Making the Nanoworld Accessible: Nanoscience Education Using Scanning Probe Methods

A partnership between researchers and educators at the University of Washington, North Seattle Community~College~and two companies, Nanosurf, AG and nanoScience Instruments has been forged to develop a nationally replicable model of a sustainable and up-to-date undergraduate teaching laboratory of scanning probe microscopy (SPM) methods applied to nanoscience and nanotechnology. Within this partnership a new paradigm of operating and maintaining a SPM laboratory has been developed that provides a truly hands-on experience in a classroom laboratory setting with a small student to instrument ratio involving a variety of SPM techniques and topics.~ To date, we have run a first successful undergraduate~laboratory workshop, where students were able to have extensive hands-on experience on five SPM modes of operation including: electrostatic force microscopy~involving photovoltaic polymeric materials, ~tunneling microscopy and the determination of the workfunction, and nanolithography using the dip-pen method. http://depts.washington.edu/ nanolab/NUE{\_}UNIQUE/NUE{\_}UNIQUE.htm