NanoDays at Highland Road Park Observatory
Saturday, March 27th, 2010 (2:00 PM - 6:00 PM)
LSU Department of Physics & Astronomy and
LSU's
Center for Computation & Technology (CCT) will host an afternoon of free,
family friendly activities Saturday, March 27, as part of
NanoDays, a national event of educational programs about nanoscale
science and engineering coordinated
by the Nanoscale Informal Science Education Network. This year, NanoDays
events will take place at more than 200 science museums, research centers
and universities across the country.
In Baton Rouge, faculty, staff and students from LSU's physics
department and CCT will host NanoDays at the
Highland Road Park Observatory, 13800 Highland Road, on Saturday, March 27, from 2 p.m. to
6 p.m. The event is free and open to the general public.
When reduced to the width of a human hair or smaller, ordinary materials
often take on extraordinary properties. For example, the iridescent
colors in butterfly wings are not created by pigments but instead by
tiny patterns on the wings. Similarly, tinted glass in old cathedrals
was made by mixing different sizes of gold particles to create a wide
variety of colors. But it is just now that we are beginning to understand
these fascinating phenomena and their potential uses in every day life.
Nanotechnology promises advanced information processing and storage,
new medical treatments, and much more.
NanoDays will feature several hands-on activities for children of all
ages. Visitors will be able to see how big they are compared to nanoscale
objects, understand how a Scanning Probe Microscope allows scientists
to explore the nanoworld, experience the effect of reducing the size
of regular objects by trying to pour water out of a nano-cup, and learn about
nanomaterials used in the manufacture of stain-free clothes. Children and
adults will also have a chance to build models of nanoscale structures,
play with liquid crystals, and make some fluids magically part in the
middle by applying magnets to them.
In parallel with the demonstrations two nanoscientists will provide an
overview of the nanoscale world and the tools that allow us to "see"
it. At 3:00 p.m.
Dr. Kristen Buchanan
from Colorado State University will
talk about "Nanomagnetism" and its application to hard drives. Then,
at 4:00 p.m.
Dr. Jayne Garno from LSU will present "Nano Theater",
in which she will show us images of nano-objects captured in her lab.
Dr. Buchanan is a lead investigator on projects funded by the National
Science Foundation, the National Institute of Standards and Technology,
and Seagate. She also spent four years at Argonne Center for Nanoscale
Materials in Chicago, one of the five Nanoscale Science Research Centers
sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy.
Dr. Garno has won various awards as an emerging young investigator
in chemistry, including the prestigious Early Career Award by NSF.
Before getting her Ph.D. in Chemistry, she worked the night shift as
a bench chemist at General Motors for 10 years while attending classes
during the day as a part-time student.
For more information please visit LSU Nanosciene &
Nanotechnology website or contact Juana Moreno.
Come to be part of NanoDays!
Nanoscience and Nanotechnology for Middle and High School Teachers
Coming soon
A continuing education workshop this summer will offer professional development for science teachers in middle and high schools. By 2015, the U.S. government estimates, there will be a need for 2 million nanotech workers. Yet, no nanoscience curriculum exists in the middle or high schools of Louisiana. Our Nanoworld: Introduction to Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, will provide an overview of the new field of nanoscience for science teachers in all disciplines who want to introduce this field into their classes.
Teachers need not have any background in nanoscience. The workshop is designed for teachers with a wide range of experiences in different science fields. This is a great opportunity to learn about this new field of science that the U.S. Government has identified as the third-highest national funding priority.