RESEARCH EXPERIENCE FOR TEACHERS
RET :2003: :2002: :2001: participants
Three years ago the MRSEC launched an RET program involving one middle school and two high school teachers. The success of this program is evidenced by an original publication in Polymer, a peer-reviewed, scientific journal, and the subsequent development of modules for introducing polymer concepts at the middle school level. The second year’s efforts were expanded to include seven teachers in the program. This also resulted in a submitted paper to Science, with additional curricula introduced at the middle school level. Furthermore, two of our RET researchers were selected to participate in the first NSF-sponsored, Bringing Research into the Science Classroom (BRISC) conference in April/02 in San Francisco. National Public Radio and the New England Association of Chemistry Teachers (NEACT) have recognized the success and importance of our RET program. Last year, the success of our RET program resulted in thirty applicants from as far west as Chicago and as far south as Louisiana, competing for the seven available openings. At the conclusion of last summer’s RET program, a symposium was organized at which, former and current RET participants presented their research results along with their curriculum plans and efforts in their classrooms. Each year our RET participants earn six graduate credits and 135 professional development points while receiving a stipend. This program focuses on exciting science teachers about a research experience, knowing that they have direct contact with over 100 students per day. If they can convey their excitement to their students then the probability of affecting a student’s career choice toward science increases. This program also gives us a base from which to offer continued assistance and resources in this effort. Lastly, the recently awarded Research Site on Education in Chemistry (RSEC) grant allows us to expand our interactions to the K16 arena by engaging faculty and students at the collegiate level.
PARTICIPANTS
Denise Fiedler, Thornton Burgess Middle School, Wilbraham, MA
Jennifer Conlon-Kardian, Wilbraham Middle School, Wilbraham, MA
Lise LeTellier, Granby High School, Granby, MA
Noelia Ramos, Chestnut Hill Accelerated Middle School, Springfield, MA
Jodi Stevens, Great Falls Middle School, Turners Falls, MA
Julie Ann Villa, Lane Technical High School, Chicago, IL
Ron Wilmot, Shepherd Hill Regional High School, Dudley, MA
RET RESEARCH GROUPS
JulieAnn Villa and Jodi Tamara Stevens worked in Russell’s group under the direction of Ting Xu, creating hexagonal packed cylinder nanostructures using polystyrene- polymethymethacrylate block copolymers. After swelling the cylinders to create a nano-porous template, acetic acid was used to wash the cylinders in preparation for future research focused on depositing metals on the surfaces prior to cylinder reassembly. A paper on this technique was submitted for publication.
Lise LeTellier, Ronald Wilmot and Noelia Ramos worked in Russell’s group under the direction of Matt Misner using diblock, copolymer films of PS-b-PEO employed to direct assembly of nanoparticles. The copolymer was cast from solution by spin-coating to provide cylindrical domains of PEO in a PS matrix. The domains were slightly recessed to allow capillary force and favorable interactions between the PEO-coated CdSe nanoparticles to preferentially drive the particles to the PEO copolymer domains.
Jennifer Conlon-Kardian and Denise Fiedler worked in Russell’s group under the direction of Zhiqun Lin, studying the morphologies of two asymmetric diblock copolymers (PS-b-PCL and PEP-b-PLA) using optical and atomic force microscopy. Results showed that the microdomains of the PCL block in the diblock copolymer PS-b-PCL can be oriented normal to the surface of a film over a large area. With the use of solvent casting, we obtained PLA cylinders oriented parallel to the substrate over several microns.
