Various Topics and Course Reflections

I have sometimes included additional topics in my first semester class:Intellectual Property: Many nanotechnology firms are involved in developing patents and intellectual property so I often include a section on this topic. Following is the Powerpoint I use:fn1_unit_4_topics_ip.pptX-Rays: X-Rays are an important analysis tool usedfn1_xrays.pptX-Ray Analysis: We have an Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (EDS) system on our SEM so I can show the students that directly. We do not have any X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) equipment here yet so I use a simulation provided by UW Madison ICE.http://mrsec.wisc.edu/Edetc/supplies/OTK/index.htmlHere are my lecture notes.fn1_xrays_analysis.pptI had to remove many pictures from these since I did not have the copyrights for them but you can probably find pictures on the internet or Wikipedia to put in.MRAM: I sometimes like to include this topic because the is the industry I worked in for about five years.fn1_unit_4_topics_mram.pptLooking back over the course a few things occur to me. When I first started teaching I tended to clump topics. For example I would spend the first few weeks going over math, then switch to chemistry and then switch to physics. Now I am trying to avoid this. It is better if I can introduce some math, physics and chemistry topics as needed throughout the course. Another problem I have is covering so many analysis tools in the middle of the course. I thought it worked better to move XRD to the end of the course. In the future I would try to spread things out even more. For instance each topic should introduce some essential math concepts related to the topic, some basic physics and chemistry supporting the topic and some analysis equipment related to the topic.

Various Topics and Course Reflections

Comments

Activity