![\"High-school](\"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mse\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/01\/MABEline-1024x576.png\")
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By Randall Brown.<\/p>\n
The MSE department again presented materials science and engineering in the Tennessee Governor\u2019s School for Materials Science and Engineering for 2020, with a course presentation adapted for remote learning necessitated by the year\u2019s pandemic. This year\u2019s program hosted 26 high-school students from across Tennessee.<\/p>\n
This annual summer program usually follows portions of the sophomore MSE curriculum with a hearty dose of materials science experimental concepts, followed by data analysis, report writing, and presentations.<\/p>\n
\u201cTypically, the students enjoy spending lots of time on the scanning electron microscope, and crafting additional experiments to present at the end of the school poster session,\u201d said Associate Professor of Practice Chris Wetteland, who led Governor\u2019s School efforts for MSE. \u201cThis year we had to give the students a laboratory experience virtually.\u201d<\/p>\n
The experience succeeded largely due to \u201cherculean\u201d efforts from teaching assistants Matthew Cothrine and Ian Greeley and lab supervisor Gerald Egeland.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s incredibly difficult to put together good online laboratory demonstrations,\u201d said Wetteland. \u201cGerald, Matthew, and Ian made many dry runs to perform engaging activities. Over the course of the school, they improved tremendously and we got terrific feedback from the students.\u201d<\/p>\n
Course adaptations for 2020 included multi-themed collaboration with colleagues such as Associate Professor of Nuclear Engineering David Donovan and Assistant Professor Libby Barker from the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Biomedical Engineering.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing online, we wanted to give students a fresh set of faces and to explore materials science across multiple disciplines,\u201d said Wetteland.<\/p>\n
Donovan adapted the curriculum from his introductory course on nuclear engineering to discuss research in materials used for fusion energy. Barker showed students the unique material qualities of MABEline, the synthetic cadaver she and other researchers use in biomedical engineering research.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had lot of assignments that tested the creativity of the group, and we were not disappointed,\u201d said Wetteland. \u201cI am always blown away by how bright and creative our Governor\u2019s School students are, and this year was no exception. They really rose to the challenge to examine our curriculum and found creative ways to present their work. We shared a lot of laughs over the six weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n
The adaptive efforts ultimately offered successful insight into the engineering and STEM world for the participating students, with an added broader exposure thanks to the cross-department faculty participation.<\/p>\n
Wetteland looks forward to a future return to an on-campus Governor\u2019s School.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe goal is for students to come to UT and experience campus and curriculum in person,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have had numerous students over the years join MSE and other engineering departments. We hope that, whether online or in person, the students have a great experience and consider joining UT for their undergraduate education.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Randall Brown. The MSE department again presented materials science and engineering in the Tennessee Governor\u2019s School for Materials Science […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-969","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n