Using Materials Science for Community Outreach and Engineering Education in Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Lead Researcher and Department
Dr. Amy Hsiao, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, Memorial University
Funding Resources
Harris Centre Applied Research Fund
Summary
Technology innovation has its fundamental roots in engineering and entrepreneurship. This project developed research on using materials science in community outreach, to provide a team-based, hands-on learning experience that demonstrates what Engineering is and how Engineering and Innovation are relevantly applied to the active industrial sectors of Newfoundland and Labrador, i.e. Energy, Oil and Gas, Oceans, and Wildlife. Using research gathered from high school science teachers from K-12 schools across the province, a hands-on learning tool, a 'portable materials science lab kit' was designed for use in high school science classrooms, in which small groups of students work through interactive laboratory modules demonstrating a specific material in a specific application. This kit uses various types of modern materials, i.e. composites, nanomaterials, and shape memory alloys.
The development of this portable materials science lab kit will facilitate several student-based projects, i.e. on new product development, manufacturing and project management, marketing of innovation, and usability testing. The process of innovation is thus shown from the perspective of using materials science to illustrate the progression of 'scientific concept' to 'design' (invention), to 'entrepreneurship' (commercialization), to 'technological application.'
http://www.mun.ca/harriscentre/reports/arf/2009/ARF09Final_Hsiao_MaterialScience.pdf
Dates
2010
Keywords
Technological innovation, Materials science, High school science, K-12 schools
Locations
Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
St. John's
Avalon Peninsula
Industry Sectors
Elementary and Secondary Schools (Educational Services)
Education Research and Development (Professional, Scientific and Technical Services — Scientific Research and Development Services — Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities)
Thematic Categories
K-12 (Education)
Science Education (Education)
Engineering
Departments
Faculty of Engineering & Applied Science (STJ)
Harris Centre (STJ)