MRSEC NYC High School Visitation Program

In October, 1999 Professor Siu-Wai Chan began a new MRSEC outreach program that brings the excitement of materials science and engineering to high schools in New York City. In each visit, a team of Columbia students introduces the high school students to the world of materials through exciting demonstrations. Initially, the program targeted NYC high schools in Manhattan and the Bronx, the program has since expanded to Queens and Brooklyn. In the longer term this program will be expanded to K-8 schools.

One objective of these visits is to foster the interests of K-12 students in science and technology by showing them the marvels of materials science and engineering, and describing the relevance of science to our quality of life. We aim to present to them an informative and entertaining show. We want to spark their interest in science and to inform them of career opportunities in technology. A final goal is to improve the retention of a diverse student body on track for careers in science and technology.

    

Visit to New Explorations in Science, Technology and Math in Manhattan
Demonstrations of (from left to right): superconductivity, thermal conductivity and crystal structures

Typically a team of three students, led by a Prof. Chan, another faculty member or Justine Herrera, visits a school. There are currently thirteen Columbia University graduate students and post docs trained to perform the demonstrations. We bring our tool kits of materials and our own liquid nitrogen. The lesson is tailored to the class time, 45-60 minutes, and class size, 20-30 students. During each visit the team typically addresses 4 - 6 science classes, with a total of 100-150 students. The high school students have been interested in these presentations and have asked many questions. The teachers have been pleased with our visits and have requested us to return to their schools, sometimes even during the same academic year to meet with other classes.

The demonstration modules used to present material have been adapted from those prepared by ASM, TMS, the American Ceramic Society and by Brian D. Flinn, Gordon Graff, Katie Gunnison and James Webb of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering in the University of Washington.

Demonstration units:

1. Properties of Materials Being Sensitive to Temperature:
Racquetballs are shown to bounce at 22 C (295 K) and to be brittle at 77 K (200 K).

2. Solid State Phase Transformation-Concepts of Crystal Structures:
The change of crystal structure due to stress and heat is demonstrated by shaping a memory alloy.

3. Work Hardening of Metals:
The concept of dislocations and the origin of ductility in metals is demonstrated.

4. Thermal Conductivity of Metals and Ceramics:
The concept of heat resistance is illustrated using a Mg wire, MgO, metal rod, glass rod, and a space shuttle tile.

5. Strength vs. Toughness:
These are compared by using embroidery hoops with Al foil and plastic wrap, silly putty, Corelle plates, Kevlar fiber compared to a cotton string, and balloons with and without tape.

6. Stress Analysis using Birefringence:
Polarized sheets reveal stress concentrated areas in plastics.

7. Superconductivity - Meissner Effect:
This is illustrated by the levitation of a magnet above a superconductor.
 

High Schools Already Visited and to be Visited
(The expanded borough is Manhattan. The other four boroughs, clockwise starting from the north, are the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn, and Staten Island.)

Watch the MRSEC's High School Outreach Program in action in Quicktime (40.6Mb)
Download Quicktime

For more information about these and related programs, please contact Professors Siu-Wai Chan or Irving P. Herman.