Work in progress - ´lab-on-a-chip´ micromanufacturing with a nanotechnology component for a first-year engineering program: implementation results

A micromanufacturing lab-on-a-chip project with a nanotechnology component was introduced in Winter and Spring 2004 as a pilot laboratory experience at The Ohio State University for first-year engineering students as a voluntary alternative within the standard first-year engineering curriculum. Students enrolling in the course participated in a quarter-length design, build, and test problem utilizing project management skills found in the standard lab sections. This course offering represented a significant effort to transfer graduate level research findings to a freshman engineering setting. Further expansion of this project for winter and spring quarters of 2005 included three 72-student sections and one 36-student honors section. Pre- and post-tests on nanotechnology concepts in the 2005 offerings will help to gauge increases in student knowledge and understanding of fundamental nanotechnology topics. Pre- and post-surveys indicate the effects of the course on student interest and participation in research and nanotechnology-related issues at an undergraduate, graduate, or professional level