Nanotechnology and the Community Education and Outreach

1. Nanotechnology and the CommunityEducation and Outreach John S. Hutchinson Carolyn A. Nichol

2. Our mission is to create sustainable nanotechnologies that improve human health and the environment.

3. One of the Six Original NSF Nanoscale Science and Engineering Centers (NSEC) Funded 2001-2011 • General Activities • Research (Science & Engineering) • Educational programs (K-12) • Knowledge transfer • Commercialization • Financial Scope • $24 million over 10 years (NSF) • $5.3 million over 10 years (Rice) • Span of Activities • 10 departments, 38faculty (Rice) • 1 department, 1 faculty (GA. Tech) CBEN: The Basic Data

4. CBEN’s Organization GadoNanotubes for MRI contrast agents (Wilson) • “Nanorust” Fe3O4 for water purification (Colvin) Nanochemistry High School Academy (Hutchinson) Gold nanoshells for NIR ablation therapy (West and Halas)

5. Education Mission and Challenges • National science literacy low • Little knowledge of nano • Little nano-specific course material available Developing Well-Educated Scientists and Engineers and an Informed Public Only 23% of adult Americans can describe a scientific study Only 41% of adults with “high” science/mathematic education 80% of Americans have heard “little or nothing” about nanotechnology

6. Public Attitudes about Science and Technology • 68% of Americans say that the benefits of scientific research strongly outweigh the harmful results • 10% said harmful results slightly or strongly outweigh the benefits. From the NSF 2010 Science and Engineering Indicators http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind10/c7/c7h.htm

7. Community Graduate/Post-doc Graduate Undergraduate High School Middle School Elementary School Strategy for Educational Outreach • Extensive Student/Faculty Involvement: Personnel engaged in multiple programs • Practical: Use of nano integrated as curriculum and motivation • Center Research: Examples shared by many programs • Diverse: Target untapped reserves of traditionally underrepresented minorities

8. Educational and Outreach Programs • High School • Teacher Training Course • Summer Teacher Internships • Nanochemistry Discovery Lab • Project GRAD Nanochemistry Academy • Project GRAD Careers Workshop • Project GRAD College Application Workshop • Undergraduate • Curriculum Development • Community College Research Experience for Undergraduates • Graduate/Post-doc • Curriculum Development • Entrepreneurship Education • Community • Houston Children’s Museum Collaboration • Public Course on Nanotechnology Teachers in the lab Rice graduate student hosting a Nanodays demo at the Children’s Museum

9. Nanotechnology for Teachers Enhancing high-school teachers’ knowledge of chemistry, physics, nanotechnology and pedagogy A full semester graduate course Free to in-service teachers 50 teachers in spring 2009 48 teachers in spring 2010

10. Nanotechnology for Teachers Schedule

11. Scaling Our Programs • Teachers in our programs host workshops for other teachers

12. Summer Teacher Research Internships Summer Internship 4 week program Teachers join a nanotechnology research team Lesson plan development Summer 2008 – 9 teachers Summer 2009 – 8 teachers Follow up workshops NSF Research Experience for Teachers grant received 2010 Engaging teachers in active nanoscience research and curriculum development 12

13. Research Experiences for Community College Students • Undergraduate research has been shown to play a major role in influencing students’ decisions to pursue graduate school and research careers.

14. Schlumberger–Project GRAD Nanochemistry Academy Project GRAD collaboration prepares students from under-resourced high school to succeed and pursue SE studies in college

15. Museums & Informal Education Rice’s Glasscock School of Continuing Studies Spotlight on the Smalley Institute Dates: Tuesday evenings, September 14, 2010 – November 16, 2010 Filming an episode of PBS’s Dragonfly TV show http://pbskids.org/dragonflytv/show/selfassembly.html Graphene Self Assembly Exhibit the Matter Factory at the Children’s Museum of Houston

16. Partnerships and Leveraging • Museums • Nonprofit Organizations • K-12 Education • Community Colleges • Higher Education • Industry • Government

17. Where Teachers in Nanotechnology for Teachers Teach Includes participants from 2007 to 2010

18. Nano Continuing EducationSpotlight on the Smalley Institute September 14, 2010 Smalley Institute Vision and History Dr. Wade Adams, Director of the Smalley Institute and Dr. Robert Curl, Professor Emeritus, Nobel Prize Laureate We lead the world in solving humanity's most pressing problems through the application of nanotechnology ... the vision of the Smalley Institute, the world's first nanotechnology center. You will learn how the buckyball discovery set Rice on a path to nanotechnology greatness, the now expanded nanotechnology portfolio at Rice, and the Institute's path to take nanotechnology up the 'S' shaped curve from evolution to revolution. This 9-week course by the Smalley Institute is presented by Lockheed Martin. September 21, 2010 Nanomaterials: An Introduction Dr. Vicki Colvin, Kenneth S. Pitzer-Schlumberger Professor of Chemistry and Director of the Center for Biological and Environmental Nanotechnology (CBEN) Dr. Vicki Colvin will introduce how material properties can be controlled on nanometer length scales and how we can exploit these properties to develop new technologies. She will present highlights of her research that explores the interaction of nanoscale properties with the environment and living systems. Exciting examples of her research include the use of nanoparticles in biomedical systems and the development of a new water purification process that takes advantage of the unique properties of nanomaterials. September 28, 2010 NanoElectronics Dr. Doug Natelson, Associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy* Dr. Doug Natelson will present his research on the electronic, magnetic and optical properties of nanoscale structures. These nanoscale structures include molecular scale electronic devices and organic semiconductors . Dr. Natelson will discuss how, on the nanoscale, it s possible to probe the crossover between classical mechanics and quantum mechanics.

19. Nano Continuing EducationSpotlight on the Smalley Institute October 5, 2010 Nanotechnology and Energy Dr. Mike Wong, Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Nanotechnology will be integrated into the energy sector through applications in materials, electronics and sensors. Here you will learn about the specific impact areas of nanotechnology on both the carbon-based and renewable energy sources, energy transmission and storage. At the end of this course, you will have a greater understanding of nanotechnology’s current and future impact on traditional and emerging energy technology including down-hole sensing, enhanced proppants, advanced materials, renewable energy sources, energy transmission and energy storage. This lecture is sponsored by Lockheed Martin. October 12, BUCKYBALL October 19, 2010 : Engineering at the Nanoscale: Advanced Materials Dr. P. M. Ajayan, Benjamin M. and Mary Greenwood Anderson Professor of Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering Engineering materials and systems have two basic approaches: top-down like today's electronics and bottom-up like living organisms.   Nanotechnology integrates the two approaches to create novel materials and tools.  Real world applications will be related to the core scientific principles guiding materials development including self-assembly, templating, patterning, processing, and interfacial engineering. October 26, 2010 Nanomedicine Dr. Jennifer West , Isabel C. Cameron Professor of Bioengineering and Chair of the Department of Bioengineering Dr. Jennifer West will discuss the biomedical applications of nanotechnology, specifically the development of gold nanoshells for cancer therapy. Nanoshells are gold coated silica spheres that can be designed to strongly absorb or scatter light at very specific wavelengths and are currently being tested in Phase I clinical trials to treat head and neck cancer. Dr. West is also developing nanomaterials systems that could be used for whole blood bioassays, controlled drug delivery, and optically controlled valves for microfluidic devices.

20. Nano Continuing EducationSpotlight on the Smalley Institute November 2, 2010 NanoPhotonics Dr. Daniel Mittleman, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Photonics is the study of light and how it can be controlled, modulated and transmitted. Since nanocrystals strongly interact with light due to their size and structure, they provide an interesting platform to study the relationship between light and matter. Dr. Mittleman uses lasers to investigate the photonic nature of materials and will discuss the potential applications of this research. November 9, 2010 Societal Impacts of Nanotechnology Dr. Kristen Kulinowski , Faculty Fellow in Chemistry and Executive Director of the Center for Biological and Environmental Nanotechnology (CBEN) and the International Council on Nanotechnology (ICON), Dr. Kulinowski, will discuss the implications of nanotechnology, including the potential environmental and health risks. She provide an overview about how society is responding to this new technology, how industry is developing best practices for handling nanomaterials, and how the public can access resources about the environmental health and safety of nanotechnologies. November 15, 2010 Nanotechnology Entrepreneurship: Translating High-Tech Research to Products and Jobs Dr.Thomas Kraft, Director of Technology Ventures Development, Rice Alliance Smalley Institute, Rice Alliance and Houston Technology Center are teaming up for the final lecture offered in this series will focus translating science into business.  Nanotechnology is becoming ever more prevalent in products and investment opportunities from startups to blue chip companies.  Through successful and unsuccessful case studies, learn about the commercialization cycle and barriers introduced with the high-tech products associated with nanotechnology.  Additionally, we will highlight the available and needed resources in Houston and Texas that reduce barriers to success.