introducing nanotechnology to mechanical and civil ...alhaik/introducing nanotechnology to...

Delivered by Ingenta toVirginia Polytechnic Institute amp State University

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Copyright copy 2010 American Scientific PublishersAll rights reservedPrinted in the United States of America

Journal ofNano Education

Vol 2 13ndash26 2010

Introducing Nanotechnology to Mechanical andCivil Engineering Students Through Materials

Science Courses

Marwan Al-Haik1lowast Claudia Luhrs2 Zayd Leseman3 and Mahmoud Reda Taha41Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics Virginia Tech Blacksburg VA 24061 USA

2Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Naval Postgraduate School Monterey CA 93943 USA3Department of Mechanical Engineering University of New Mexico Albuquerque NM 87131 USA

4Department of Civil Engineering University of New Mexico Albuquerque NM 87131 USA

Four junior faculty members from the Mechanical and Civil Engineering Departments at the Uni-versity of New Mexico (UNM) have developed new experiments and pedagogical methods thatintroduce undergraduate students to the field of nanotechnology Toward this effort we introducedldquoNanotechnology Discovery Coursesrdquo that comprise two interlocking undergraduate engineeringmaterials science core courses enriched with three nanotechnology modules and four hands-onnanotechnology experiments Using this framework ensured continuous flow of nanotechnology con-cepts to a senior level technical elective course that equips students with hands-on experience inconstructing nanomicro systems and devices Between the two leading departments of the project153 undergraduate students were exposed to the nanotechnology discovery courses by their junioryear during the academic years 2008ndash2009 The developed nanomodules while familiarizing UNMstudents with nanotechnology did not strain the outline of classical material science courses nordid it financially burden the students (for example there were no extra lab fees) Affirmative surveyindicated that more than 67 of the students strongly favored the newly implemented nanomod-ules Furthermore 65 of the surveyed students preferred including nanotechnology in the corecourses rather than a standalone course Students favored the hands on experiments that requiredminimal calibration (Scanning electron microscopy) compared to experiments that required inten-sive calibration and post analysis of data (for example nanoindentation) Based on the successof this pilot research several undergraduate students participated in nanotechnology research atUNM The major finding of this investigation is that nanotechnology education can be introducedto the engineering curricula by incorporating nanotechnology modules in core courses mentor-ing undergraduate students in nanotechnology research and introducing a standalone senior-levelnanosytems course

Keywords Undergraduate Education Microstructure Nanomaterials Carbon NanotubesCeramics Nanoparticles Microelectromechanical Systems NanoindentationNanomodules Nanodevices

1 INTRODUCTION

The idea of introducing nanotechnology to the engineer-ing curriculum is as old as the nanotechnology field itselfOne of the first standalone nanotechnology undergraduatedegrees in the world was established at Flinders Univer-sity (Australia) in 2000 The pioneers at Flinders raised avaluable concern ldquoThe field (nanotechnology) is currentlyin its infancy and is incredibly broad spanning chemistryphysics biology mathematics and engineering This is in

lowastAuthor to whom correspondence should be addressed

fact probably an incomplete list but it makes the pointHow do you possibly teach all these areas to students ina four year honors degreerdquo Alternatively other investi-gators have proposed utilizing lower division courses asa departure course to familiarize undergraduate studentswith the concepts of nanotechnologyThere has been several nanotechnology courses devel-

oped at other universities as well Loyola MarymountUniversity developed a new course (Introduction to Nano-technology) toward biological applications Faculty inNorthwestern Universityrsquos Materials Science amp Engineer-ing Department introduced a new nanotechnology course

J Nano Educ 2010 Vol 2 No 12 1936-744920102013014 doi101166jne20101008 13


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Introducing Nanotechnology to Mechanical and Civil Engineering Students Through Materials Science Courses Al-Haik et al

to senior undergraduate and junior graduate students andreported the experience as a successful practice Instructorsat the University of Nevada introduced five blocks to teachthe core principals of nanotechnology to audiences withvarying levels of understanding All these successful pio-neering experiences developed new undergraduate coursesbut most offered these new courses only as optional ortechnical electives Additionally most of these courseswere developed by a single department although offeredto several other departmentsThe authors of this article believe that in order for a

nanotechnology program to flourish it must take root in acurriculumrsquos core courses and be taught by a multidisci-plinary group of instructors A current successful exam-ple of a multidisciplinary effort is at Union College inSchenectady New York A National Science Foundation(NSF) grant was awarded to this predominately liberal artscampus of 2000 students (15 percent of whom are engi-neering students) With prerequisites of calculus physicsand chemistry the investigators have developed Frontierof Nanotechnology and Nanomaterials that was offered tosophomore science and engineering majorsAll efforts to teach nanotechnology to undergradu-

ates can be broken into two main types of approachesstrictly virtual (ie simulated) and hands-on Proponentsof the strictly virtual (hands-off) approach argued thatldquo nanotechnology experiments are delicate limited inavailability and expensive to set up and maintain The useof a web-based approach circumvents these drawbacks andenables the experiment to be run securely safely and ona 247 basisrdquo Meanwhile other investigators highlightedthe importance of bringing hands-on experience to inte-grate nanotechnology into the undergraduate curriculumFor example a group at the University of Nevada-Renohas carried out an experiment to move nanotechnol-ogymicrotechnology to the undergraduate and graduateclassroom in related fields of scanning-probe micro-scope (SPM) technology Another example is Polla et alwho brought hands-on microelectromechanical systems(MEMS) fabrication into the undergraduate curriculumOur own experiences a published studentrsquos opinionand other engineering and science educatorsrsquo experiencesare all in favor of introducing hands-on experimentalmodulesDespite the difference in the methods and tools most of

the cited literature and the current group of authors sharethe NSF view that ldquo Adding nanoscale perspectives inteaching leads to better fundamental understanding shar-ing similar concepts and courses in various disciplines andareas of relevance (combining the lsquodepthrsquo of nanosciencewith the lsquobreathrsquo of all affected areas) and broader acces-sibility to science and technologyrdquo Keeping this viewin focus the subsequent sections detail a plan that wascarried out to integrate nanotechnology into existing corecourses in the Mechanical and Civil Engineering curricula

at the University of New Mexico (UNM) This was accom-plished by adding new lecture components to two materialsscience core courses to introduce the students to particularaspects of nanotechnology Reinforcement on these top-ics was planned by hands-on experiments that utilize theUNMrsquos existing nanotechnology infrastructure These dis-covery courses are prerequisites for an additional newlydeveloped course on the theory fabrication and charac-terization of nanosystemsdevices This course also has alaboratory component where students fabricate nanosys-temsdevices in the clean room The rest of this articleoutlines the newly developed nanomodules and providessome preliminary results together with proposed futurework to improve the ongoing nanotechnology education atthe UNM

2 GOALS OBJECTIVES AND INTENDEDEDUCATIONAL OUTCOMES

As future scientists and engineers students should beprepared to enter a workforce that requires knowledge ofnanotechnology Four junior faculty members from twoengineering programs at the University of New Mexicoa

Albuquerque NM have employed their collective knowl-edge in nanotechnology to develop new experiments andpedagogical methods to help introduce undergraduate stu-dents to this field of cutting-edge research by no laterthan their junior year Our goal was to cultivate a cul-tural change in engineering undergraduate education atthe UNM by tying the material science curriculum acrossthe school of engineering (SOE) through a group ofintegrated learning modules focused on nanoscience andnanotechnologyWe envisioned creating a series of interlocking courses

for undergraduate nanoscience education This develop-ment leveraged two programs at the UNM Mechani-cal Engineering and Civil Engineering This investigationdeveloped and tuned Nanotechnology Discovery Coursesthat comprised two interlocking undergraduate Engi-neering Materials Science core courses (ME370CE305)enriched with three nanotechnology modules (Introductionto Nanotechnology Nanostructures and Nanosynthesis andNanocharacterization) and two materials science labora-tories (ME352CE305) that employ four hands-on nano-technology experiments (eg use of electron microscopyX-ray diffraction (XRD) and nanoindentation)This approach carries the following novel aspects

bull While familiarizing student with nanotechnology it doesnot strain the general outline of classical materials sciencecourse for being introduced as a set of separate modules

aAll four authors were at UNM at the time of the implementation ofthe nanotechnology modules (2008ndash2009) two of the authors moved toother institutions in 2010ndash2011

14 J Nano Educ 2 13ndash26 2010


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Al-Haik et al Introducing Nanotechnology to Mechanical and Civil Engineering Students Through Materials Science Courses

bull Utilizing core course for the introduction of nanotech-nology into the curriculum will not financially burdenthe students for example no extra lab fees will benecessarybull The proposed integration of nanotechnology into mate-rials science core courses and interdepartmental technicalelectives will readily provide students with different back-grounds from crosscutting programs (mechanical and civilengineering) with nanotechnology experience that is natu-rally interdisciplinarybull As an alternative to web-based computer interactivemodules we use state-of-the-art facilities at the disposalof engineering students at UNM to introduce experimentalmodules that are robust easy to grasp and depict practicalapplications

3 ENGINEERING MATERIAL SCIENCEUNDERGRADUATE CORE COURSES

Starting in the spring semester 2008 two exist-ing UNM materials science courses were revised byincluding mutual nanotechnology componentsmodulesboth theoretically and experimentally The MechanicalEngineering Department at the UNM typically offers itsupper-division undergraduate materials science (ME370Engineering Materials Science 3 credit hours) and its labcourse (ME352 Experiments in Materials Science 1 credithour) in the format of one-semester themed modules Theformer outline of the course covers the structure of mat-ter and its relation to mechanical properties the mechani-cal behavior of structural materialsmdashmetals ceramics andpolymers Its prerequisite is general chemistry This courseis typically taken by students during their junior yearand is required of all senior-level mechanical engineeringstudents It is also a prerequisite for the upper-divisiondesign course ME460 The course and the laboratory areoffered twice a year (during both the spring and fallsemesters) The course is taught using two 90-minute lec-tures every week Lectures are typically delivered usingMicrosoft PowerPoint presentations sample problems aresolved on a weekly basis The textbook in use for thisclass is the book by Callister The Materials Laboratory(ME352L) course covers the effects of microstructureprocessing composition and thermal treatment on thephysical and mechanical properties of engineering mate-rials The laboratory is taught on a weekly basis con-sisting of three-hour sessions The students are dividedinto teams of 3ndash4 students The lab manual was writtenby the authors and posted to the students via the lab-oratory web page The laboratory consisted of classicalmodules dealing with topics such as grains-microstructure(polishing and light microscopy) Brinell and Vickers hard-ness tests the Charpy impact test and the tension testThe class lectures problem solutions and handouts were

maintained at a dedicated web page developed by theauthorsThe Department of Civil Engineering at the UNM cur-

rently offers an undergraduate civil engineering materialsclass and laboratory (CE305) This 4-hour credit courseincludes two 90-minute lectures and one 3-hour weeklyexperiment This core course is required for all civil engi-neering students and is a prerequisite for all 400-level civilengineering courses CE305 provides the basis for materialscience to civil engineering students as well as the funda-mental background on civil engineering materials such asthe fundamentals of bonding of materials phase diagramsand the behavior of materials under stress including frac-ture and fatigue The course also covers basic construc-tion materials such as steel Portland cement aggregateconcrete masonry wood and asphalt Lectures also intro-duce the microstructure of major civil engineering mate-rials such as concrete and cover how this microstructureaffects the macroscale behavior Lecture notes and solu-tions to sample problems are available to students via thecourse website as the course integrates a number of text-books that cross the area between material science civilengineering materials behavior and testing CE305 is thefirst place where CE students realize the multi-scale linkbetween a materialrsquos atomic structure microstructure andits macroscale behavior On its classical formmdashprior tothe nanomodulus implementationmdashmost laboratory exper-iments focus on macroscale phenomena The CE305 lab-oratory introduces to students the stressndashstrain curves formaterials determining the properties of concrete usingdestructive and non-destructive testing methods and thebehavior of wood and aluminumThese two courseslaboratories are required for all

senior students majoring in Mechanical and Civil engineer-ing and are offered twice a year On average 25ndash30 stu-dents take the ME370352L course every semester CE305is offered once annually and typically has a class size of35ndash40 students

4 NEW EDUCATIONAL NANOTECHNOLOGYMODULES

We have integrated three nanotechnology modules intothe two materials science courses The lecture portionsof this class ME370CE305 were redesigned to includethree nanotechnology modules While a sole instructortaught the classical parts of the courses the newly devel-oped modules were co-taught concurrently by all the fourauthors The developed modules are

41 Module 1 Introduction to Nanotechnology

This module defines a framework in terms of the mate-rialsdimensions considered for study and describes dif-ferent types of nanomaterials that have been synthesized

J Nano Educ 2 13ndash26 2010 15


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for applications in nanotechnology (nanoparticles nano-tubes and thin films) It further explains the superior prop-erties of nanomaterials as a result of the reduction ofdimensions (an almost defect-free structure) The modulealso explains the size-dependent properties (mechanicaloptical and electricalmdashferroelectric and ferromagnetic)The module concludes by describing the current andfuture novel prospects of nanomaterials mechanical andstructuralmdashcarbon nanotubes electronics (semiconductors)and energy (photovoltaic ceramic nanoparticles) amongothers

42 Module 2 Nanostructure and Nanosynthesis

In this module the structure of the materials is explainedusing a ldquobottom-uprdquo approach While this is usuallythe case for the classical treatment of the microstruc-ture of metals (atom-crystal-grain) cement composites(crystals-transition zones-composite) ceramics (molecule-crystal) and polymer (atom-mer-molecule-chain) themodule explicitly introduces nanomaterials with usefulstructureproperties at the nanoscale such as increasedtensile strength enhanced fracture toughness and fatiguelife The concept of nanoscale is bound to the currentlytaught concepts of bond energy and principles of fractureand the long-sought defect-free materials The ldquotop-downrdquoapproach is also introduced although not explored in detailThis module is divided into two parts Part I Carbon

Nanostructures and Part II Ceramics and NanoparticlesPart I discusses the nature of the carbon bond and inter-atomic potentials This part also introduces briefly somecarbon allotropes (different molecular configuration atomsare bonded together in a different manner) that pure car-bon can take including diamond graphite lonsdaleiteC60 C540 C70 amorphous carbon and carbon nanotubes(CNTs) as shown in Figure 1 The module elaborates onCNTs (chirality single wall and multiwall CNTs) Themodule also discuss different CNT fabrication methodsand current applications mechanical reinforcement fieldemission fuel cells and chemical sensorsPart II focuses on ceramics and nanoparticles where

the students get introduced to the generation process ofnovel ceramic nanoparticles and some of their applica-tions as catalysts coatings sensors and fuel cells Systemssuch as SiO2 TiO2 CeZr oxides Al2O3 metal-ceramiccomposites and complex oxides are reviewed The newlyintroduced nanosilica and nanoalumina particles and theirinfluence on the strength and microstructure of cementi-tious composites are also discussed

43 Module 3 Nanomaterialrsquos Properties andCharacterization

This module introduces undergraduate students tocommonly used equipment and techniques for charac-terization of materials at the nanoscale The theoretical

Fig 1 Some carbon allotropes that pure carbon can take (a) diamond(b) graphite (c) lonsdaleite (d) C60 (e) C540 (f) C70 (g) amorphouscarbon and (h) carbon nanotube

background for some electron microscopy techniques(scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmissionelectron microscopy (TEM)) is demonstrated and theiruses explained from the aspects of studies on size mor-phology internal structure and chemical composition Themost commonly used method for mechanical characteri-zation of materials at the nanoscalemdashnanoindentationmdashisalso described in one full lecture Finally a lecture onthe electrical properties of nanomaterials is given in theprospect of materials of microelectromechanical systems(MEMS) and devices emphasizing the length scale effecton electrical properties with special attention given toCNTsModule 3 is also divided into three parts Part I is

focused on electron microscopy Part II is dedicated tomaterial characterization and Part III examines electronicproperties The students in a typical materials science classare fascinated and intrigued when they see (in the text-book or course notes) images produced by TEM and SEMsuch as famous images showing fault stacking or vacan-cies interstitial voids and calcium hydroxide (CH) crys-tals stacked at the transition zone However the studentsusually are not taught how a TEM and SEM can producesuch images at a very small scale The purpose of Part I inthis module is to provide the student enough backgroundabout the principles of how TEM and SEM function Inthis module we provide a description of electrical lenseselectron beam generation vacuum chamber and so onThe TEM and SEM are both located in user facilities at the



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UNMrsquos main campus steps away from both the Mechan-ical and Civil Engineering DepartmentsFurthermore in Part II the students are directed to

examine methods of mechanical characterization usingnanotechnology Since its inception in 1992 nanoinden-tation has quickly become the workhorse for determin-ing nanomechanical properties This method is commonlyused to find a materialrsquos elastic modulus and hardnessvalues The theory of nanoindentation for metals poly-mers and ceramic is introduced with an emphasis on itsadvantage over its macroscopic counterpart For examplenanoindentation can be utilized to test materials that arenot necessarily precast or machined in a specific shape (forexample mechanical testing of a human tooth (Al-Haiket al 2008)) such as the famous dog bone-shaped tensiletest sample Also nanoindentation can be used to test verythin materials or materials that are too brittle (for exampletesting the micro beams on a MEMS chip (Trinke et al2009)) The methods of obtaining the Youngrsquos modulusand hardness values and reproducibility of data also arediscussed The challenges in linking these observations tomacroscale properties are explainedIn Part III students examine electronic properties One

lecture is planned to introduce fundamental concepts aboutthe electrical properties of materials Using these basicconcepts the electrical properties of CNTs and their usein field effect transistors are discussedA schematic representation of how the three modules

and their parts are integrated in both ME370 and CE305 isshown in Figure 2 The rationale in selecting the modulesto be incorporated in each course is to accommodatespecific discipline needs while emphasizing the multi-disciplinary nature of the integrated materials Students ofboth classes will be sharing these modules in both lecturesand the laboratory experienceBeside the in-class and hands-on nanomaterials mod-

ules students also were asked to prepare a term paperdiscussing a specific application of nanotechnology andornanomaterials and their role in society The term papers

Fig 2 Nanoscience educational modules being used to integrate mate-rials science classes across the School of Engineering at UNM

were submitted individually and covered topics such asethics in nanotechnology nanomaterials for energy andbiomedical applications of nanomaterials Each studenthad to read at least five refereed scholarly articles in topicsrelated to his or her term paper to be aware of the state ofthe art

5 INTEGRATING NANOTECHNOLOGYMODULES TO THE MATERIALS SCIENCELABORATORIES

The laboratory component ME352 and the lab for CE305were modified to include four experimental nanotechnol-ogy modules that were co-taught by the four authorsWhile all four experimental nanotechnology modules wereadopted in mechanical engineering ME352L only threeexperimental nanomodules were adopted in the lab of civilengineering CE305 The choice of the modules adoptedin the CE305 lab was governed by the parts adopted onthe nanotechnology lecture modules in CE305 and thespecific needs for the CE305 laboratory to cover otherspecific experiments related to civil engineering materialsThe plan for the experiments adopted in both laboratoriesis shown in Table I All laboratory work in both ME352Land CE305 was arranged using laboratory teams with eth-nic and gender diversity taken into account We presenthere two sample nanoexperiment modules for clarifyingthe nature of the revised lab modules

51 Lab Module 1 Nanoindentation Experiment

Examining material properties using hardness tests hasbeen used as non-destructive tests for metals for the last100 years Indentation depends on pushing a hard indenterinto the surface of the material and recording the load andindentation depth In traditional experiments students inME370CE305 learned about determining material hard-ness which is a measure of a materialrsquos resistance to sur-face penetration by two hardness tests macro hardness(using Rockwell andor Brinell) and micro hardness (usingVickers microindentation with a diamond pyramid) In thenewly developed experiments the interest lies in determin-ing nanoscale hardness Researchers showed that materialnanoscale hardness could be related to material stiffness(elastic modulus) and energy absorption (toughness andresilience) (Oliver amp Pharr 1992)The recent advances in hardware control and

loaddisplacement measurements at the nanoscale trans-formed nanoindentation into a technology that is bothrobust and reliable for materials mechanical characteriza-tion Nanoindentation experiments comprise loading thespecimen to a specific load (usually in the range of microto milli Newton (mN)) keeping the load constant for a fewseconds to realize materials creep (strain growth with time)



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Table I Integrated nanotechnologymdashmaterials science laboratories (ME352L and CE305)

Week ME352 (the lab for ME370) NEU modules CE305 lab

1 Labs tour and safety procedures Measurements and technical reports

2 Technical writing measurements Compression and bending tests of wood

3 Metallography Molding grindingpolishing and light microscopy

Tension test of mild steel Torsion test ofaluminum

4 Module 1 SEM dislocation in brass Module 1 Electron scan microscopy (SEM) Module 1 SEM of cement morphology

5 Hardness Brinell and Vickers Charpy v-notch impact test Brinell andVickers hardness tests

6 Module 2 Nanoindentation of brass Module 2 Nanoindentation Module 2 Nanoindentation of cement

7 Charpy impact testing Aggregate gradation unit weight and voidsin aggregate

8 Tensile testing Elasticndashplastic deformation Cement mortar setting time blain fineness

9 Heat treatment Annealing and quenching Concrete batching and fresh concretetesting

10 Module 3 Nanoindentation Effect of heat treatment on steel modulus and hardness

11 Module 4 Module 4 Transmission electron microscopy(TEM) of alumina nanoparticles carbonnanotubes

Asphalt experiments gyratory compactionrice specific gravity resilience modulus

12 Ductile to brittle transition in metals Concrete testing Youngrsquos modulus ampPoissonrsquos ratio of PCC

and unloading the specimen leaving an indentation impres-sion A picture and schematic representation of the nanoin-denter (NanoTestreg) that was used for nanoindentation testsare shown in Figure 3 The NanoTest system is capableof measuring hardness modulus toughness adhesion andmany other properties of thin films and other surfaces TheNanoTest is a fully modular system that allows users toconfigure the system to meet their individual needs Alter-native nanoindentation machines are available with differ-ent working mechanisms but all nanoindenters providea time-dependent load-indentation depth response of thematerial and can also provide a three-dimensional imageof the indentation impression using an atomic force micro-scope (AFM) or a high resolution digital camera typicallyavailable with the indenterIn this experiment students indented four samples using

the nanoindentation 4340 steel that was heat treated andleft to cool at different cooling rates by changing themedium (furnace air oil and water) Sample nanoinden-tation curves of the heat-treated steel samples are shownin Figure 4 Students indent 5 samples at a 50-mN loadand will find the nanoscale properties of the different sam-ples using the load versus nanoindentation depth curvesWhile the theory of nanoindentation was covered previ-ously in the lecture modules added to the materials sciencecourses students learned how the Youngrsquos modulus andhardness values can be obtained using the OliverndashPharrmethod through a built-in Java template with the Nano-Test system Finally students also learned how tone canuse an instrumented AFM attached to the NanoTest sys-tem to locate the trace of indentation they performed onthe samplersquos surface Civil engineering students (CE305)

used nanoindentation to test concrete as an inhomogeneousmaterial with different phases

52 Lab Module 2 Scanning ElectronMicroscopy (SEM)

In this module students in each discipline are directedto use the SEM to investigate one material of interestWhile the mechanical engineering students were mentoredto use the SEM to identify carbon nanostructures stu-dents in civil engineering utilized the SEM to identifythe nano- and microstructure of cementitious compositesThe SEM sessions for mechanical engineering students aredevoted to the study of carbon-based nanomaterials nano-tubes nanofibers and metal-carbon composites Nanosizedcarbon tubes fibers and particulates are analyzed at var-ious degrees their shape size and composition are thefocus of the practices Alignment operations of the micro-scope and sample preparation techniques were demon-strated Students have the opportunity to introduce samplesinto a microscope chamber and perform basic functions toacquire images under supervisionOn the other hand civil engineering students study

cement and its hydration under the SEM Students examinethe factors affecting the reactivity of cements For exam-ple high tricalcium silicate (Ca3SiO5 also known as aliteor C3S) content yields a high early strength gain whilehigh gypsum content yields even higher early strengthsThe microstructure of aggregates also plays a role in dic-tating the mechanical properties of concrete For exam-ple finer aggregates lead to more exposed surfaces towater contact which in return facilitates a higher ratereaction of cement leading to higher early strengths This



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Fig 3 Layout and schematic of the NanoTestreg system used for thenanoindentation lab module

module introduces different cements pastes to civil engi-neering students with the intention of studying the phasepresent in the samples by SEM Figure 5(a) shows anSEM micrograph of the calcium silicate hydrate (CndashSndashH)which is a colloidal gel that is a very complex poorly crys-talline material Figure 5(b) shows an SEM micrographof (monosulphoaluminate) Ettringite which forms in theearly stages and later converts to a plate-like microstruc-ture when gypsum is used and water is available FinallyFigure 5(c) shows calcium hydroxide (CH) crystals whichtake the form of a plate-like material and are responsi-ble for the low strength and non-durable performance ofconcrete and mortarRegardless of whether the experiment was classical or a

new nanoexperiment for ME352 there were 3 lab sections

every week each lab had 4 groups of students (3ndash4 stu-dents) performing the same experiment For civil engineer-ing students there were 2 lab sections every week and thestudents were divided into 4 groups for every experimentBecause we wanted the new nanoexperiments to be

hands-on we carried out specific arrangements to ensurethe students interactions with several instruments whilemaintaining the instruments in operational mode In theSEM module usually the instructor or a graduate studentplaces the samples inside the microscope chamber andgets the machine to the running mode prior to the exper-iment The students usually were divided into groups of4 each and each group got the instrument for a halfhourto capture an image Given that the students had not usedthe instruments before and the instruments are dual usagethe studentsrsquo supervision was strict For example studentswere not allowed to change the hardware setup or ventthe chamber We just focused on getting the students tobe able to control the spot size focus on a single featureand control the contrast brightness fine-focus and stigmatathen capture an image The TEM experiments were solelyrun by the instructors considering the level of sophisti-cation needed to run the instruments However studentswho participated in the investigatorrsquos research group wereable to learn the full operation of the TEM and some ofthem were successful in obtaining highquality images forpublications presentations and postersFor the nanoindentation experiments the instruc-

torgraduate students usually install the sample and cali-brate the instrument (this might take 2 hours so usuallythe machine was kept running 6 hours prior to the exper-iment) As the machine is fully computer-controlled stu-dents did not need to open the NanoTest enclosing cabinetAnd since the cabinet is made of plexiglass it was easyfor the students to observe the experiment stage move-ment engaging and disengaging of the indenter tip andthe sample For the nanoindentation students were allowedto use the sample stage controllermotor to bring the sam-ple within 25 micron from the indenter tip A pre-writtenindentation test template was carried outmdashusually for lessthan 5 minutesmdashand the students used the NanoTest analy-sis software to get the final results of interest elastic mod-ulus and hardness Simplified instructions to perform thesetasks were handed to students prior to the lab After thestudents performed one nanoindentation cycle and ana-lyzed it they were handed data from 25 nanoindentationtests that were carried out by the instructorteaching assis-tant so they could perform statistical analysis

6 NEW COURSE DEVELOPMENT

We introduced a new course ME461-E on the the-ory fabrication and characterization of nanomicro-electromechanical systems (NEMSMEMS) This coursewas offered twice in the fall semesters of 2008 and 2009



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(a) (b)

(c) (d)

Fig 4 Nanoindentation curves (loading-unloading) for different samples of 4030 steel that were heat treated at different cooling rates (a) slowcooling in furnace (b) cooling in air (c) quenching in oil and (d) quenching in water

This course is a laboratory course on the physical the-ory design analysis fabrication and characterizationof nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) and micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) The main objectiveof this course is the fabrication of important types ofnanomicrostructures used in NEMSMEMS devices andsystems by multi-disciplinary and multi-ethnicity teamsTherefore the emphasis was on techniques used in thesynthesis and fabrication of NEMSMEMS Basic tech-niques were discussed separately and then sequenced inorder to build up these commonly used processes Exam-ples of the fabrication techniques discussed are photo-lithography nanolithography deposition and growth ofthin films and CNTs dry and wet chemical etching andalignment and bonding techniquesWith the funding from another NSF grant we were

able to add classroom modules on using focused ion beam(FIB) technology for nanolithography and nanopattern-ing of substrates as well as new modules on CNTs Achemical vapor deposition furnace for growth of CNTswas designed built and operated by undergraduate stu-dents using support from the current grant Figure 6 showssome of the CNTs that were grown We envision thatthis experiment module will be a permanent part of future

laboratories barring any unforeseen circumstances such ashappened in the first semester we attempted this moduleIn addition to the CNT modules students also performedexperiments where they make nano-thickness membranesused as pressure sensors and MEMS actuators A pic-ture of an MEMS actuator that was made in ME461-E isshown in Figure 7(a) and a photograph of students work-ing on the fabrication experiment in the UNM clean roomis shown in Figure 7(b) For ME461-E there was one labsession every week with roughly 4 groups of students

7 RESULTS FROM IMPLEMENTATIONOVER TWO YEARS

The developed nanomodules were delivered at the UNMin 2008 and 2009 The new modules contributed heavilytoward tailoring the mechanical and civil engineering cur-ricula toward nanomaterials through a series of seven classlectures and four hands-on experimental modules togetherwith training through undergraduate researchTo accommodate the new modulus in the ME370CE305

we modified the class curriculum by removing topics suchas diffusion which is covered later in the senior year alongwith courses such as heat transfer and thermodynamics



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(a)

(b)

(c)

Fig 5 SEM micrographs of cement components (a) CndashSndashH com-pound (b) ettringite and (c) CH crystals

Also we removed the manufacturing aspects of materialsas there was a dedicated course that covers the manufac-turing processes offered by the department of MechanicalEngineering Finally we eliminated the materials selec-tion lectures as the ME department introduced a dedicatedcourse for materials selection in designFor the laboratory we switched one of the

macromicroscale hardness tests with the nanoindentationAlso instead of utilizing the Charpy test to measure thebrittleness of steel as a result of different cooling rates we

Fig 6 SEM and TEM images of single walled carbon nanotubes(SWCNTs) (a) and (b) are SEM images of SWCNTs aligned to their(100) Si substrate (c) and (d) are TEM images of SWCNTs

utilized nanoindentation to measure the hardness modulusand qualitative measure of toughness Also we got rid ofa lab session that was a dedicated statistical analysis ofexperimental data because the students are exposed to thisin the measurement course and as a standalone course instatistics However we kept the writeup for the statisticalanalysis posted on the lab web pageBy the end of each semester upon finishing the deliv-

ery of all the nanotechnology lectures and experiments asurvey was conducted to probe studentsrsquo opinion and sug-gestions regarding the nanomaterials modules The surveyconsistent of 17 questions asking the student to rank dif-ferent aspects of the nanomodules (substance relevancecontent instructor background preparation etc) Roughly110 students from Mechanical Engineering and 53 studentsfrom Civil Engineering participated in the survey The sur-vey was conducted anonymously and students were pro-vided extra space to provide additional comments as theysaw fit The survey questions together with the accumu-lated results are shown in Table IIBased on feedback from the survey the studentsrsquo

responses were very positive and encouraging in termsof continuing to improve the modules Sample statisticson the response to three questions from the survey areshown in Figure 8 Overall the majority of the students(67) ranked the nanotechnology experience gained bythe enriched materials courses as very good to excellentAbout 8 of the students did not have a positive opinionfor the nanomodules Unfortunately students who gave a



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(a) (b)

Fig 7 (a) A MEMS actuator fabricated by students involved in the NUE program (b) Students fabricating MEMS inside a University of New Mexicoclean room during the NEMSMEMS class

poor evaluation of the program did not provide any con-structive written feedback or suggestions to improve theprogram in the futureThe fact that students with construction manage-

ment background represent about 30ndash40 of the civil

Table II Results of the survey conducted after the implementation of Nanomodules in ME370ME352L and CE305

1 What is your opinion of the ME340CE305 course material in general (lectures handouts and lab experiments)Excellent (39) V-Good (32) Good (21) Fair (8) Poor (0) No opinion (0)

2 What is your opinion of the nanomaterials lecturesExcellent (27) V-Good (41) Good (24) Fair (7) Poor (1) No opinion (0)

3 What is your opinion of including the nanoexperiment nanoindentation SEM TEM and XRDExcellent (13) V-Good (61) Good (22) Fair (0) Poor (5) No opinion (0)

4 On a scale of 5ndash1 were the learning objectives of the new nanomaterials modules clear to you(5) Perfectly clear (22) 4 (31) 3 (39) 2 (5) (1) Very unclear (0) No opinion (3)

5 On a scale of 5ndash2 did you have enough knowledge from earlier courses that you found to be useful for this course(5) Very much so (44) 4 (26) 3 (21) 2 (9) (1) Not at all (0) No opinion (0)

6 Did the nanomaterials modules provide enough knowledge of what nanomaterials are their applications and the impact ofnanotechnology on society

Yes I think so (34) Just enough knowledge (27) Fair level of knowledge (31) Very little knowledge (8) Not at all (0)

7 Do you believe the introduction of the nanomaterials to ME370CE305 helped you get a better understanding of the nanomaterials areaStrongly agree (23) Agree (45) Disagree (21) Strongly disagree (5) No opinion (6)

8 Should the nanomodules be taught in a separate standalone course Or should they be kept in the current modules form in ME370CE305Keep it as modules in ME370CE305 (65) Offer it as a standalone course (31) No opinion (4)

9 Which of the following laboratories did you like the most or the leastNano Indentation SEMTEM XRD

Most (26) Least (44) Most (48) Least (22) Most (26) Least (34)

10 Which specific topic would you would to have covered in more detail in this courseNanostructures and Nanosynthesis (56) Carbon Nanotubes (26) Ceramics Nanoparticles (9) Nanocharacterization (9)

11 Generally are you interested in taking other courses in nanotechnology if provided as technical electivesVery interested (67) Interested (13) Little interested (11) Not interested at all (9)

12 Given your experience in ME370CE305 would you be interested in taking ME461-E (Theory Fabrication and Characterization ofNanomicro Electromechanical Systems (NEMSMEMS))

Yes (61) Possibly (26) No (10) No opinion (3)Note Students were provided with the syllabus in advance

13 Given your experience in ME370CE305 would you be interested in taking ME462 (Nanomaterials Preparation and Characterization)Yes (44) Possibly (34) No (13) No opinion (9)Note Students were provided with the syllabus in advance

14 Do you see the term paper as a useful experience that assisted you in exploring and identifying useful and societal applications of nanomaterialsStrongly agree (61) Agree (30) Disagree (9) Strongly disagree (0)

15 Would you recommend ME370CE305 with nanomodules to your colleagues at the UNM College of EngineeringYes (63) Possibly (18) No (15) No opinion (4)

16 Please explain briefly why you took this course (ME70CE305)17 Please provide any remarks suggestions to improve the nanomodules

engineering materials class might have an impact on theresults of that survey Construction management studentsenroll in the civil engineering materials class to gainmaterial science knowledge necessary for their degreerequirements However most of construction management



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Fig 8 Sample studentsrsquo evaluation of the nanotechnology modulesintroduced to ME370 and CE305

students lack the major engineering background Thesignificance of background difference on studentsrsquo perfor-mance in civil engineering materials class have been dis-cussed elsewhereThe majority of the students (70) have indicated that

they had some helpful background from earlier courses(mainly chemistry) that they found to be useful in thenewly introduced nanomodules As an outcome of theimplementation 61 of the students have indicated thatthe nanolectures and experiments have equipped them witha high to satisfactory level of knowledge on what qualifyas nanomaterials and their impact on society Despite therushed approach in the first semester by the end of thetwo yearsrsquo implementation a significant percentage (65)of the civil and mechanical engineering undergraduates

who took the materials science course felt strongly thatthe nanomodules should be employed in the two mate-rials science courses (ME370CE305) only 31 of thesurvey population suggested offering these modules as astandalone course As far as probing the studentsrsquo inter-ests in specific modules mostly the students preferred tofocus more on nanosynthesis nanostructures and CNTsas compared to nanocharacterization or ceramic nanopar-ticles In general 67 of the students expressed that theyare very interested in another course in nanotechnologysome of them indicated that they are somewhat interested(13) given that this will count as a technical electivereplacing one of the classical technical electives coursesSpecifically 61 of the students expressed serious inter-est in taking the ME461-E course In actuality 34 studentshave enrolled for ME461-E (NEMSMEMS) The desireto take another course in nanomaterials preparation andnanocharacterization was not as assertive only 44 of thestudents expressed a strong interest in that courseThe survey also indicated that the students also pre-

ferred to learn more about nano applications nanoma-terials and nanotechnology societal implications throughthe term paper mechanism The term papers reflected thestudent awareness of the importance of nanotechnologynanomaterials and systems in the society Roughly 91of the students favored this mechanism as a means tolearn more about how nanotechnology affects an applica-tion of their choice such as energy biomedical imagingand sensorsThe survey also asked the students to provide sug-

gestionscritiques to improve the nanomodules Studentswho evaluated the nanomodules as good to excellentasked for more hands-on exposure in smaller groups (typ-ically nanoexperiment groups consisted of 4ndash6 studentsper group) and earlier exposure to nanotechnology (bothcourses are senior level) In response to this comment inlater semesters we involved the students more in operat-ing the instruments The demand of earlier exposure tonanotechnology will be implemented in the renewed NSF-REU proposal 2011ndash2012 where a freshman course willbe developed toward this purposeSome students suggested that an instrumentation and

measurement course be placed as a prerequisite prior totaking the courses with nanomodules This suggestion wasposed based on the fact the nanoindentation experimentwas demanding many calibration steps and data acquisitionusing LabView software The survey reflected this opin-ion as 44 of the students indicated that they were lessinterested in the nanoindentation while 22 indicated thatSEM was the least interesting module This suggestionwas communicated to the undergraduate curricula commit-tee in the civil and mechanical engineering departmentsfor consideration Other students suggested reducing thenumber of modules considering that classical experimentsneeded to be covered as well The investigators considered



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alternating the nanoexperiments each semester by intro-ducing the TEM microscopy experiment in the spring andthe XRD experiment in the fall semester As an update(both hardware and software) of the NanoTest is currentlyunderway we hope to make it more user-friendly and lessdemanding for the calibration so it could be received morefavorably in the futureBased on the success of the nanomaterials modules 34

students have enrolled in ME461-E (MEMS) This courseaided them in the theoretical and experimental knowledgeof nanosystems This course was appealing to minoritystudents in particular 13 students were from underrepre-sented groups (Hispanic Native American and Asian) and9 were femalesThe investigators have mentored several students

who finished two of the nanotechnology coursesoffered through the NUE program (ME370ME352L andME461-E) Eighteen undergraduate students have partic-ipated in nanomaterials and nanosystems research Thestudent participation resulted in 4 honors theses and 11refereed journals publicationsThe recruiting of undergraduate students to participate

in the research aspects prepared them to play teachingassistant roles in the following semesters especially for theSEM and nanoindentation modules Some students becameinvolved in the investigatorsrsquo research groups to workon other research projects with a nanotechnology themeEighteen undergraduate students have participated in nano-materials and nanosystems research The student partici-pation resulted in 4 honors theses and 11 refereed journalspublications Some of these research projects synthesisof WS2 ( Tehrani et al 2011) nanoindentation of den-tal materials (Al-Haik et al 2008) nanocreep behavior ofcements (Reinhardt et al 2009) and growing CNTs oncarbon fibers (Al-Haik et al 2009 Luhrs et al 2009)Figure 9 provides images produced by undergraduate stu-dents during some of these projects The education throughresearch involvement offered the students more guidedformal and comprehensive training on SEM TEM nanoin-dentation and XRD Therefore some of the undergradu-ate students involved in this research experience becamecapable of running these instruments on their own with-out supervision We utilized some of this newly gainedtechnical expertise in the form of teaching assistance inthe nanoexperiments that required SEMTEMXRD andnanoindentationSeveral students expressed an interest in graduate stud-

ies in nanomaterials-based research Nine students (6 MEand 3 CE) who participated in the undergraduate researchprojects with the investigators enrolled in graduate pro-grams at UNM The nanotechnology education of under-graduates through our program at UNM has leveraged anexisting graduate program in nanotechnologymdashthe NanoSciences and MicroSystems (NSMS) program This NSFIGERT program at UNM is strictly a graduate program

Fig 9 Sample projects that involved participation of undergraduate stu-dents (a) SEM image of hybrid carbon fiber with surface grown CNTs(Jeremy Chavez) (b) (SEM) micrograph of WS2 (Juanita Trevino) and(c) Optical micrograph of a thermal actuator (Ian Young and DylanWood)

granting only MS and PhD diplomas In the investigatorsrsquoresearch groups the number of US students in generaland those who are from minority groups in particular hadimprovedThe activities implemented during this nanotechnology

program at the UNM had an impact on under-representedgroups in science and engineering The ethnic and genderdistribution of these courses are shown in Figure 10



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Fig 10 Accumulative statistics of the ethnic and gender distributionsof the three courses employed in the investigation (ME370 CE305 andME461-E)

UNM is the only Carnegie Very High ResearchUniversity in the country designated as a Minority andHispanic-Serving Institution (MHSI) Most of the under-graduate students at the School of Engineering at UNMcome from New Mexico and the demographics reflect themulticultural character of the state UNM School of Engi-neering graduation rates for Hispanic and Native Americanstudents are among the highest in the US Currently40 of engineering undergraduates come from under-represented groups (American Indian and Hispanic) and20 of our students are female on par with the nationalaverageOne major challenge throughout the nanotechnol-

ogy program has been improving the recruiting ofundergraduate students from minority groups to doresearch in nanotechnology or even research in generalUNM is surrounded by several federal and industrialentities that rightfully are trying to diversify their work-force by appealing to the large Hispanic studentsrsquo com-munity at UNM through summer internships From theinvestigatorsrsquo personal attempts to attract the undergrad-uates from minority groups students usually preferred

internships at Sandia National Labs Los Alamos NationalLabs Intel Corporation and Kirtland Air force Base Totheir credit all these entities have aggressive on- and offcampus recruiting programs We believe that the intern-ships made possible to the students through the NSF-NEU grants to the investigators together with the hands-onencounter with nanotechnology through the materials lab-oratories assisted significantly in attracting minority stu-dents to conduct research in nanotechnology

8 CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE WORK

A new group of nanotechnology modules for undergradu-ate engineering education was developed and introduced toengineering students at the UNM The new modules wereestablished in materials science courses serving mechan-ical and civil engineering students A preliminary surveyshowed that the majority of students are in favor of thenanotechnology modulesThe core curricula of the Mechanical and Civil Engi-

neering Departments were not altered Nanotechnologymodules were strategically inserted in the core classes andan elective course on nano and micro systems was taughtin the senior yearBased on the survey results the authors will continue

the format of stand-alone modules and nano experimentsImprovements based on the student surveys conducted sofar will include more hands-on experiments (for exam-ple synthesis of nanomaterials) We also plan to intro-duce term projects where students will still go through allthe nanomodules and nanoexperiments but will be trainedexclusively on an instrument of their choice (SEM TEMXRD nanoindenter etc) to fulfill their projectFinally the authors will continue to mesh the nano-

education and research via incorporating undergraduates intheir current research activities in nanotechnology As evi-denced by the investigatorsrsquo own experience this approachappealed to the large community of minority students atUNMWith nanotechnology becoming part of so many core

courses and also having dedicated stand-alone coursesin nanotechnology we envision that a critical masswill have been reached to create a concentration inmicronanotechnology at UNM

Acknowledgments The authors acknowledge the sup-port of the National Science Foundation support throughthe Nanotechnology Undergraduate Education (NUE)grants 0936412 and 0741525 The authors would liketo thank Prof Adrian Brearley for granting access to theelectron microscopy facilities at the University of NewMexico and Prof John Wood for granting access to theclean room facility at the Manufacturing Training andTechnology Center (MTTC) University of New Mexico(UNM) Finally we would like to thank Prof Jonathan



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Phillips (Los Alamos National Laboratory retired) andProf Hamid Garmestani (Georgia Institute of Technology)for acting as external evaluators of the current NUE pro-gram at UNM

References and Notes

Adams J D amp Rogers B (2004) A unified approach to nanotechnologyeducation Proceedings of the 2004 American Society for Engineer-ing Education Annual Conference amp Exposition (pp 3566ndash3576) SaltLake City Utah

Adams J D Rogers B S amp Leifer L J (2004) Microtechnologynanotechnology and the scanning-probe microscope An innovativecourse IEEE Transactions on Education 47(1) 51ndash56

Al-Haik M S Trinkle S Garcia D Yang F Martinez U SumaliH amp Miltenberger S (2007) Investigation of the nano-mechanicaland tribological properties of tooth fillings materials ASME Interna-tional Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition ASME Seat-tle Washington USA

Al-Haik M Hanson C Luhrs C Tehrani M Phillips J ampMiltenberger S (2008) Synthesis and characterization of nano alu-mina dental filler Int J Nano and Biomaterials 1(4) 411ndash428

Al-Haik M Jiguang D Garcia D Chavez J Reda-Taha M LuhrsC amp Phillips J (2009) Novel growth of multiscale carbon nanofil-aments on carbon and glass fibers Nanoscience and NanotechnologyLetters 1(2) 1ndash5

Callister W D (2007) Materials science and engineering An introduc-tion (7th ed) John Wiley amp Sons Inc New York NY

Chang T Jaroonsiriphan P amp Sun X (2002) Integrating nanotech-nology into undergraduate experience A web-based approach Inter-national Journal of Engineering Education 18(5) 557ndash565

Chang T N amp Chang D (2000) Graduate engineering student perfor-mance assessment How learning pattern affects test scores Proceed-ings of the ASEE 2000 St Louis Mo June

Dresselhaus M S Dresselhaus G amp Avouris P (2001) Carbonnanotubes Synthesis structure properties and applications Topics inapplied physics (vol 80) SpringerndashVerlag Berlin Germany

Flachsbart B R Prakash S Yeom J Wu Y Moszgai G ZLeseman Z C Wong K Connell C Correa E J Hansen M Ramp Shannon M A (2006) Theory fabrication and characterization ofMEMS devices An interdisciplinary course for mechanical engineersIMECE2006-13741 Proceedings of ASME International MechanicalEngineering Congress and Exposition Chicago Illinois November

Han D Naimipour K amp Chen A (1993) Engineering and scientificcurriculum issues of including nanotechnology robotics life extensionamp virtual reality in basic requirements Proceedings of the IEEE Fron-tiers in Education Twenty-Third Annual Conference (pp 822ndash822)Washington DC USA

Hersam M C Luna M amp Light G (2004) Implementation of inter-disciplinary group learning and peer assessment in a nanotechnologyengineering course Journal of Engineering Education 93(1) 49ndash57

Hertz H (1881) On the contact of elastic solids J Reine Angew Math92 156ndash71

Klabunde K J (2001) Nanoscale materials in chemistry (2nd ed) JohnWiley amp Sons Inc New York NY

Kosky P G Hagerman M E amp Maleki S (2004) Frontiers of nan-otechnology and nanomaterials American Society for EngineeringEducation Annual Conference amp Exposition Salt Lake City Utah

Luhrs C Garcia D Tehrani M Al-Haik M Reda Taha M ampPhillips J (2009) Generation of carbon nanofilaments on carbon fibersat 550 C Carbon 47(13) 3071ndash3078

Maji A amp Taha M M R (2008) Learning styles and integration ofmanagement and engineering students ASEE Southwest ConferenceAlbuquerque New Mexico

Maleki S Hagerman M amp Kosky P G Frontiers of Nanotechnologyand Nanomaterials NSF-NUE Grant 0304105

Mendelson M Kuleck G Sanny J Bulman J Roe J Ula NNoorani R amp Stupar J (2004) Teaching and evaluating a newnanotechnology undergraduate course American Society for Engi-neering Education Annual Conference amp Exposition Salt Lake CityUtah

Neville A M (1996) Properties of concrete (4th ed) John Wiley ampSons London UK

OrsquoConnel M J (2006) Carbon nanotubes Properties and applicationsCRC Press LLC Boca Raton FL USA

Oliver W C amp Pharr G M (1992) An improved technique for deter-mining hardness and elastic modulus using load and displacementsensing indentation experiments Journal of Materials Research 7(6)1564ndash1583

Polla D L Robbins W P Glumac D E Francis L F amp ErdmanA G (1994) An undergraduate instructional course on microelec-tromechanical systems fabrication Proceedings of the IEEE Frontiersin Education Twenty-fourth Annual Conference (pp 297ndash301) SanJose CA USA

Reda M M amp Shrive N G (2000) Enhancing bond strength using flyash Masonry International 14 9ndash17

Reinhardt A Garner A Sheyka M Al-Haik M amp Reda TahaM M (2009) Experimental and numerical nano-characterization oftwo phases in concrete International Journal of Material and Struc-tural Integrity 3(2) 134ndash146

Roco M C (2002) A frontier for engineering education InternationalJournal of Engineering Education 18(5) 488ndash497

Schmalzel J L (2004) A studentrsquos perspective Nanotechnology (2004)IEEE Instrumentation amp Measurement Magazine 7(3) 84ndash85

Shackelford J F (2005) Materials science for engineers (Sixth ed)Prentice Hall NJ USA

Shapter J G Ford M J Maddox L M amp Waclawik E R (2002)Teaching undergraduates nanotechnology International Journal ofEngineering Education 18(5) 512ndash518

Sinha S K (2006) Introductory nanotechnology courses Experi-ences of an educator IEEE Conference on Emerging TechnologiesndashNanoelectronics (pp 226ndash231) Singapore January

Timp G L (1999) Nanotechnology Springer-Verlag New York NYTehrani M Trevino J Zea H Al-Haik M amp Luhrs C (2011)

Novel synthesis of WS2 nanostructures from the reaction of WO3 withCS2 and mechanical characterization of WS2 nanotube composites Inreview Nanotechnology

Trinkle S Al-Haik M amp Sumali H (2009) Tribological reliability ofMEMS multilayered thin films International Journal of Materials andStructural Integrity 3(3) 201ndash216

Uddin M amp Chowdhury A R (2001) Integration of nanotechnol-ogy into the undergraduate engineering curriculum International Con-ference on Engineering Education (ICEE) (pp 8B2-6ndash8B2-9) OsloNorway

Young F J Mindess S Gray R J amp Bentur A (1998) The Sci-ence and Technology of Civil Engineering Materials Prentice HallUSA

Received 17 November 2010 Accepted 4 March 2011



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to senior undergraduate and junior graduate students andreported the experience as a successful practice Instructorsat the University of Nevada introduced five blocks to teachthe core principals of nanotechnology to audiences withvarying levels of understanding All these successful pio-neering experiences developed new undergraduate coursesbut most offered these new courses only as optional ortechnical electives Additionally most of these courseswere developed by a single department although offeredto several other departmentsThe authors of this article believe that in order for a

nanotechnology program to flourish it must take root in acurriculumrsquos core courses and be taught by a multidisci-plinary group of instructors A current successful exam-ple of a multidisciplinary effort is at Union College inSchenectady New York A National Science Foundation(NSF) grant was awarded to this predominately liberal artscampus of 2000 students (15 percent of whom are engi-neering students) With prerequisites of calculus physicsand chemistry the investigators have developed Frontierof Nanotechnology and Nanomaterials that was offered tosophomore science and engineering majorsAll efforts to teach nanotechnology to undergradu-

ates can be broken into two main types of approachesstrictly virtual (ie simulated) and hands-on Proponentsof the strictly virtual (hands-off) approach argued thatldquo nanotechnology experiments are delicate limited inavailability and expensive to set up and maintain The useof a web-based approach circumvents these drawbacks andenables the experiment to be run securely safely and ona 247 basisrdquo Meanwhile other investigators highlightedthe importance of bringing hands-on experience to inte-grate nanotechnology into the undergraduate curriculumFor example a group at the University of Nevada-Renohas carried out an experiment to move nanotechnol-ogymicrotechnology to the undergraduate and graduateclassroom in related fields of scanning-probe micro-scope (SPM) technology Another example is Polla et alwho brought hands-on microelectromechanical systems(MEMS) fabrication into the undergraduate curriculumOur own experiences a published studentrsquos opinionand other engineering and science educatorsrsquo experiencesare all in favor of introducing hands-on experimentalmodulesDespite the difference in the methods and tools most of

the cited literature and the current group of authors sharethe NSF view that ldquo Adding nanoscale perspectives inteaching leads to better fundamental understanding shar-ing similar concepts and courses in various disciplines andareas of relevance (combining the lsquodepthrsquo of nanosciencewith the lsquobreathrsquo of all affected areas) and broader acces-sibility to science and technologyrdquo Keeping this viewin focus the subsequent sections detail a plan that wascarried out to integrate nanotechnology into existing corecourses in the Mechanical and Civil Engineering curricula

at the University of New Mexico (UNM) This was accom-plished by adding new lecture components to two materialsscience core courses to introduce the students to particularaspects of nanotechnology Reinforcement on these top-ics was planned by hands-on experiments that utilize theUNMrsquos existing nanotechnology infrastructure These dis-covery courses are prerequisites for an additional newlydeveloped course on the theory fabrication and charac-terization of nanosystemsdevices This course also has alaboratory component where students fabricate nanosys-temsdevices in the clean room The rest of this articleoutlines the newly developed nanomodules and providessome preliminary results together with proposed futurework to improve the ongoing nanotechnology education atthe UNM

2 GOALS OBJECTIVES AND INTENDEDEDUCATIONAL OUTCOMES

As future scientists and engineers students should beprepared to enter a workforce that requires knowledge ofnanotechnology Four junior faculty members from twoengineering programs at the University of New Mexicoa

Albuquerque NM have employed their collective knowl-edge in nanotechnology to develop new experiments andpedagogical methods to help introduce undergraduate stu-dents to this field of cutting-edge research by no laterthan their junior year Our goal was to cultivate a cul-tural change in engineering undergraduate education atthe UNM by tying the material science curriculum acrossthe school of engineering (SOE) through a group ofintegrated learning modules focused on nanoscience andnanotechnologyWe envisioned creating a series of interlocking courses

for undergraduate nanoscience education This develop-ment leveraged two programs at the UNM Mechani-cal Engineering and Civil Engineering This investigationdeveloped and tuned Nanotechnology Discovery Coursesthat comprised two interlocking undergraduate Engi-neering Materials Science core courses (ME370CE305)enriched with three nanotechnology modules (Introductionto Nanotechnology Nanostructures and Nanosynthesis andNanocharacterization) and two materials science labora-tories (ME352CE305) that employ four hands-on nano-technology experiments (eg use of electron microscopyX-ray diffraction (XRD) and nanoindentation)This approach carries the following novel aspects

bull While familiarizing student with nanotechnology it doesnot strain the general outline of classical materials sciencecourse for being introduced as a set of separate modules

aAll four authors were at UNM at the time of the implementation ofthe nanotechnology modules (2008ndash2009) two of the authors moved toother institutions in 2010ndash2011



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IP 128173163164Tue 14 Jun 2011 231151

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introducing nanotechnology to mechanical and civil ...alhaik/introducing nanotechnology to...

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