Cornell nanotech center shows teachers how to excite students with physics

By Lissa Harris

A new Cornell nanotechnology program is helping New York state's high school physics teachers make science come alive for their students.

The program, an outgrowth of the newly established Center for Nanoscale Systems (CNS) at Cornell, hosted its first public outreach event March 23 in 700 Clark Hall -- a workshop that gave the teachers and Cornell scientists a chance to exchange ideas, discuss new directions in physics education and work on incorporating new research in nanotechnology into high school classes.

From left, Cornell graduate student Ethan Minot gives a demonstration of an atomic force microscope to high school teachers Jim Overheiser, from Groton Central School, and Mitchell Johnson, from Union-Endicott High School, March 23 in Clark Hall. Charles Harrington/University Photography

During the workshop, 48 teachers from high schools across the state toured the Cornell Nanofabrication Facility and participated in hands-on demonstrations of nanotechnology.

Research at the nanoscale level -- that is, at ranges from 1 nanometer (the width of three silicon atoms) to 100 nanometers (100 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair) -- has become a major focus at Cornell. Nanotechnology promises advances in biomedical applications, in information technology and in electronics, CNS director Robert Buhrman, the John Edson Sweet Professor of Engineering in the Cornell School of Applied and Engineering Physics, told the teachers.

CNS has a broad program of research in nanoscale electronics, photonics and magnetics, but it also has public outreach and education as a major part of its mission. The center was founded in September 2001 with a five-year, $11.6 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and with support from the New York State Office of Science, Technology and Academic Research.

Physics teachers in New York state are facing particular challenges this year as the state education department starts to incorporate a substantially revised core curriculum in physics. The new curriculum includes the Standard Model -- the current theory of fundamental particles and how they interact -- and places increased emphasis on the importance of inquiry-based learning and analytical skills.

CNS is working to assist teachers in meeting the requirements of the revised curriculum. As part of its outreach efforts, the center is forming an Institute for Physics Teachers modeled, in part, on the 13-year-old Cornell Institute for Biology Teachers (CIBT). Molecular biology and genetics senior lecturer Rita Calvo, founder and former director of CIBT, is interim director of the new institute.

Proposed programs for the new institute would include summer courses for teachers, an equipment lending library for high schools and a network of Cornell scientists and high school physics teachers that would foster collaboration.

Discussing types of research certain to excite physics students, Buhrman said, "One possibility is that if you could integrate a neuron with a silicon circuit, you might be able to make artificial hands or replacement joints that actually have sensation." He showed the teachers a photograph of rat neurons Cornell researchers have cultured onto tiny silicon pillars. "That would benefit a lot of people's lives," he said.

Margaret Coombe, a teacher at Fallsburg High School in Fallsburg, N.Y., was enthusiastic about using the example of this kind of cutting-edge research as a way to get her students excited about physics. "This is such a wonderful opportunity for us," she said. "Something that I am trying to look into is how I can help my students to become more aware of current issues and how this fits into society and technology, rather than just knowing facts."

Physics teachers were involved in the creation of CNS from the very beginning. As Cornell faculty prepared their grant proposal for NSF, they consulted extensively with teachers about how best to incorporate outreach into the activities of the center.

"Our plans for outreach were maybe the most successful part of our presentation to the National Science Foundation," said Buhrman. "They were very enthusiastic about what we wanted to do."