Education Outreach K-12:

NanoKids:

The NanoKids™ educational outreach program, headed by Dr. James M. Tour, Chao Professor of Chemistry and Director of the Carbon Nanotechnology Laboratory at Rice University, is dedicated to increasing public knowledge of the nanoscale world and the emerging molecular research and technology that is rapidly expanding internationally. Based on actual anthropomorphic molecules synthesized in the laboratory, the NanoKids™ visual concept utilizes universally recognized forms exhibiting human characteristics to instruct, motivate, and entertain.

• To significantly increase students’ comprehension of chemistry, physics, biology, and materials science at the molecular level.
• To provide teachers with conceptual tools to teach nanoscale science and emerging molecular technology.
• To demonstrate that art and science can combine to facilitate learning for students with diverse learning styles and interests.
• To generate informed interest in nanotechnology that encourages participation in and funding for research in the field.

For more information on NanoKids, go to: http://nanokids.rice.edu/

To watch a short sample clip of the NanoKids promotional video, click below.

CBEN Education Outreach:

The goal of our educational outreach and human resource programs is to cultivate a future workforce experienced with using nanoscience and nanoengineering to solve problems in biological and environmental engineering.  This objective necessarily echoes one of the primary missions of the NSF, namely training of the technical workforce of the future.  It also directly relates to our mission: CBEN’s technical objectives can only be realized if there are well-trained scientists and engineers to discover, develop and manage its nanotechnologies.  

CBEN’s educational outreach activities are coordinated by Dr. John Hutchinson (jshutch@rice.edu), Director for Education.  CBEN faculty members and students contribute substantially to these programs.  The highlights of our program this year include:

• Training for teachers of at-risk students in the diverse Houston Independent School District.
• Involvement of students from 9^th grade through graduate school, in research, classroom and outreach activities
• Integration of CBEN research into education by making links between nanotechnology and the Texas high school science curriculum
• Development of NanoKids^TM DVD for proof-of concept testing in middle school classrooms

These activities address both long-term and short-term needs in workforce training.  In the near term, the next generation of nanotechnologists will be drawn from current graduate and undergraduate students already in our pipeline.  We strive to ensure our students are diverse, and have a substantial percentage (41%) of female graduate students. CBEN now meets, and is working to exceed, the national average for African-American and Hispanic graduate students. We also develop students with the right skills to be highly effective researchers. Our systems engineering focus and collaborative research environment train people who excel at working in large, interdisciplinary teams.  Through its center programs CBEN also provides researchers with crucial oral and written communication skills, as well as broader perspectives on the economic, societal and governmental context for their research.

Addressing the longer term challenge of workforce training requires programs that increase the number and quality of people entering the science and engineering pipeline.  For this reason CBEN has developed connections to our local school districts, businesses and community.  We run twelve formal programs for such outreach activities; they are diverse and involve students as young as ten years old as well as laypeople over sixty. These efforts all exploit the capacity that nanotechnology has to spark a sense of wonder in students and adults alike.  Like the space program, we find that nanotechnology is an ideal ‘hook’ for drawing people into science and technology.

For more information on CBEN Education Outreach, go to http://cben.rice.edu/education.cfm?doc_id=5014.