The burgeoning growth and economic promise of the nanotechnology sector is premised on the availability of a large and trained workforce. The STEM educational system needs to rapidly ramp up nanotechnology education at all levels (primary, secondary and professional). As university researchers make rapid strides in groundbreaking nanoscience and engineering research, it is incumbent on them to transition their gains and insights to the undergraduate classroom. A multidisciplinary team of educators and nanotechnology researchers from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (NCAT) is proposing to initiate curricular enhancements and reform to address this issue. We intend to develop two new interdisciplinary courses on the fundamental concepts and applications of nanoscience and nanotechnology and introduce new modules on nanotechnology in several existing courses in the mechanical, industrial and chemical engineering undergraduate curricula. The student learning from this work will be assessed by instructors using ABET-prescribed learning outcomes assessment methods and validated by external evaluated from NCAT's School of Education.

The College of Engineering at NCAT has several faculty members actively involved in nanomaterials-based research. Many are faculty members are associated with the Center for Advanced Materials and Smart Structures. They have been collaborating on interdisciplinary nanotechnology research topics for almost a decade. A significant collection of physical and intellectual resources and infrastructure has been developed and continues to be actively expanded. This has benefited a large number of doctoral and masters level students, and also some well-qualified undergraduates who have been drawn into research teams with graduate student and faculty mentors. Some of the more prolific researchers have developed and successfully offered nano-related courses. However, offerings have largely remained at the graduate level and have been taught by individual faculty members tailored to their very specific field of research. However, there still exists an urgent need to develop an interdisciplinary undergraduate nanotechnology curriculum that encompasses a broad understanding of basic sciences intertwined with the pertinent engineering sciences and information sciences.

A major challenge in developing a nanoscience/engineering course is the highly multidisciplinary nature of the field. The proposing team, consisting of accomplished researchers and led by an educator with outstanding undergraduate teaching credentials, is proposing to build the elements of a nanotechnology curriculum through a three-pronged effort to share with undergraduate students the excitement and learning occurring in their labs. The first part is the development of modules for use in selected existing courses in mechanical, industrial and chemical engineering. These courses will serve as foundation to two additional courses that we propose to develop as part of this project. The additional courses will be classified as technical electives, available to senior undergraduate students and to entry-level masters' students. The first course, entitled "Fundamentals of Nanoscale Science and Engineering," will deal with the underlying principles and fundamental concepts of nanoscience. The second one, titled "Applications of Nanotechnology," will provide students with broad exposure to the practical use of nanoscience in devices and systems, as well as the tools and support systems used in their manufacture and modeling/simulation. Following new ABET guidelines, we will use student learning outcomes-based assessment, supplemented by external assessment with the support of colleagues from NCAT's School of Education.

NCAT enjoys the distinction of being the nation's leading producer of African-American engineers. Our team will discharge a special duty by providing our students with training and mentoring in the economic and intellectual powerhouse area of nanotechnology. Our project will directly impact all mechanical, chemical and industrial engineering undergraduate students (~150 annually). Besides the obvious benefit of attracting the best undergraduates into graduate research, our students will also be engaged in passing on the learning downstream through helping with summer camps for K-12 educators and school visitations to help attract the enrollment of high-quality students from across the nation.