Contact: Charles R. Loebbaka at 847-491-4887
Today's teen-agers may be designing the next generation of fishing poles. Or waterproof baseballs.
Students in 80 schools around the country are working on these projects and other scientific experiments in a national program designed to improve their knowledge of science and mathematics and how they apply to real-world problems involving materials and technology.
They're taking part in the Materials World Modules (MWM) program directed by the Northwestern University Materials Research Center.
Middle- and high-school students in Wisconsin, Illinois, Virginia and Maryland are now working on modules within their science courses to make a new product or improve an existing one. Schools in Washington, Arizona and Texas are expected to join the program in the near future.
Nine educational modules are being developed and incorporated into existing science curriculums in the schools, giving students hands-on experience in the study, evaluation and design of materials. Modules contain experimental kits, teacher and student manuals and a CD-ROM on experimental and pedagogical techniques.
The modules supplement existing science and math curricula in classrooms and help students develop skills and understand the far reaching impact of materials on our technological society.
In the composite module, for example, students are using modern knowledge that has its roots in ancient times. Egyptians combined linen and plaster to encase mummies. Incas and Mayans put plant fibers in pottery to stiffen and strengthen clay.
The fishing pole is one of the design projects in the composite module. These students are using a variety of materials to design, build and test composites to make fishing poles and other products.
The other eight modules are: biodegradable materials, smart sensors, biosensors, concrete: an infrastructure material, ceramics, materials and the environment: food packaging, polymers and sports materials. (see related story)
The modules were developed in cooperation among Northwestern University faculty and graduate students and teachers in the public schools. Each module was developed through extensive field testing in schools.
The schools involved in the program are linked electronically through e mail and the Materials World Modules World Wide Web Page, allowing the program developers and users to communicate.
MWM is a national effort funded by a National Science Foundation grant to Northwestern University. The program is led by R.P.H. Chang, director of the Materials Research Center and professor of materials science and engineering at the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science.
NSF funded the program with $1.8 million for three years and added $400,000 for a fourth year. The State of Illinois has provided an additional $300,000.
(For additional information, contact Professor Chang at 847-491-3598 or the program coordinator, Ruth Rozen, at 847-467-2489.)
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