George Tremberger

Assessment of high-school engineering education outreach program employing project-based learning in astronomy and bio-optics within a college setting

A college outreach engineering education program designed for high school students was implemented in a community college using the three principles of K-12 engineering education, namely, product design, science knowledge, and mindset development. The means of transforming a science question into a design driven one was illustrated using examples and projects from the fields of astronomy and bio-optics. The relevant scientific principles were presented by introducing various iterated designs in an interactive learning environment. A high school level research component using astronomy and bio-optics-related public data was also implemented to enrich the students’ exposure to numerical processing techniques accessible in Microsoft Excel. Examples including solar events driven by magnetic field topology, cosmological images generated by IllustrisTNG Project, muon flux data, Killer T-cell motion, and wound assay cell migration are used in the teaching of iterated designs. A Path Diagram assessment model based on a LISREL computation scheme with learning intent and engineering mindset as latent variables was used to gauge the effectiveness of an implementation, the results of which would be used in the subsequent semester’s implementation of the research component. The materials developed in a College Now course, where high school students take a research course at a community college, would be readily adaptable to other four-year college programs. The possible future incorporation of an introductory engineering course for high school student education, using the MIT low-cost

Characterization of nano-sized iron particle layers spin coated on glass substrate

100 muon detector and Fermi Lab QuarkNet muon scintillation detector, is discussed.

Labview Graphical Programming In An Introductory Engineering Physics Course

Nanometer scale iron particles have a variety of technological applications. They are vastly utilized in optical and microwave devices. Thin films with varying compositions of iron (III) nitrate and ethylene glycol were deposited on glass substrate using a spin coating technique. The thicknesses of the films were controlled by the spin rate. Precursor films on the substrate were then annealed to different temperatures ranging from 200°C to 600°C for 1-3 hours in air. The microstructures of iron particles in films prepared under different conditions were investigated using X-ray Absorption spectroscopy and Mossbauer spectroscopy. The main absorption edge peak position and pre-edge energy position were identical in samples with different numbers of layers, but prepared under similar conditions. This indicates that there was no change in the charge state of the iron regardless of the number of layers. However the intensity of the pre-edge feature decreases as the number of layers increases, which shows a decrease of Fe-O compounds as the number of layers increases. Mossbauer spectrum of these iron particles contains only quadrupole doublets. The absence of six-linespectrum confirms the nano-size nature of the particles.