The students in the
Senior Design course of the Engineering Academy at
North Penn High School will study the emerging field
of nanotechnology as a unit to develop research and
documentation skills. To help prepare these
students for the challenges that the senior design
course will offer them, this introduction to
research and nanotechnology unit has been developed.
The students will be grouped into teams of three.
Their ultimate goal will be to use a process called
electrospinning to create their own nanofibers that
have an average diameter that is less than 300
nanometers. Each team will be given a specific
polymer to research. They will need to find all of
the chemical properties of the polymer, the MSDS
(Material Safety Data Sheet) for their polymer to
identify how to store, measure, and blend the
polymer into its solution. Engineering
documentation, web-based proposal development, a
study of the societal impacts of nanotechnology,
properties of polymeric materials, chemistry and
physics in the materials environment, and the use of
high level instrumentation at Drexel University is
all a part of the proposed activity.
This activity is like no other at the high school
level. Applying the knowledge of nanoscience and
nanotechnology to engineering education within the
Engineering Academy at North Penn High School
through the use of higher level mathematics,
statistical analysis, physics (quantum vs.
Newtonian), chemistry and formal research are the
goals of N.E.A.R. (Nanotechnology Exploration And
Research). Through the rigorous research process,
students will learn to analyze, quantify, and assess
their data while at the same time they will prepare
themselves for the rigors of college life and the
world of work.
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