A4.08 - Active and Significant Learning in an Introductory Materials Science Class

Identification: 150


Fabrication of Thin Film Magnetic Nanostructures by Templated Self-Assembly

Identification: 206


Functional 3D Micro/Nanostructures by Non-Linear Mechanical Assembly

Nov 29, 2015 12:00am ‐ Nov 29, 2015 12:00am

Identification: 205


Tutorial - Emerging Technologies Encompassing the Complexity of Cancer

Nov 29, 2015 1:30pm ‐ Nov 29, 2015 4:00pm

Identification: 110

Cancer encompasses a broad family of more than 100 complex diseases that share the phenomenon of cell populations that undergo uncontrolled division and also have the potential to invade other tissues in the body. Our ability to understand the vast complexity of cancer, much less clinically control it, is only as good as the tools we have available to study it. For materials scientists seeking to understand the challenges and opportunities, the tutorial will provide an overview of two important fields of technology development: modeling systems and analysis tools.


Materials science is a fundamental feature driving progress in both of these critical fields, yet more is required from the materials science community to further advance capabilities on both fronts. For example, new hydrogel materials for 3D cell culture were integrated in microfluidics for modeling tumor angiogenesis. Novel magnetic nanomaterials were exploited for tumor targeting and biomarker detection. Symposium K will highlight groundbreaking advances that span a broad landscape of emerging molecular- and cellular-scale technologies focused on cancer.


Part I of the tutorial discusses the evolution of microsystems for modeling tumor development, progression and metastasis. In particular, descriptions on tumor vascular modeling capturing early stage mechanisms of metastatic potential and characterizing epithelial to mesenchymal transition will provide materials scientists with an understanding of critical events of tumorigenesis, proliferation and progression.


Part II focuses on innovative molecular and cellular detection technologies, especially for cancer diagnosis and monitoring. A broad spectrum of sensor technologies that have been applied towards targeting and tracking molecular markers, circulating tumor cells, and trafficking vesicles used to identify cancer is discussed.


Tutorial - Broader Impacts Tutorial: 21st Century Tools for Accelerating Scientific Research

Nov 29, 2015 1:30pm ‐ Nov 29, 2015 5:00pm

Identification: 120

Pursuit of scientific discovery is the central underpinning concept of modern civilization. The immense investment in government-sponsored research in the U.S. has laid the foundation for national scientific, economic, and military security in the 21st century. However, the doubling of scientific publications every nine years jeopardizes this foundation because it is becoming increasingly difficult to track the vast majority of relevant research, and hence explore and evaluate relevant information.


For scientists to maintain their awareness of relevant scientific work and continue to make advances in fundamental and applied research, original approaches that utilize newly emerging computational methods and machine-learning capabilities to accelerate scientific progress must be developed.


This tutorial presents novel computational analytic methods capable of unlocking the human knowledge that’s been documented and archived in the unstructured text of hundreds of millions of scientific publications to extend scientific discovery beyond human capacity.


The instructors explore pathways for visualizing and comprehending knowledge propagation, evolution, and assessment of scientific research fronts, and methods for quantifying research impact within the scientific community and beyond.


Tutorial - Emerging Applications of Nanowires in Life Sciences and Optoelectronics

Nov 29, 2015 1:30pm ‐ Nov 29, 2015 5:00pm

Identification: 130

Maria Tchernycheva reviews the forefront of applied research enabled by nitride (lll-N) semiconductor nanowires. She focuses on nanowire optoelectronic applications such as light emission and photodetection to explain how these nanomaterials have the potential to boost device performance, improve energy efficiency, reduce cost and bring new functionalities. Device fabrication and characterization is described in detail along with recent advances towards flexible nanowire devices.


Materials & Engineering: Propelling Innovation - an MRS Bulletin Special Issue Session

Dec 2, 2015 2:00pm ‐ Dec 2, 2015 5:00pm

Identification: 135

Comprised of talks and an expert panel discussion, the session will examine the intertwining of materials developments and engineering applications. The focus of discussion will be on the translation of materials research into real applications, and how applications themselves push materials research forward. We encourage audience participation throughout the session, particularly during the panel discussion.

A4.04 - Lab to Market to Classroom: Smart Functional Materials and Beyond

Dec 18, 2015 9:00am ‐ Dec 18, 2015 10:00am

Identification: 156

Interventions on graduate curricula to integrate novel scientific concepts are common practice. The fast-evolving character of graduate curricula, however, does not translate down the education structure. Indeed, scientific curricula in undergraduate and specially, in K-12 education have through decades been the subject of discussion, often debating between placing emphasis on science content knowledge or on the applications derived from it. The notion of adding content and the absence of provisions to reduce, or even suppress, previous content has been pervasive, leading to impasse. In this paper, we explore a novel educative scenario, where technology still in developmental phases is brought to a classroom environment, providing students with early exposure to still-to-be-elucidated scientific phenomena. This new ecosystem has been identified recently as the Lab-to-Market-to-Classroom. It was first introduced as a work plan for the dissemination of refreshable, photoactuatable tactile displays to the visually impaired (enabled by smart nanocomposites), serving both Lab-to-Market and Lab-to- Classroom initiatives. This topic is timely as it resonates with the development of curricula and activities involving novel and newly discovered materials. In this discussion, structure and implications of the Lab-to-Market-to-Classroom will be developed further. This work plan was designed in accordance with the logic model, which identifies an overlap amongst classroom, market, and laboratory. This overlap seemed to nucleate when a technology in developmental phase is deployed in a classroom with high affinity to such technology. In this scheme, students are stakeholders whom help decide both content and applications to be included in the developing curriculum, and provide technology feedback, effectively leading to increased consumer acceptance. The identified Lab-to-Market-to-Classroom continuum could be the missing link in our efforts to nurture sustainable scientific, technological, and curricular development.

A2.02 - A Module for Teaching Ceramic Processing to Children with Dyslexia

Dec 21, 2015 11:30am ‐ Dec 21, 2015 12:30pm

Identification: 140

Relevant, hands-on instruction is an effective way to reach any student, but can be particularly effective for under-represented groups. For dyslexic students, who normally lag behind their peers in reading due to difficulties in recognizing and processing certain symbols, the use of hands-on demonstration and individual manipulation of 3D objects to relay scientific concepts is preferred to reading- or writing-based tasks. Through interactions with the Trefny Institute for Educational Innovation, we have developed an age- and ability-appropriate module explaining ceramic processing for the Rocky Mountain Dyslexia Camp, a 5-week summer program for children aged 7-13 who are diagnosed with dyslexia. In developing new content for the camp, the module relies almost entirely on hands-on, discovery-based activities. These activities show the students that they are capable of successfully conducting scientific inquiry and provide an opportunity to promote interest in STEM careers for students who, without intervention, might not be encouraged to pursue such an academically demanding path.

A5.10 - Bringing Material Properties Measurement Down to Scale for Students

Jan 5, 2016 3:00pm ‐ Jan 5, 2016 4:00pm

Identification: 185