MATERIALS, DESIGN, AND INNOVATION IN NONMAJORS SCIENCE EDUCATION
- PDF / 392,510 Bytes
- 4 Pages / 612 x 792 pts (letter) Page_size
- 35 Downloads / 202 Views
MATERIALS, DESIGN, AND INNOVATION IN NONMAJORS SCIENCE EDUCATION Jonathan B. Puthoff1, Anne K. Bentley2, Kellar Autumn1, Julio DePaula2 1 2
Department of Biology, Lewis & Clark College, Portland, OR 97219, USA Department of Chemistry, Lewis & Clark College, Portland, OR 97219, USA
ABSTRACT In-depth materials science course offerings are crucial for training the next generation of researchers in many pure and applied fields. However, translating discoveries from the laboratory into domestic and industrial settings requires contributions from professionals outside of these strictly technical areas. Providing nonmajor students instruction in core scientific ideas and illustrating the myriad pathways by which these ideas become innovative technologies should be an additional goal of science and engineering programs. “Technologies of the Future” (ToF) is a novel course for nonscience/engineering majors in which students participate in team-based laboratory and design projects with modern materials systems. After learning about a phenomenon or physical principle in class, students are given the opportunity to explore it in lab and are tasked with the design of a novel device that incorporates it. Example laboratory topics include superhydrophobic surfaces and dye-sensitized solar cells. In the design phase, instructors act as “consultants”, lending their expertise to students unfamiliar with engineering analysis or ancillary physical concepts. Summative activities are designed to leverage the diverse talents of the interdisciplinary teams of students. The course concepts and activities are designed to prepare students for both a modern workplace that requires innovative thinking and a modern world in which emerging technologies offer solutions to pressing environmental and social problems. INTRODUCTION Detailed, up-to-date courses in materials chemistry, physics, processing, and design are a requirement for applied science and engineering graduates entering the workforce in research or industry positions. The skills presented in these courses are crucial for developing the next generation of materials-based technologies. However, developing innovative technologies and bringing them into domestic and industrial environments requires more than just strictly technical skills. Eradicating communication barriers between those with specialized technical knowledge and those without in the interest of fostering interdisciplinary collaboration should be a goal of both science and non-science faculty. Students who are enrolled in non-science and non-engineering majors typically take a few science courses to fulfill basic scientific and quantitative reasoning (“breadth”) requirements for their institution. These courses are typically the only exposure students have to technical/scientific communication [1]. Also, many of these courses emphasize basic facts and experimental processes and fail to convey underlying concepts effectively. Modern educational thinking holds that students are more receptive to scientific ideas and modes o
Data Loading...
