Day 4 Nano Institute

Becky started the morning with a discussion about what graduate students do. Michael and Vicky shared their unique perspective but overall I marveled at how dedicated they are to their education.

Becky moved into teaching about scanning tunnel microscopy (STM). The basis in STM is that electrons have wavelength properties. It's the wavelike property of that allows them to tunnel. There is a probability that an electron can penetrate a barrier without the required amount of energy. The measurement is actually the measure of the amount of electrons that jump from surface to tip. There are two modes for STM, constant height mode and constant current mode. In constant height mode the tip stays at the same height . The problem with this is that the tip might crash into an obstruction. Most of the time constant current mode is used. In constant current the tip moves when it comes to an obstruction.

According to Becky you must be clever when interpreting STM data. STM maps out information about electron density of the surface-you are not actually looking at the topography, Your data is how much the tip moves up and down. STM can also be used to move atoms around. Becky showed two examples of atoms that had been moved.

The program continued with Lynda presenting her summer research. This was followed by the presentation of work being done by local high school students. At the start of the afternoon Becky presented the project that she is working on. The remainder of the day was spent working on our reflections and symposium presentations.

Day 3 Nano Institute

The focus for today was atomic force microscopes (AFMs). Val reminded us that when we use AFMs we are "seeing" the surface without really seeing it. It is a sensory experience. A good reminder of that was given through the "Braille Game." The essence of this game was to determine what braille letters were punched into the cardboard without looking at it, so we kept them from view under the table while determining what letter was represented.
Similarly, AFM works by tapping along the surface and reading it, rather than looking at the surface with light. AFM gives only a surface image, it does not give color. AFMs can be operated in different modes; contact mode, in which the tip is in constant contact with the surface of the sample, and tapping mode which is used for soft samples such as cells and DNA. Val also advised us of the concerns that may come up with imaging; moving the tip too fast or too slow, the distance between the sample and the tip, and the tip itself. Images were shared showing some of these concerns. The morning continued on with completion of an analogous grid activity where we had to tap a probe along a surface, map it, build a 3-D model, draw the negative spaces of that 3-D model (which I just realized I did incorrectly looking at the picture). Then we made an Excel surface plot and changed the angle of that plot.


Val also discussed her current research, asking frequent questions of us along the way. This helped to keep me engaged in her lecture, as I attempted to put what I've been learning to work.

Following all of this, each of us was able to operate the AFM with Val sitting beside us! It was exciting but frightening at the same time! I am thrilled that my students will have the oportunity to see the AFM when they bring it to school as part of the nano program!

The afternoon was spent in pedagogy discussing issues we may have implementing this nano program in our classrooms and with science education in general. Commenting on that discussion, at HFS we do not have any dedicated space for science and I frequently feel limited by available materials. I would love to have a source to borrow materials as well as guidance in establishing a science club.

Day 2 Nano Institute

A good part of the morning was spent learning about optics. We made the same telescopes as were made last week and tested them to see their abilities but then we turned them into microscopes! We did this by taking the tubes apart and then taking the larger tube (with larger lens) and putting the a hand lens on the bottom of the tube (the same side as the lens). So cool...who'd a thought!

We also learned more about scanning electron microscopes (SEMs). In an SEM a beam of electrons are sent down into an object. Some of the electrons are reflected, some are absorbed. The electrons are collected from data points revealing the image. The feature size can reveal details down to 1nm. Magnification to 500,000x that of a light microscope.

We "played" with digital microscopes, looking at things like dandelion seeds, ribbon, ink... pretty much whatever we wanted to look at. We each received a digital microscope for our classrooms! I love the idea that I not only will be able to project the image onto a computer screen but also onto a whiteboard. You can also do screen capture! Classroom applications abound (as do exclamation points)!

We then played, "What's that Gunk?" Where we identified SEM images. At the end of the morning we went to see the SEM that we will be able to borrow for use in our classrooms. Sharon demonstrated it by looking at the image of a dime. I find the idea of using it to be intimidating, so I hope there will be hands-on training available before placing it in our rooms.

The afternoon was spent touring the research facilty at Stinson-Remick Hall. We able to see the cleanroom and learn how it works. We also were able to check out various laboratories housed in the same building. On our way back to Jordan Hall we visited Becky's lab. We'll learn more about her work later this week.

Day 1 Nano Institute for Teachers

What a great start to the NANO K-6 Summer Institute! Becky, Mike and Val are terrific at getting essential information across to those, like me, are virtually uninitiated to nanotechnology. We did scale projects where we had to place items where we believed they belonged on a number line by length and then by mass. Those items I am familiar with weren't difficult but those that were very small like viruses and blood cells or very large like the Earth and the sun were a different story! This would be a great activity to do with students. Perhaps begin with those things they are familiar with and then add in microscopic items like blood cells, bacteria and viruses after they've been studied. At a later time in the morning we watched "The Powers of Ten" video.

Mystery boxes were a great way to introduce what we can learn through the use of touch. We then learned about different kinds of microscopes used in studying items at the nanoscale:
scanning tunnel microscope (STM)-tip scans along and maps out surface
scanning electron microscope (SEM)-a beam of electrons scans a sample, the electrons actually go into the sample, and the topography is mapped out
atomic force microscope (ATF)- through tapping the surface with a cantilever, height variations are measured

I loved the discussion on the potential impact of nanotechnology: nano solar cells mixed in plastic and painted on objects, materials that resist stain, paint that doesn't chip, paint that reduces pollution, dvds that could hold a million movies. The implications in the medical field are the most fascinating for me: nerve tissue talking to computers, quantum dots injected to detect disease earlier, growing tissue to repair heart muscle, nanocoatings to prevent viruses. The potential for making repairs to the body is amazing!

This is the video we watched introducing us to nanotechnology: