Education Outreach \\ Education & Outreach Overview
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Education & Outreach Overview

The objectives of the education program are to

Each participant in our educational programs will join an International Research Team (IRT) led by a TeraNano researcher and comprised of researchers from domestic and international TeraNano institutions. This will ensure that each participant has close interaction with numerous participants and will enhance the integration of the research and education programs.

These programs will uniquely impact undergraduate and graduate students by providing an introduction to nanoscale research through the following tiered and targeted educational activities.

NanoJapan International Research Experience for Undergraduates (IREU)

This is an extension of the highly successful and nationally recognized PIRE NanoJapan Program. Our program design, integrating culture and language study with an international research experience, has been nationally recognized as an innovative and effective model for international STEM research programs by the 2008 IIE Heiskell Award. The program includes a three-week language and culture orientation program in Tokyo followed by an nine-week research internship at leading university or national laboratories in Japan. The capstone experience is the presentation of a research poster at the Rice Quantum Institute's Summer Research Colloquium. The program is open to freshman and sophomore engineering or physics students from universities nationwide.

 

TeraNano Graduate Fellowships & International Internships

To support the proposed collaborative research, our graduate education program will include:

 

Introduction to Thz and Nanoscale Science Seminar

To provide NanoJapan undergraduate and graduate students with a solid foundation in ThZ and nanscale science and research the TeraNano research team, in collaboration with Education Team members, will develop this pre-departure seminar course. TeraNano researchers from Rice and collaborating instituions will give introductory talks on relevant topics and research that will be supplemented with guest lectures from our NanoJapan Research Host professors during the three-week language and culture orinetation program in Tokyo. These lectures will be live webcast and archived online allowing for live or asynchronous participation by students and researchers, both within the U.S. and Japan.

 

Technical Japanese Modules

In cooperation with the designated NanoJapan language school in Tokyo, Prof. Shimojo, will design a technical Japanese program that he will be delivered during the orientation program. Modules designed for novice learners will stress basic
vocabulary and Japanese characters associated with laboratory environments, especially as related to lab safety. Modules for intermediate learners will provide a more advanced introduction to Japanese language as related to science. Additionally, he will develop self-guided, web-based exercises that students will complete via interactive web conferences during their research experiences. These web-based exercises will be archived online and available to all TeraNano students and researchers.

 

Alumni Outreach

TeraNano Graduate Fellows and NanoJapan IREU alumni will support the continued development of research and intercultural competencies among undergraduate and graduate alumni by completing outreach projects designed to encourage students to pursue nanoscale science and research at the undergraduate or graduate level. These outreach efforts include:

 

NanoRice for International Students

Undergraduate and graduate students from our partner institutions in Japan, or other countries, are welcome to come to Rice University for unpaid, short-term research internships in TeraNano research labs. To be eligible students must be able to meet all immigration requirements for Visiting International Research Students and must be fully funded by home university support or a combination of home university support and personal funding. To date twelve students from Hokkaido University and one student from Chiba University have completed short-term research internships through this program.

 

NanoJapan K-12 Outreach

While our TeraNano project does not have specific education programs for K-12 students or teachers our staff and students are available as resourcese for the educational community. The online Intro to ThZ and Nanoscale Science Seminar webcasts and Technical Japanese modules can be helpful resources for teachers or students interested in learning more about nanoscale science or Japanese language.

NanoJapan program alumni and staff are also available to give informational talks about NanoJapan to high school physics and science classes, provided we are located in your local area. If you are a high school administrator or teacher who would like to ask someone to speak to your class please email nanojapan@rice.edu.

Rice University and our partner institutions also offer a wide range of programs and courses for K-12 teachers and students that may be of interest to those interested in nanoscale science and Japan.

 

Other Related Programs

The TeraNano PIRE Center maintains an extensive listing of related international programs for undergraduates, graduates, post-doctoral scholars, and faculty. These range from related domestic or international research experience programs to international programs targeted to engineering and science students.

 

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