November 1, 2005

Purdue receives funding for NSF nanotechnology education project

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue University is one of several institutions nationwide that received a grant through the Museum of Science in Boston for a National Science Foundation project to help the public understand more about nanotechnology.

Purdue's Envision Center for Data Perceptualization, along with the College of Agriculture's Department of Youth Development and Agricultural Education and the Cooperative Extension Service, are receiving $280,000 during the next two years as part of a five-year, $20 million effort to form the Nanoscale Informal Science Education Network.

Purdue received the grant through the Museum of Science in Boston, which is heading the project. The Exploratorium in San Francisco and the Science Museum of Minnesota also are leaders in the effort.

The project's goal is to develop innovative approaches to engage the public in informal educational experiences related to nanoscale science, engineering and technology.

Krishna Madhavan, a research scientist at the Envision Center and principal investigator for Purdue's grant, said Purdue will bring unique qualities to the project.

"The fact that Purdue is a national leader for nanotechnology teaching and research and also has a premiere visualization center played a major role in the university being awarded the grant," he said.

The Envision Center uses advanced data visualization and perceptualization tools to process and display scientific information in ways that make complex phenomena easy to comprehend, Madhavan said.

The Envision Center, in partnership with the Exploratorium in San Francisco, will research and prototype various tools, such as extremely high-resolution displays, devices that relay sensory information and advanced distributed rendering environments to demonstrate the science of nanotechnology in a way the general public can understand.

In addition, the Envision Center also will help the museums prototype a scientific gateway for visualization that will tie the nanoscale project to the National Science Foundation-sponsored TeraGrid effort. TeraGrid is a high-speed network that enables researchers to access a wealth of resources, remotely use the best supercomputers and high-tech facilities nationwide for their experiments, and interact with fellow researchers at other institutions in real time.

Purdue Extension specialist Aadron Rausch said Purdue Agriculture's contribution to the project will focus on teaching youth what nanotechnology is, how it can be applied to everyday life and career opportunities in the field.

"Recent surveys have found 32 percent of American adults say they are uninformed about nanotechnology," Rausch said. "Purdue, through the Extension program and the Envision Center, will assist in translating nanoscale research into an applicable form people can get excited about."

She said statistics show that the annual global impact of nanotechnology-related products may exceed $1 trillion by the year 2015, which would require 2 million nanotechnology workers. Therefore, she said, it is imperative that 4-H become involved in teaching students more about this emerging field.

"What the College of Agriculture, Extension and 4-H bring to this effort is the possibility for broad dissemination of information and community awareness about nanotechnology," Rausch said. "We want to be able to increase the rigor in 4-H programs and expand opportunities for science learning."

The first two years of the nationwide project will focus on the development of the Nanoscale Informal Science Education Network and research on the best approaches for engaging and teaching the public about nanotechnology and its impact on society.

This will be done in a variety of ways, such as using interactive programs and exhibits, immersive media such as planetarium shows and 3-D cinema, visualization labs, public forums, and professional development efforts that will foster collaborations between nanoscale science and engineering researchers and educators. Also, a public Web site and an online professional resource center will be created that will provide information about nanoscale education.

The second phase of the project will begin in 2007 and will focus on the implementation and dissemination of the educational and professional development activities and materials developed in the first phase. Funding of this stage of the project has not yet been finalized.

Purdue is one of 10 institutional working partners involved in the project. The other partners are the New York Hall of Science; the Sciencenter in Ithaca, N.Y.; the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry; the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History; the Museum of Life and Science in North Carolina; the Association of Science-Technology Centers; the Materials Research Society; Main Street Science at Cornell University; and the Materials Research Science and Engineering Center Interdisciplinary Education Group at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Earlier this month, Purdue demonstrated its commitment to nanotechnology research when it officially opened the $58 million Birck Nanotechnology Center, located in Discovery Park. The facility involves about 260 faculty and staff members and graduate students from 25 schools and departments across the university. The NASA Institute for Nanoelectronics and Computing and the National Science Foundation Network for Computational Nanotechnology are located in the Birck Center.

Writer: Kim Medaris, (765) 494-6998, kmedaris@purdue.edu

Sources: Krishna Madhavan, (765) 404-9003, cm@purdue.edu

Aadron Rausch, (765) 494-9516, rauschaj@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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