Nanotechnology Summer Institute

2008 Summer Institute for STEM Teachers at the University of Massachusetts

Monday to Friday, July 7-11, 2008 at UMass Amherst

Funded by the National Science Foundation

Sponsored by the STEM Education Institute and the Center for Hierarchical Manufacturing

Middle and High School Science, Math, and Technology Teachers

$75/day stipends ($375 total), materials, parking, lunches

Housing and meals for those outside the commuting radius

3 graduate credits available at reduced cost; free PDP's (Professional Development Points)

Ongoing partnerships with UMass Faculty

Nanotechnology deals with materials on the scale of nanometers. A nanometer is one-millionth of a millimeter, or about 10 atomic diameters. Such materials can have surprising and useful behaviors and properties. Applications of this rapidly growing field include regenerative medicine, fabrics and construction materials of unprecedented strength, ultra-high performance computers and data storage, more efficient solar photovoltaic cells, and much more. Activity in this field cuts across the traditional disciplinary boundaries, and involves chemistry, physics, biology, and engineering.

The UMass Nanotechnology Summer Institute will explore the basic science and engineering concepts of this exciting new field, and will illustrate how they may be integrated into the usual math, science and technology courses in middle schools and high schools. The content and pedagogy will be aligned with the Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Framework.

During the institute, participants will begin to develop curriculum units for their own classes. They will complete and implement these in the fall and report on their progress and results online. .

Three graduate credits will be available for the institute and curriculum unit; the cost will be $300 plus a $40 registration fee: PDP's will be available at no cost.

Application process: An application form and additional information is available at www.umassk12.net/nano. Teachers should also prepare a narrative statement of how they intend to use the institute materials in their classroom, and include in their application package a recent resume and a letter of support from their school principal or superintendent. The application package can be submitted by email, fax, or US mail. Applications are due April 1, 2008. Late applications will be accepted on a space available basis.