NUE: Printing Innovative Nano Technology Research and Elite Education (PINE TREE) Program

University Of Texas At El Paso, El Paso TX

Investigators

Abstract

This NUE in Engineering program entitled, "NUE: Printing Innovative Nano Technology Research and Elite Education (PINE TREE) Program", at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), under the direction of Dr. Namsoo Kim, will be a supplemental program for the Printing Nano Engineering (PNE) concentration option available at UTEP beginning in the Fall of 2014. The goal of this proposal is to design and implement a 24-credit-hour PNE concentration (with opportunities for international experiences) under the Bachelor of Science in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering (MME) program, which will prepare graduates for advanced, high-tech engineering and manufacturing careers in printed electronics. The PINE TREE Program has established three objectives to achieve its goal: 1) Recruit and prepare lower-division pre-engineering students to pursue a career option in Nanotechnology. 2) Modify, evaluate, and refine upper-division PNE courses to ensure that students are prepared to enter careers in printing nano-engineering. The strategic actions include the assessing and evaluating of the upper-division curricula and refining courses based on assessment results. 3) Integrate research and development into undergraduate education to reinforce the concepts acquired in the PNE curricula. The PINE TREE program builds on nano-scale and pedagogical research that is already established at UTEP, as well as on the newly established program between UTEP and Seokyeong University (SKU) in Seoul, South Korea that offers upper-division PNE courses to SKU students who transfer to UTEP in their junior year. This international collaboration between UTEP and SKU will help advance PNE education in the U.S. and has the potential of serving as a model which can be replicated by other universities and strengthen the U.S. global manufacturing position. The students who complete the PINE TREE program will be experts in the field of printed electronics and able to manufacture printed electronics in the areas of printable material development, system manufacturing, and development of flexible electronics. Since the UTEP MME Department has an undergraduate student population that is 81% Hispanic and 31% Female, the PINE TREE Program will create a diverse group of engineers with the skills and qualifications needed in industry for printed electronics; the students will be diverse not only in ethnicity and gender, but in educational background. The program also features international collaborations that will help advance PNE education in the U.S.