| NSF Org: |
DUE Division Of Undergraduate Education |
| Recipient: |
|
| Initial Amendment Date: | August 21, 2012 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | February 28, 2017 |
| Award Number: | 1204279 |
| Award Instrument: | Continuing Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Virginia Carter
vccarter@nsf.gov (703)292-4651 DUE Division Of Undergraduate Education EDU Directorate for STEM Education |
| Start Date: | September 1, 2012 |
| End Date: | March 31, 2018 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $2,999,862.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $3,093,341.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
FY 2013 = $686,087.00 FY 2014 = $715,678.00 FY 2015 = $700,353.00 FY 2017 = $93,479.00 |
| History of Investigator: |
|
| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
1500 HARVARD AVE SEATTLE WA US 98122-3803 (206)934-2026 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
|
| Primary Place of Performance: |
9600 College Way N Seattle WA US 98103-3514 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
|
| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
|
| Parent UEI: |
|
| NSF Program(s): | Advanced Tech Education Prog |
| Primary Program Source: |
04001314DB NSF Education & Human Resource 04001415DB NSF Education & Human Resource 04001516DB NSF Education & Human Resource 04001718DB NSF Education & Human Resource |
| Program Reference Code(s): |
|
| Program Element Code(s): |
|
| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.076 |
ABSTRACT
This project establishes the Pacific Northwest NSF ATE Regional Center -- Seattle's Hub for Industry-driven Nanotechnology Education (SHINE). It builds on an ATE project that, since 2009, has developed extensive connections with academia, national labs, and industry throughout Washington, Oregon and Idaho. Taking the next step to formally expand SHINE's work into a Regional ATE Center brings even greater benefit to the nano-rich Pacific Northwest region.
Intellectual Merit: The field of nanotechnology is growing rapidly -- regionally, nationally, and worldwide -- and is becoming incorporated into virtually all science and engineering fields. As a result, nanotechnology is quickly becoming an integral part of our nation's economic future. A study funded by the National Science Foundation estimates that six million nanotechnology workers will be needed worldwide by 2020, with two million of those jobs in the United States. Despite these trends, current exposure to nanotechnology principles and concepts is largely absent across the K-12 and undergraduate formal education system. It is critical that our middle and high schools, as well as far more undergraduate serving institutions, become involved with instructing tomorrow's workforce about this growing scientific field.
As a Regional Center, SHINE addresses this need by: 1) engaging the public through hands-on informal Nanotechnology learning events; 2) expanding access to nanotechnology within the formal educational system, through both professional development for educators and direct work with students; 3) increasing the effectiveness of North Seattle Community College's two-year nanotechnology program to ensure a highly qualified and diverse Nanotech workforce -- introducing advanced instrumentation into the lab and increasing the program's diversity; and 4) coordinating closely with industry and education stakeholders to establish a coherent nanotechnology career and education pathway in the region -- including the establishment of multiple articulation agreements and launching new introductory "NANO 101" courses at partner institutions.
The Center serves as the leader of nanotechnology collaboration in the region, providing industry, educators, researchers, youth organizations, and the general public a point of contact and a resource for connecting to other nanotechnology stakeholders. SHINE also serves as the destination for interested students from across the region to enter into and pursue formal undergraduate nanotechnology education -- providing an educational pathway that exists nowhere else in the Pacific Northwest. SHINE's two-year college program at North Seattle Community College continues to expand, preparing graduates for immediate technician-level employment or for transfer to a 4-year institution to pursue an advanced degree and serving as a model and a resource for other nanotechnology programs in the region.
Broader Impacts: SHINE's extensive outreach programs, particularly marketing to groups underrepresented in STEM, and the ambitious impact targets that have been set, demonstrate a commitment to serving the entire Northwest region. SHINE's professional development Train the NanoTrainer program has a cascading effect, as participating educators bring nanotechnology to their students for years to come. The curriculum modules that are used for training (a combination of SHINE-developed and previously created units, drawing from several NSF-funded sources) are being disseminated widely through active participation at conferences and via the SHINE website. As a Regional Center, SHINE further enhances the national infrastructure for nanotechnology education by actively partnering with the National ATE Nanotechnology Center and several other Regional Centers in other parts of the US. These collaborations support the expansion of innovative educational strategies, such as providing remote access to instrumentation and developing new instructional labs that integrate research into training and learning.
PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
As an ATE Regional Center, Seattle’s Hub for Industry-driven Nanotechnology Education (SHINE) operated under the mission to coordinate, promote and improve the quality of nanotechnology technician education in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. SHINE consistently demonstrated progress towards this mission through programming in three strategic areas: 1) nanotechnology education, 2) high quality professional development, and 3) a user facility to support both nanotechnology education and industry.
NANOTECHNOLOGY EDUCATION: SHINE conducted extensive outreach to nearly 5,000 middle-, high-, and college-level student in order to educate people about the field of nanotechnology and to create a pipeline to its nanotechnology program. SHINE developed an Introduction to Nanotechnology class utilized by three high schools and one community college—reaching over 580 students. SHINE supported comprehensive nanotechnician education at North Seattle College (NSC) and provided students with a direct link to employers. Since 2013, students completed 87 internships at 28 sites; 46 students completed the Nano Program at NSC.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: SHINE has excelled in developing and delivering high quality professional development opportunities for educators at the 2-year college and high school levels. SHINE’s Train the Nano Trainer (TNT) workshops trained 63 educators from Washington, Oregon and Idaho. In 2015, the Center launched its SHINE Fellows Institute (SFI), an invitation-only 4-day professional development program to bring nanotechnology to students in a more impactful way. 11 high school and community college teachers participated in the SFI workshop, creating and piloting 5 new lab modules, which they distributed nationally on the Center, nanoHub, ATE Central, and Nanotechnology Applications and Career Knowledge (NACK) network websites.
In 2014, SHINE hosted the National Educators Workshop (NEW), sponsored by the National Resource Center for Materials Technology Education (MatEdU), with over 90 conference participants and 50 sessions, including four delivered by SHINE. The Center used this experience to host the 2015 Micro Nano Technology (MNT) Conference at NSC, produced by the six Micro/Nano ATE Centers. With 86 registered participants and 18 student volunteers, MNT featured an Exhibitor and Poster Showcase Session with seven vendor booths that had instrument/product demonstrations, 16 poster presentations, six Micro/Nano Center booths, and an Industry Panel facilitated by Nano-Link. Attendees overwhelmingly rated the MNT conference as either meeting or exceeding expectations (96%).
In order to broaden impact, SHINE collaborated with the five MNT Centers to reformat the MNT Conference, transforming it into 1-day MNT Special Interest Group Meeting at the 2017 High Impact Technology Exchange Conference at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, UT. The meeting included a Keynote Speaker; 5 Student/Industry Panelists moderated by the Southwest Center for Mircrosystems Education (SCME); 13 Breakout Sessions; a Poster & Networking Session; and tour of the University of Utah Nanofabrication Labs. Eighty educators, administrators, industry representatives, and students attended the meeting, with 90% of participant respondents rating their overall experience of the conference as Excellent or Good.
SHINE also participated extensively in other conferences in order to impact technician education and workforce needs on a regional and national scale. SHINE staff presented at 30 workshops and conferences over the life of the grant, with 43 distinct presentations involving over 1200 individuals. Through SHINE’s focus on developing and sharing curriculum content, the Center impacted an estimated 21,700 students.
USER FACILITY: SHINE developed a state-of-the-art user facility—the NSC Nano Lab—as a core resource to its work with students, educators and industry. SHINE established a User Access Model allowing industry to access its specialized equipment at a heavily discounted rate if an NSC nanotechnology student intern assisted the industry user. Over 95% of industry work performed in the Nano Lab utilized this model, providing industry-applicable hands-on training to NSC nanotechnology students and a valuable resource to small businesses. To better prepare students working in the Nano Lab, SHINE developed new Stackable Certificates for the five core Nano Lab instruments used most often by industry users.
To extend the reach of its user facility SHINE was a partner in the Remotely Accessible Instruments for Nanotechnology (RAIN) Network and supported low-barrier access to specialized equipment that is otherwise out of reach to students who are either geographically distant or who lack the resources to pay for such use. SHINE’s Nano Lab Facility hosted 37 remote access sessions, bringing nanotechnology to 509 students and teachers across the nation who would otherwise not have access.
Last Modified: 05/22/2018
Modified by: Kristine J Schroeder
Please report errors in award information by writing to: awardsearch@nsf.gov.
