Target Grade Levels: 11-12

Requirements for Participation: Must be a MAGPI Member and have H.323 videconferencing capabilities

Description:

MAGPI is very pleased to announce a new collaboration with the Laboratory for Research on the Structure of Matter at the University of Pennsylvania. Join UPENN faculty members for one or more of these exciting presentations topics related to material sciences!

On May 4, 2009 from 1:00 p.m. .- 2:00 p.m. ET, Jorge Santiago-Aviles will present part of his research and that of his students. It deals with the fabrication of conducting (carbon and graphite), semiconducting (tin and zinc oxide) and insulating (PZT, a piezoelectric ceramic) nanoscopic fibers and the elucidation of their structure and properties. We will look at possible utilization of these materials in electronic devices and other applications.

Preparing for the Videoconference:

Introduction to nano-fibers and nano-wires fabrication: The synthetic route toward nanoscopic materials fabrication should be a familiar set of processes to the students interested in discussing its importance in modern technology. Some easily available websites are

·         http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrospinning

·         http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanowire

·         An excellent PPT presentation can be found in:

http://www14.informatik.tu-muenchen.de/konferenzen/Jass05/courses/5/Papers/Gawlina_paper.pdf

Develop Questions: Students will develop questions for Prof. Santiago related to the presentation topic prior to the videoconference. Teachers may want to hand out index cards for students to jot down questions during the presentation as well.

About Dr. Jorge Santiago

An Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering in Penn's School of Engineering and Applied Science. He is the Faculty Master at Kings Court -English College House  where he was instrumental in the organization of the  STWing  which have been serving the technically oriented student population for more than a decade. His Research Interests has recently moved to the general field of Meso-scale Electro Mechanical Systems, where in collaboration with colleagues from industry and MEAM, he stablished the   Ceramic Materials Meso-Fabrication Laboratory  His interest in serving Penn's students constituency has led him to serve as advisor to the IEEE student chapter , The Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) and recently as a co-founder of La Casa Latina  a Center for Hispanic Excellence. More information can be found at: http://www.ese.upenn.edu/~santiago/.