BIOINSPIRED MATERIALS LAB
Advanced Materials for Robotics, Healthcare, and Sustainability
Our group is committed to scientific communication through STEM outreach, education, and mentoring programs, and we are always looking for opportunities to engage with students, fellow scientists, and the local community.
Teaching
New courses at UMich coming soon...
Courses previously taught
Engineering Science and Mechanics Department (Penn State)
EMCH 212: Dynamics
Center for Nanotechnology Education and Utilization (Penn State) (labs)
ESC 211: Materials, Safety, and Equipment Overview for Nanotechnology
ESC 212: Basic Nanotechnology Processes
ESC 213: Materials in Nanotechnology
ESC 214: Patterning for Nanotechnology
ESC 215: Nanotechnology Applications
ESC 216: Characterization, Testing of Nanotechnology Structures and Materials
Engineering Science and Mechanics Department (Penn State) (labs)
ESC 412: Nanotechnology: Materials, Infrastructure, and Safety
ESC 520: Engineering at the Nano-scale
ESC 521: Pattern Transfer at the Nano-scale
ESC 522: Fabrication and Characterization for Top-down Nano-manufacturing
ESC 523: Fabrication and Characterization for Bottom-up Nano-manufacturing
STEM Outreach
Materials Research Society (MRS) mentor for undergraduate students
Broadening Participation in Materials Science - Undergraduate Student Program
The MRS Undergraduate Student Mentoring Program pairs undergraduate, underrepresented students with graduate student and postdoc mentors who help them navigate the next steps in their education and career.
Scientific communication
Guest writer in online scientific blogs, including Soft Bites and Nature Research Community
TV and online interviews discussing our work on biopolymers and materials for sustainability
Nanotechnology Applications and Career Knowledge (NACK)
NSF National ATE Center for Nanotechnology Workforce Development
Nanotechnology workshops for high-school and college educators
"Nano4Me - Education & Careers in Nanotechnology" - Nanotech training videos
Remotely Accessible Instruments for Nanotechnology network (RAIN)
RAIN provides remotely accessible scientific equipment for STEM students, connecting them to expert scientists and nanotechnology tools in their day-to-day classrooms, lowering the barrier-to-entry to such instrumentation. This program is free of charge and is particularly aimed at underrepresented and minority learners, as well as institutions that cannot provide ready access to specialized facilities, tools, and expertise for the study of nanoscale science.
An example is a collaborative project with NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where we performed multidisciplinary science experiments in K-12 classrooms in Southern California, promoting engagement in science in over 800 students (predominantly from Hispanic/Latino low-income minority communities). Read the paper here.
Rodriguez, et al., JOTSE 8.1 (2018): 86-95
Science summer camp, Step by Step School for Early Learning, State College (PA, USA)
Biomimicry workshop for kindergarden through 5th grade students
