MATERIALS, DESIGN, AND INNOVATION IN NONMAJORS SCIENCE EDUCATION

Abstract

In-depth materials science course offerings are crucial for training the next generation of researchers in many pure and applied fields. However, translating discoveries from the laboratory into domestic and industrial settings requires contributions from professionals outside of these strictly technical areas. Providing non-major students instruction in core scientific ideas and illustrating the myriad pathways by which these ideas become innovative technologies should be an additional goal of science and engineering programs. “Technologies of the Future” (ToF) is a novel course for non-science/engineering majors in which students participate in team-based laboratory and design projects with modern materials systems. After learning about a phenomenon or physical principle in class, students are given the opportunity to explore it in lab and are tasked with the design of a novel device that incorporates it. Example laboratory topics include superhydrophobic surfaces and dye-sensitized solar cells. In the design phase, instructors act as “consultants”, lending their expertise to students unfamiliar with engineering analysis or ancillary physical concepts. Summative activities are designed to leverage the diverse talents of the interdisciplinary teams of students. The course concepts and activities are designed to prepare students for both a modern workplace that requires innovative thinking and a modern world in which emerging technologies offer solutions to pressing environmental and social problems.