Community Faculty & Staff Science STEM

Science at the nano scale excites middle school students in a big way

For several years ISP Faculty Fellow Joe Culver, PhD, associate professor of radiology, and his colleagues in the Program of Excellence in Nanotechnology (PEN) at the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology have offered a free after-school field trip to Washington University for middle school students to explore the topic of nanotechnology. With support from the PEN Skills Core and the ISP, the annual event includes bus transportation from school to campus and back, pizza dinner, and a series of hands-on activities with scientists.
Twenty-three students from Brittany Woods Middle School in University City and 22 students from Hixson Middle School in Webster Groves worked through three different nanotechnology experiments at the Farrell Learning and Teaching Center at the School of Medicine Nov. 18. Scientists assisted them in investigations of stain-resistant fabrics, ultraviolet light protection, and dynamic light scattering during application of a laser beam to a polymer solution.