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June 20th, 2014 – ASSIST Young Scholars and High School Teachers at AIF

A group of approximately 40 high-school teachers and students visited the NCSU Analytical Instrumentation Facility (AIF) on June 20th, 2014. As part of the ASSIST Research Experience for Teachers (RET), Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) and Young Scholars programs, professors and graduate students from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) and AIF staff members introduced the groups to several state-of-the-art instruments for nanoscale science and engineering research. Professor Elizabeth Dickey first gave a short lecture overviewing nanoscale imaging and chemistry and identified resources for integrating nanoscale metrology into K-12 curricula. Small groups then imaged the natural nanostructuring of butterfly wings on a scanning electron microscope (SEM) with Weiting Chen, a graduate student from MSE. The group then investigated the surface chemistry of water-repellent nanofabrics via secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) imaging, with AIF staff Dr. Elaine Zhou.