MATERIALS SCIENCE CENTER TOUR GUIDE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY PRESENTATION SPECIALIST:

(Physics & Astronomy Department and Chemistry Department)

The main purpose of this science education outreach position would be to provide access to the Materials Science Center (MSC) for K-12 students and teachers through tours, nanotechnology presentations, and outreach projects. There may be special occasions when these tours and presentations are presented to college students or to community members, as well. Early in the fall semester (or possibly during the summer), the winner of this award would receive training from the MSC staff (Dr. Doug Dunham, Dr. Marc McEllistrem, Dr. Matt Evans, and/or Dr. Kim Pierson) on the operation of the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and develop a basic understanding of the operation of the other major pieces of MSC equipment. The idea would be that the student would be able to demonstrate how to obtain an SEM image of something interesting (a bug’s eye, a micro-electronic computer chip, etc.) and would be able to give an interesting and descriptive tour of the rest of the MSC. Nanotechnology presentations would consist of demonstrations and hands-on-activities to illustrate nanotechnology principles and terms.

Besides the training and presentations, there are several other opportunities with this position. The MSC is always looking for new ideas to add on to its current list of fun things to demonstrate to students and community members. The awardee could do some research on other possible demonstrations (texts & internet sources) to find new ways of presenting our current material (or even create a whole new set of demonstrations on completely new topics). For example, materials science modules available form the UW-Madison MRSEC program could be integrated into presentations given to local schools. Creativity is encouraged! The student could be trained to use other equipment in the MSC. We are also looking to make new contacts and to enhance current interactions at local schools with science teachers who may be planning an on-campus visit and want a tour while here. The MSC would also like to develop collaborations that would allow K-12 students access to instrumentation for class projects. The student could make some inquiries, either by phone or e-mail, to local teachers.

The awardee would also be involved with the Materials Science Centers new “K-12 Open Sample Submission” Program. In this program teachers at the K-12 level can submit samples to be imaged using the SEM. The images will be posted on a website, for downloading by the teacher or students. The awardee will be a help with acquiring the samples from the teachers, preparing samples, acquiring images and posting images on the website.

The goal would be to provide several tours or presentations every month during the academic year. The winner of this award could assist in the upkeep of the Science Education Outreach Program web page by adding fun digital images and providing vignettes describing what we offer to potential new users.