NUE: Development of Freshman and Sophomore Level Courses for a Nanotechnology Minor

Washington University, Saint Louis MO

Investigators

Abstract

This Nanotechnology in Undergraduate Education (NUE) award to Washington University in St. Louis supports Dr. Ramesh Agarwal and Dr. Da Ren Chen, Department of Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering, to develop freshman and sophomore level courses for establishing a nanotechnology minor that will be offered by several departments in the College of Engineering. There are already existing courses in nanotechnology at junior and senior level. This project will bridge the gap between nanotechnology research and undergraduate training, and eventually lead to an excellent undergraduate science and engineering curriculum in the nanotechnology arena. The nanotechnology curriculum development at WUSTL will have significant impact on undergraduate education at WUSTL as well as in the St. Louis region and throughout the state of Missouri. Additionally, local industry (e.g. Boeing) is very interested in not only in having a trained engineering work force in this area but also in sending their current employees to take courses at WUSTL in this field. Since WUSTL has a significant number of underrepresented minorities, the impact of this project in attracting this group of students to choose a career in this field will be significant. The proposal for this award was received in response to the Nanoscale Science and Engineering Education announcement, NSF 03-044, category NUE and was funded by the Division of Electrical and Communications Systems (ECS) in the Directorate for Engineering.