Integrative Graduate
Education and
Research Traineeship

Highlight

"Introduction to Nanoworld" Presentation Series

Intro to Nanoworld Presentation Series

Projects:

Nanomedical Science and Technology

Institution:

Northeastern University

Primary Strategic Goal:

Learning: Build the Nation's research capability through critical investments in advanced instrumentation, facilities, cyber infrastructure, and experimental tools.

Secondary Strategic Goal:

Discovery: Foster research that will advance the frontiers of knowledge, emphasizing areas of greatest opportunity and potential benefit and establishing the Nation as a global leader in fundamental transformational science and engineering.

Achievement/Results

The IGERT Nanomedicine Trainee’s have collaborated and developed an “Introduction to the Nanoworld” workshop to teach students and the local community about Nanomedicine and its applications. To date, participants include, middle school students from the Bernard Harris Summer Science Camp, high school students in the Young Scholars Program and K-12 teachers from the Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) Program. The participants investigated the size/color relationship of gold nanoparticles and precipitated gold nanoparticles. The participants also synthesized their own magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles and explored the use of nanodevices in diagnostics, biologic imaging, drug delivery, and therapeutics. The students were challenged to probe the journey of nanomedicine to the clinic, considering future implications and current obstacles. The RET teachers were provided with an expanded lesson plan and resources to perform the laboratory experiments in their own classrooms.

Address Goals

An essential component of the Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) Program in Nanomedicine Science and Technology is participation with Outreach. Our IGERT Trainees have taken this requirement one step further by collaborating with one another and putting together a set of activities that showcases nanomedicine and its interdisciplinary applications. Trainees have also mentored high school teachers with this series and have assisted them with lesson development to bring nanomedicine back to their classrooms. Thus, an even greater range of students are being taught in an interdisciplinary field.