VINSE graduate students Alyssa Nelson and Jeremy Espano teach a course in nanoscience/nanotechnology as part of Vanderbilt’s SAVY program
VINSE graduate students Jeremy Espano and Alyssa Nelson taught a class in nanoscience and nanotechnology to a group of 8th and 9th graders as part of the Saturday Academy at Vanderbilt for the Young (SAVY) program. Students started the morning learning about nanomaterials, quantum confinement and how it effects materials at the nanoscale, the size regime of nanomaterials, and emerging nanotechnology fields such as nanoenergy, nanobio, nanooptics, and nanosynthesis. Students toured the VINSE core facilities including the cleanroom, analytical support core and the advanced imaging suite including the transmission electron microscope, scanning electron microscope, and the atomic force microscope. The students ran through multiple small demonstrations and experiments introducing them to microfluidics, optics, nano materials, and biomaterials. Finally, the students did a full experiment using blackberries and blueberries to create solar cells, which included a detailed discussion on nano energy and how solar cells work.
Jeremy Espano is a graduate student in Interdisciplinary Materials Science (Macdonald Lab) and Alyssa Nelson is a graduate student in Chemical Engineering (McCabe Lab). Jeremy is passionate about outreach as he sees it as a great opportunity to hone his scientific communication skills. Alyssa loves doing outreach to help engage younger generations in science, especially students who have little exposure to science and engineering otherwise.