Program Highlights

Nanoscience Vlog – a New Way to Communicate P-SPINS Research

Axel Enders, Krista Adams, and Jocelyn Bosley
Nebraska MRSEC

During the summer of 2015, Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) participant Courtney Matulka of Millard Public Schools together with Seed Project leader Krista Adams and Professor-Student Pairs participant Sharmin Sikich of Doane College developed a video blog, or “vlog,” to highlight the cutting-edge research happening in the nanosciences at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Working with Nebraska MRSEC Education/Outreach Director Axel Enders, Matulka interviewed and filmed Nebraska MRSEC faculty and Professor-Student Pairs collaborators, creating a series of short videos which aims to educate, excite, and engage secondary students (grades 6-12) in the nanosciences. Each one of the two- to three-minute vlog entries features the work of a Nebraska MRSEC research group, discussing the scientific background, instruments used, material outcomes, and implications of the research for future technological advancements.
A Nebraska MRSEC P-SPINS YouTube channel has been created to share this nanoscience vlog with teachers and students, as well as with the interested public:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIwnIc_yXSkb1v11Hfe7P6g. The vlog is designed to function as a standalone resource for teachers, but teachers are also encouraged to use specific vlog entries in conjunction with related nanoscience kits created by the National Informal Science Education (NISE) Network.  
Following its summer 2015 launch, the vlog project will be maintained and expanded by Nebraska MRSEC Education/Outreach Coordinator Jocelyn Bosley. It is expected that the Nebraska MRSEC P-SPINS vlog will serve as a useful model for other MRSECs nationally, and for other departments on the University of Nebraska campus, to communicate their research to a broad audience in a way that is dynamic, compelling, and contemporary.

These programs are supported by the National Science Foundation, Division of Materials Research, Materials Research Science and Engineering Program, Grant 1420645.

Vlog              

Courtney Matulka of Millard Public Schools (left) filming Sharmin Sikich (right) working at the scanning electron microscope.

Highlight Info

Date: Aug. 2015
Research Area: 
Education/Outreach