanotechnology course. Many creative solutions can be produced to overcome challenges, if challenges are accounted for early in the game. However, the sustainability question should be paramount in any plan to introduce nanotechnology in undergraduate education. Public awareness and support plays an important role that should be valued and considered with a similar weight. 7. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The authors would like to acknowledge the National Science Foundation (NSF) for their support of this work through grant number NUE 0938434 to both authors. 8. REFERENCES [1] Science Daily, Science News: New Nanotechnology Products Hitting The Market At The Rate Of 3-4 Per Week, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/08042410250 5.htm. (Accessed Oct. 2010). [2] Barakat N. and H. Jiao, Proposed Strategies for Teaching ethics of Nanotechnology, Nanoethics Journal, Springer, Netherlands, Sep. 2010. DOI 10.1007/s11569-010-0100-0. [3] Anwar S. and H. Dhillon, Development of an On-line Introduction to Nanotechnology course: Issues and Challenges, Proceedings of the ASEE annual conference and exposition, 2008. [4] Barakat N. and H. Jiao, Development and Implementation of a Comprehensive Nanotechnology Fundamentals Lab for Engineering Students, Proceedings of the ASEE annual conference and exposition, Vancouver, BC, Canada, 2011. [5] Nanotechnology, http://www.fda.gov/scienceresearch/specialtopics/nanotec hnology, (Accessed Nov. 2009). [6] Roco M. C. and W.S. Bainbridge, Societal Implications of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Boston, 2001. [7] National Nanotechnology Initiative, http://www.nano.gov/html/society/education.html, (Accessed Nov. 2009). [8] H. McNally, Curriculum Development in Nanotechnology, Proc. of the ASEE annual conference, San Antonio, TX. 2009. [9] J. Cressler, A New Approach to Microelectronics and Nanotechnology Education for Undergraduates in All Disciplines, Proc. of the ASEE annual conference, Louisville, KY. 2010. [10] M. Hersam, M. Luna, and G. Light, Implementation of Interdisciplinary Group Learning and Peer Assessment in a Nanotechnology Engineering Course, Journal of Engineering Education, P. 40 57, Jan. 2004. [11] J. Groves, The Virginia Partnership for Nanotechnology Education and Workforce Development, Proc. Of the 38 th Frontiers in Education conference, Saratoga Springs, NY. Oct. 2008. [12] B. Rogers, J. Adams, S. Pennathur, Nanotechnology: understanding small systems, CRC Press, 2008. [13] 1-D Quantum States Applet V.1.6a, http://www.falstad.com/qm1d/, (Accessed June. 2010) 630