More than two dozen science and math instructors from Eugene’s 4J school district received a crash course in real world nanotechnology this spring, courtesy of Kurt Langworthy, director of the high-tech extension service CAMCOR.
In two sessions, teachers were introduced to basic concepts in materials characterization and given an overview of the CAMCOR facility, which is located in the Lorry I. Lokey Laboratories.
Part of a Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) initiative dubbed C2 (Content in Context), the program is also affiliated with the UO’s GK-12 science outreach initiative.
The workshops aimed to introduce new technology to teachers, which could then be applied to updated curriculums. Teachers learned about microscopy, how statistics can be used for particle analysis and other relevant topics. They took a tour of the labs, looked at gold nanoparticles using the facility’s FEI Phenom desktop scanning electron microscope, and discussed standard deviations and other statistical analysis techniques.
“It was really productive,” Langworthy said. “The feedback we received suggested that seeing all of the microscopy equipment and seeing just how small ‘small’ can be, proved to be a mind-blowing experience for many of these teachers.”
Photos of the workshops can be seen on the C2 website.
- from the UO Office of Research, Innovation and Graduate Education