This file includes the lab manual write-up for the Au nanosphere and nanorod photoabsorption and scattering Lab experiment for the 2nd year Experimental Contemporary Physics Lab Course. In addition, several handouts are provided along with some additional information for instructors. This work was supported in part by by NSF Awards: ECCS #0701703, DMR #0707740 & DMR #1105121. The experiment can readily be upgraded to an advanced lab by giving more responsibility to the students for lab setup (give them an optical breadboard and parts) and by asking for more in-depth analysis and questions which require more knowledge and experimental skills to answer.

These zipped documents from MatEd provide information on designing a course on 3 Dimensional Digital Laser Scanning Fundamentals. At the end of the course, students will be able to identify applications for 3 dimensional digital laser scanning, operate a NextEngine brand 3 dimensional digital laser scanner, and have proposed a project to reinforce these concepts. The documents include a draft syllabus, contact information for the author of the course, a sample new course proposal form, and a course outline.

In 1953, Gottfried Moellenstedt invented the electron biprism, more or less by accident, with the serendipity characteristic to him: Aiming at dark-field imaging in an electron microscope, he stretched a thin tungsten wire across the objective aperture to block off the zero beam. However, instead of a dark field image, because of inadvertent charging of the wire under the beam, he found two images of the ZnO-needles serving as an object. Instead of trying the dark field imaging over and over again, he asked what the effect would be if the obtained two images were superimposed. Is coherence given? Moellenstedt, educated by Walther Kossel in diffraction of electron waves, had a vision: Together with his PhD-student Heinrich Dueker, he developed the electron biprism, consisting of a 1 micron m thin wire deliberately chargeable by means of a voltage source, as a beam splitter for coherent superposition of the electron waves passing the filament on the right and on the left. In 1955 they published the first results showing biprism interference fringes [G. Moellenstedt and H. Dueker, Naturwiss. 42, 41 (1955)], which, since then, gave access to the understanding of electron waves and their use for analysis of object structures up to atomic dimensions. Target Audience: 2-4 Year College Faculty/Administrators

The main goal is to understand some basic laser theory and the method of creating a 532 nm (green) laser emission from an 808 nm (IR) laser. In the process you will learn the basics about laser diodes, pumping a gain medium, the purpose of special optical coatings, second harmonic generation, and the electronics / measurement tools for optical characterization. This lab can be constructed for under $1K with some creativity. Having introduced the lab already to students, they found it both interesting and fun to go through. Presented at the 2013 AAPT Summer Meeting in Portland, Oregon. W36: Advanced Labs Workshop

This web page contains an introductory physics homework assignment relating to roller coaster design, developed as an alternative to traditional textbook homework. Students use observational skills and mathematical modeling, combined with basic physics, to design a roller coaster with specified characteristics. The student must formulate a design that is both safe and provides sufficient energy for cars to reach the end of the track. Concepts explored in this problem include gravity, potential and kinetic energy, circular motion, drag due to friction, center of mass, and acceleration. This item is part of a larger collection of alternative homework assignments designed for introductory physics students. Each assignment poses a series of questions about a single context. To successfully complete assignments, students must think critically about how the physical situation could be represented by mathematics.

The Adaptive Use Bridge Project website is a repository for work being conducted at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, in which historic iron bridges are rehabilitated, documented, and analyzed. The purpose of the project is to preserve the civil engineering heritage of New England and to develop instructional material for use in undergraduate civil engineering curricula. Upon completion of this long-term project, a protocol for adaptive pedestrian use of historic bridges will be created.

The Advanced Technology Environmental and Energy Center (ATEEC) provides a wide range of environmental and energy technology learning resources for students, teachers, and technicians; the Center does this, in part, through their electronic Environmental Resources Library (eErl) digital library. The Center's objective is the "advancement of environmental technology education through curriculum development, professional development, and program improvement in the nation's community colleges and high schools." ATEEC is housed at Scott Community College (Bettendorf, Iowa) and was established by National Science Foundation (NSF) Advanced Technology Education (ATE) Center funds.

A list of mathematics journals with articles on the Web and a list of Web sites for printed journals, with tables of contents of issues, abstracts of papers, actual papers, information about submissions and subscriptions, etc. See also the Annual Listing of New Journals in Mathematics file, which notes newly established journals devoted to papers in mathematics, organized by year.

The Advanced Technology Environmental and Energy Center (ATEEC) provides this document, which was part of a workshop held on anaerobic digestion for mitigation of biodiesel production byproducts. It would be useful for instructors looking to develop their own curriculum on biofuels and biodiesel byproducts. Users must download this resource for viewing, which requires a free log-in. There is no cost to download the item.

The government of Finland has begun planning a new national curriculum framework for the comprehensive and upper secondary schools. The aim of this study was to find information that could be used in establishing a theoretical basis for planning the technology education curriculum. In order to define the scope and focus of each curriculum element (e.g., rationale, theory, objectives, methods, content, and means of evaluation), the technology education curricula of six different countries were studied: Australia, England, France, The Netherlands, Sweden, and the United States. The rationale for choosing these six countries was that their technology education programs have developed rapidly over the past ten years and profound research, experimental programs, and the development of learning materials have been undertaken, especially in Australia, England, The Netherlands, and the United States. The aim was not to conduct a comparative study of the curricula of other countries. Rather, it was to synthesize theory and practice. A secondary aim was to search for more detailed and concrete curriculum materials for provincial, district, municipal, and school purposes. Although this research was conducted to support Finnish curriculum development, the results may be pertinent to other countries as well. Different countries use different terms to describe technology education, such as technics, design and technology, technology education, and technological education. In this study these titles were considered to be synonymous. Regardless of the term used, the universal goal is to help students to become technologically literate. A model was developed so that the technology education curricula of the selected countries could be systematically analyzed and the important curricular elements could be identified. Assessment practices were not included in the study, although Kimbell's (1997) work in this area must be recognized since he included most of the countries reported herein. The analysis is presented in two phases. First, the curricula of the six countries are summarized. The goal at the outset was to cross tabulate the elements from the curricula; however, it was found that the countries differ to such degree that it was impossible to reach this goal. Curriculum guidelines of the six countries are, however, presented so that the reader can obtain a general understanding of the different curricula. Following this, all six countries are examined more closely using a method of systematic analysis in order to identify both common and unique features of their curricula.

The Analytical Sciences Digital Library (ASDL) provides a collection of peer-reviewed web-based educational resources related to technical resources in the analytical sciences. Materials include articles, labware, educational practices, and more.

The Ant Colony Optimization project uses the behavior of ants as a model to solve optimization problems, such as how to minimize Internet traffic congestion. Several downloadable research papers are included on the project's homepage, as well as links to news stories, radio broadcasts, and conference proceedings about ant algorithms.

This PDF document from the Center for the Advancement of Process Technology provides a course outline for a basic applied mathematics course. Each section of the document includes learning objectives.

Presented by the Arizona Solar Center, a non-profit organization that promotes the use of solar energy. Provides information about solar technologies, including photovoltaics, solar cooking, solar water heating, solar architecture, wind power. Provides hands-on activities for the classroom, legislative information, and links to products and services.

Created by Alan Heckert and James Filliben, this chapter of the National Institute of Standard and Technology (NIST) Engineering Statistics handbook __ďĐdescribes the terms, models and techniques used to evaluate and predict product reliability. It contains an introduction, discussions on the assumptions, and sections on reliability data collection and analysis. The lesson is a fairly detailed overview of the statistical theories and applications of product reliability.

Education reform has focused increasingly on critical thinking processes, including problem solving and student assessment. Correspondingly, curriculum and professional development efforts are directed toward developing problem solving abilities through authentic learning and problem-based teaching methodologies. The development of problem solving abilities is pivotal to technological literacy. Problem solving is a critical thinking skill necessary for addressing issues related to technology and for developing effective solutions to practical problems. According to the Rationale and Structure for the Study of Technology (ITEA, 1996), technologically literate persons "are capable problem solvers who consider technological issues from different points of view and in relationship to a variety of contexts"(p. 11). Waetjen (1989) cited problem solving as an important skill necessary for optimizing technological innovation and for developing technological literacy. Whether for economic competitiveness (National Commission on Excellence in Education, 1983), technical means for survival (Savage & Sterry, 1990), or to develop common sense knowledge of technology and how it evolves to meet human needs (DeLuca, 1992), problem solving is deemed an essential skill for a productive life. With problem solving a major theme in technology education, there is a need for detailed assessments to determine how students solve problems and at what levels of expertise. This study sought to develop a model for assessing problem solving using a design approach to the study of technology. Target Audience: 2-4 Year College Faculty/Administrators

The Association for Environment Conscious Building is a nonprofit trade organization that promotes green building in Great Britain. Their web site includes news, information on conferences, answers to common questions, expert advice, and an online data base to locate members and green building products.

Contour Crafting (CC) is a layered fabrication technology developed by Dr. Behrokh Khoshnevis of the University of Southern California. Contour Crafting technology has great potential for automating the construction of whole structures as well as sub-components. Using this process, a single house or a colony of houses, each with possibly a different design, may be automatically constructed in a single run, embedded in each house all the conduits for electrical, plumbing and air-conditioning.

This web site contains the resources developed for an upper level optics course. It includes a full textbook and video resources for both labs and demonstrations.

Badminton Projectile Motion uses the Tracker video analysis tool to analyze the motion of a badminton birdie (or shuttlecock) and then to model the motion to include air resistance. The motion of the birdie is already tracked in the video. Students compare the motion to a model of projectile motion without air resistance and then they modify it to include quadratic drag. The zip file contains the activity handout, two videos and associated Tracker files. The videos included come from the Doane College video library at http://physics.doane.edu/physicsvideolibrary/default.html#projectile and YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzKdQKoNbL To open the Tracker file, download and run Tracker from http://www.cabrillo.edu/~dbrown/tracker/. Tracker is free.