CCNY PREM

Curriculum Development

Undergraduate Curriculum.

The PREM team has substantial experience in development of courses in materials-related fields. Kretzschmar has been active in this effort since beginning at CCNY in 2004, and has taken a leadership role in bringing the exciting world of nanomaterials to the undergraduate curriculum in science and engineering. She directed a Nanoscale Undergraduate Education program over the last two years involving also Koplik, Morris and Tu among a total of 13 participating faculty; the program has developed both a survey lecture course and a laboratory course in nanomaterials which spans synthesis, characterization, applications, and ethical issues. This course is an example of how the team brings its expertise to the undergraduates. Kretzschmar is the curriculum coordinator of the PREM and will guide efforts to enhance the materials-related offerings in both engineering and science, and will spearhead efforts to determine the feasibility of bringing a materials science major to the CCNY Schools of Engineering and Science. At the graduate level, PREM senior personnel have developed a number of courses. These include Koplik’s “Molecular simulation” which is now a highly-subscribed elective, Shattuck’s “Granular Materials”, Lee’s “Advanced Topics in Fluid Mechanics – Interfacial Dynamics and Transport Phenomena” and Morris’s “Particulate two-phase flow”. In connection with a recent IGERT program in soft materials, these courses have been made regular offerings and the PREM participants will benefit from these courses and others proposed. Koplik and Morris will develop a course in nonequilibrium statistical mechanics through the PREM support. This will provide critical foundation for more advanced coursework to be developed. For example, the soft materials laboratory in Chemical Engineering will be complemented by development of a course in “Computational soft materials” to be developed under PREM support, which will expose a range of simulation tools, focusing on dynamical methods which allow insight to the role of heterogeneity on bulk behavior. Through the City University and Columbia University consortium, students throughout the system may take these courses , thus expanding their value.

Middle School and High School STEM Curriculum

Professional Development for Physical Science Educators

CCNY PREM k-12 STEM Education Initiative

The CCNY PREM team developed a novel high school curriculum development course titled "PEPSE: Partnership in Experimental Physical Science Education". This course offering in the physical sciences is designed to enhance participant knowledge and practice of experimental research methods in material science. The content of this course is multidisciplinary, introducing concepts and applications of engineering, chemistry, physics, and mathematics through the lens of contemporary research methodologies and guided inquiry. The course is intended for physical science educators who are interested in developing a set of hands-on experimental teaching modules (ETMs) for implementation in high school physical science courses. More info....

PEPSE Summer 2011 Lessons (coming soon)