August 1, 2007
Prep teachers get lessons in nanoscience, cleanroom at Purdue
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -
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On July 18 the group put on protective suits called "bunny suits" and entered the dust-free environment of the Birck Nanotechnology Center cleanroom for some hands-on training.
The group consisted of 13 teachers from Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio and Finland who participated in the National Center for Learning and Teaching in the professional development program "Inquiry-Based Instruction in Nanoscale Science and Engineering."
"We wanted to give them a broader experience of working with some of the equipment and doing some of the things we do in the cleanroom," said George Adams, research development manager for the Birck Nanotechnology Center in Discovery Park. "The idea is to familiarize these teachers with nanoscience and provide them classroom materials so that they can go back to their classrooms and teach about it and give examples and do experiments to show how nanotechnology plays into our future."
Nanotechnology is science at the smallest scale. Cleanrooms are specialized labs designed to control conditions such as vibration, noise, temperature, humidity and electromagnetic interference from radio waves and other sources.
William Fornes was the workshop's program coordinator. Nicholas Giordano, the Hubert James Distinguished Professor of Physics, and Lynn Bryan, associate professor in physics and curriculum and instruction, are the program's directors.
Participating teachers went through two weeks of lessons, seminars and laboratory tours on different aspects of nanoscience.
Adams said the teachers will report back throughout the year on the results of the lessons they are to take back to their classrooms.
Writer: Jim Bush (765) 494-2077, jsbush@purdue.edu
Sources: George Adams, (765) 494-2698, gba@purdue.edu
William Fornes (765) 494-22348, wfornes@purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
PHOTO CAPTION
Participants in a National Center for Learning and Teaching workshop on "Inquiry-Based Instruction in Nanoscale Science and Engineering" work in a Birck Nanotechnology Center cleanroom. A group of 13 high school teachers from Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky Ohio and Finland participated in a two-week workshop. They will take the lessons back to their schools to teach their students. (Purdue News Service photo/Mike Willis)
A publication-quality photo is available at http://news.uns.purdue.edu/images/+2007/DLC-birck-cleanroom.jpg
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