The present study describes the design of a simple teaching module for each student to fabricate a dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) that could power a small fan motor. The significance of this laboratory exercise is to stimulate students' motivation by visualizing the light being converted into electricity, which is then switched over to kinetic…

This paper describes a non-classical logic course primarily indicated for graduate students in electrical engineering and energy engineering. The content of this course is based on the vision that it is not enough for a student to indefinitely accumulate knowledge; it is necessary to explore all the occasions to update, deepen, and enrich that…

The paper presents an interactive module created through the Wolfram Demonstrations Project that visualizes the Zeeman effect for the small magnetic field strengths present in the interstellar medium. The paper provides an overview of spectral lines and a few examples of strong and weak Zeeman splitting before discussing the module in depth.…

The benefit of external, often industry-based, speakers for a seminar series associated with both undergraduate and graduate programmes is relatively unchallenged. However, the means by which such a seminar series can be encapsulated within a structured learning module, and the appropriate design of an accompanying assessment methodology, is not…

An experimental learning module has been developed to study the mass and energy balance involved with operation of an AA Alkaline battery under a load current. An extension of the module allows evaluation of laboratory-assembled batteries using granular anodic/cathodic materials. The system allows load resistance to be varied and measures voltage…

The introduction of teaching about liquid crystals is discussed from several points of view: the rationale why to teach them, the basics about liquid crystals or what the teacher should teach about them, the fundamental pre-knowledge of students required, the set of experiments accompanying the teaching and the brief report on the already…

In this article we report on the use of a graduate "Special Topics" course to provide vital research and practical laboratory experience, within the context of developing a chemical process to manufacture biodiesel from algal sources. This course contained several key components that we believe are necessary skills in graduate research: 1) a…

Photovoltaic-cell-based projects have been used to train eight incoming undergraduate women who were part of a residential summer programme at a women's college. A module on renewable energy and photovoltaic cells was developed in the physics department. The module's objectives were to introduce women in science, technology, engineering and…

Research Experiences for Teachers (RET), funded by the National Science Foundation, offer teachers an opportunity to participate in current, hands-on scientific research in laboratories across the United States. These experiences provide an avenue for teachers to understand the process of research and gain insight on emerging technologies with the…

A project was conducted to field test selected first- and second-year courses in a postsecondary nuclear quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) technician curriculum and to develop the teaching/learning modules for seven technical specialty courses remaining in the QA/QC technician curriculum. The field testing phase of the project involved the…

A project was conducted to develop a laboratory-based instructional system in physics for two-year technician programs that emphasizes both the analogies between basic physical principles and the applications of the principles in modern technology. The Unified Technical Concepts (UTC) system that was developed is (1) a reorganization of physics…

A comprehensive teaching/learning chemical energy package was developed to overcome conceptual/experimental difficulties and time required for calculation of enthalpy changes. The package consists of five types of activities occuring in repeated cycles: group activities, laboratory experiments, inquiry questionnaires, teacher-led class…

A project designed a national curriculum model for Energy Conservation-and-Use Technicians (ECUTs) and developed and tested instructional materials for use in the courses. The two-year postsecondary ECUT curriculum was designed to provide an interdisciplinary technical base (electrical, mechanical, thermal, and fluidal principles) and technical…

With support from NASA's (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) Goddard Space Flight Center, IGES (Institute for Global Environmental Strategies) has developed educational materials that incorporate information and data from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM), a joint satellite mission between the United States and Japan.…