Cornell Center for Materials Research

Research Experience for Teachers I 2001

2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999

The 2001 Team-RET program participants were (from left to right):

  • Bob Walters - DeWitt Middle School, Ithaca, NY
  • Diane Irwin - Liverpool High School Annex, Liverpool, NY
  • Jeanine Cosh - Candor High School, Candor, NY
  • Claire Godlewski - Oneida Middle School, Schenectady, NY

The teachers spent most of their time in CCMR's Shared Experimental Facilities. The Team-RET program also included opportunities for the teachers to attend research talks, meet with faculty members and graduate students, and tour other research facilities on the Cornell campus.

The 2001 Team-RET program ran from July 9 - August 17 and included the following activities:

  • Electron and Optical Microscopy Facility
  • Introduction to Diffraction (Dr. Aaron Couture and Graduate student Kevin O'Neill)
  • "Education for Physics Instruction for Secondary School" (Prof. Verne Rockcastle)
  • X-Ray Diffraction Facility
  • "Applications of Elementary Mechanics in Biology and Medicine" (Prof. Rob Thorne)
  • UHV-STEM Laboratory
  • Tour of Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source
  • Spider Silk Research (Prof. David Zax and Post-doc Zhitong Yang)
  • Statistics (Prof. Melissa Hines)
  • Liquid Crystals, Gels and Colloids (Graduate student Gil Toombes and Mark Tate)
  • Materials Facility
  • Polymers (Graduate student Gina Weibel)
  • Chemistry (Graduate student Samantha Glazier)
  • Polymeric Materials (Prof. Dotsevi Sogah)
  • Blue Hot Mamas (Graduate student Karen Daniels)
  • Physics Demonstrations (Lecturer Phil Krasicky)
  • "Introduction to Materials Science" (Dr. Alison Shull)
  • Exploration of Physics Demonstrations (Prof. Jeevak Parpia)
  • Tour of Cornell Nanofabrication Facility
  • Tour of Physical Sciences Library
  • Edible Glass, Chemistry and Climate, and Buoyancy (Graduate student Joshua Pomeroy)
  • Motion Detectors, States of Matter, and Forensic Science if Materials (Graduate student Jennifer Gaudioso)

Optional talks included:

  • "Amazing Things You Can Now Do With Plastics " (Prof. George Malliaris)
  • "Spin-tronics - Electronics that Uses the Electron's Spin" (Prof. Dan Ralph)
  • "Nanobiotechnology or How Many Angels can Dance on the Head of a Pin?" (Prof. Carl Batt)

 

Research Experience for Teachers II 2001

Independent-RET: July 9- August 17, 2001

In the first year of the Independent-RET program seven teachers were selected to participate.

Susan Danskin teaches seventh grade math at DeWitt Middle School in Ithaca, NY. During the summer she worked with Physics Professor Rob Thorne. Her research focused on protein crystallization and static and dynamic light scattering. Susan originally participated in the Team-RET program in 2000.

 

Ronald Hoodak teaches science in the New Visions Program at the Schuyler-Chemung-Tioga Board of Cooperative Educational Services (SCT BOCES) in Elmira, NY. During the summer he worked with Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering Professor Mark Saltzman. This was Ron's first RET experience.

 

Terri Husted teaches Math at DeWitt Middle School in Ithaca, NY. During the summer she worked with Materials Science and Engineering Professor Ulrich Wiesner and graduate student Phong Du. Her research focused on polymers and the addition of inorganic precursors to diblock copolymers to create different morphologies. Terri previously participated in the team-RET program in 1999. As a result of her experience, Terri made a website to help high school students and teachers know more about materials science: What is Materials Science and Engineering?

David Newton teaches at Cortland Jr./Sr. High School. During the summer he worked with Physics Professor Carl Franck in researching the linear response in charged colloids. David originally participated in the Team-RET program in 1999. For more information on his research view the presentation he gave at the end of the summer.

  • David Newton's RET II research presentation: pdf ~926kb

Ann Phinney-Foreman teaches Chemistry at Waverly High School. During the summer she worked with Chemistry and Chemical Biology Professor Frank DiSalvo. Her research focused on the chemistry of tungsten cluster compounds. Ann originally participated in the Team-RET program in 1999. For more information on Ann's research view the presentation she gave at the end of the summer or read her research report.

  • Ann Phinney-Foreman's RET II research presentation: pdf ~998kb
  • Ann Phinney-Foreman's RET II research report: pdf~16kb

Valerie White teaches for Saturday Academy, Northeast Elementary School and South Hill Elementary School. During the summer she worked with Physics Professor Veit Elser. Valerie originally participated in the Team-RET program in 2000.

 

Stephen Zielinski teaches 7th grade science and high school math at South Seneca Middle School in Ovid, NY. Steve worked with Materials Science and Engineering Professor David Grubb. He originally participated in the Team-RET program in 2000.

 

 

At the end of the RET program, teachers are expected to develop a materials science related lesson plan. These lesson plans, which we refer to as modules, have been as varied as the teacher that have participated and have ranged in topic from geology to biodegradable polymers to balsa wood bridges. The full list of RET developed modules can be found on our RET Modules page.

 

 
Edited on: 17 August 2009 11:36 am