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Register a new userNanotechnology and Society: A discussion-based undergraduate course
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Charles Tahan
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Nanotechnology has emerged as a broad, exciting, yet ill-defined field of scientific research and technological innovation. There are important questions about the technologys potential economic, social, and environmental implications. We discuss an undergraduate course on nanoscience and nanotechnology for students from a wide range of disciplines, including the natural and social sciences, the humanities, and engineering. The course explores these questions and the broader place of technology in contemporary societies. The course is built around active learning methods and seeks to develop the students critical thinking skills, written and verbal communication abilities, and general knowledge of nanoscience and nanoengineering concepts. Continuous assessment was used to gain information about the effectiveness of class discussions and enhancement of student understanding of the interaction between nanotechnology and society.
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This paper describes some of the results of a National Science Foundation Nanotechnology Undergraduate Education project that aims to establish a nanoscience and nanotechnology program at the University of North Dakota. The goal is to generate new interest in nanoscience and nanotechnology among engineering and science students and prepare them with the knowledge and skills necessary for the next generation of graduates to compete in the global market and contribute to the nanoscience and nanotechnology field. The project explored several aspects of student learning, including students motivations for investigating nanotechnology through interdisciplinary coursework. To collect this information, a survey was administered to students who enrolled to two nanoscience and nanotechnology courses. Data collected from the survey will be used to improve the design and delivery of future courses as part of constructing a complete nanoscience and nanotechnology curriculum.
This White Paper highlights the role Primarily Undergraduate Institutions (PUIs) play within the astronomy profession, addressing issues related to employment, resources and support, research opportunities and productivity, and educational and societal impacts, among others. Astronomers working at PUIs are passionate about teaching and mentoring undergraduate students through substantive astronomy experiences, all while working to continue research programs that contribute to the advancement of the professional field of astronomy. PUIs are where the majority of undergraduate students pursue post-secondary education, and as such, understanding the unique challenges and opportunities associated with PUIs is critical to fostering an inclusive astronomy community throughout the next decade. We provide a view of the profession as lived and experienced by faculty and students of PUIs, while highlighting the unique opportunities, challenges, and obstacles routinely faced. A variety of recommendations are outlined to provide the supporting structures and resources needed for astronomy to thrive at PUIs over the next decade and beyond - a critical step for a profession focused on fostering and maintaining an inclusive, supportive, and diverse community.
The NSF-sponsored Undergraduate ALFALFA Team (UAT) promotes long-term collaborative research opportunities for faculty and students from 23 U.S. public and private primarily undergraduate institutions (PUIs) within the context of the extragalactic ALFALFA HI blind legacy survey project. Over twelve project years of partnering with Arecibo and Green Bank Observatories, the UAT has had a demonstrable impact on the health of a legacy astronomy project, science education, and equity/inclusion in astronomy, with successful outcomes for 373 UAT students (39% women; ~30% members of underrepresented groups) and 34 faculty (44% women). The UAT model is adaptable to many large scientific projects and can be supported by relatively modest funding. We recommend that granting agencies identify funding resources to support the model, either as an add-on to legacy grant support or as a stand-alone funding source. This could include encouragement of UAT-like components in large scale projects currently being developed, such as the LSST and TMT. By doing this, we will recognize the high numbers of astronomy research-trained heavy-teaching-load faculty at PUIs as an under-utilized resource of the astronomy community (see also White Paper by Ribaudo et al.). These members of our community have the skills and the strong desire to contribute meaningfully to their field, as well as the ability to encourage and interact closely with many talented and motivated undergraduate students from all backgrounds.
Integrating areas of current research into undergraduate physics labs can be a difficult task. The location of the magnetopause is one problem that can be examined with no prior exposure to space physics. The magnetopause location can be viewed as a pressure balance between the dynamic pressure of the solar wind and the magnetic pressure of the magnetosphere. In this lab sophomore and junior students examine the magnetopause location using simulation results from BATS-R-US global MHD code run at NASAs Community Coordinated Modeling Center. Students also analyze data from several spacecraft to find magnetopause crossings. The students get reasonable agreement between their results and model predictions from this lab as well as exposure to the tools and techniques of space physics.
Models that explain the economical and political realities of nowadays societies should help all the worlds citizens. Yet, the last four years showed that the current models are missing. Here we develop a dynamical society-deciders model showing that the long lasting economical stress can be solved when increasing fairness in nations. fairness is computed for each nation using indicators from economy and politics. Rather than austerity versus spending, the dynamical model suggests that solving crises in western societies is possible with regulations that reduce the stability of the deciders, while shifting wealth in the direction of the people. This shall increase the dynamics among socio-economic classes, further increasing fairness.
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