High School Teachers Summer Internship

Volume 2 Number 1 Summer 2004

Updating the Web Sites

One of the primary objectives this summer is the upgrading of the CMU Web site. All projects are identically formatted. It will be linked to additional websites in time. Our projects have been viewed across the world having received inquiries about specifics as far as Greece. So our work is truly international.

2004 Candidates Mike & Justin

The summer of 2004 find F. Mike Real, an Earth and Space Science teacher, from Taylor Allderdice High School (far right) and Justin Sickle, a Chemistry Teacher from West Mifflin Area High School (center) discuss their progress with Dr. Rohrer (left)

The two candidates selected for the summer 2004 NSF project were Mike Real, and Justin Sickle. Mike Real, an Earth & Space Science teacher from Taylor Allderdice High School will be working on various topics related to weathering. The second teacher is Justin Sickle, a Chemistry teacher from West Mifflin Area High School, will investigate the properties of composite metals such as titanium.

Your INPUT

Any articles or comments or questions regarding the Internship or any topics on Material Science may be submitted to this newspaper at robertw2@andrew.cmu.edu

Trotignon Speaks on Alkaline Hyper Environments

On June 25 those participating in the 2004 Summer project were privileged to be invited to a presentation from visiting scientist, Laurent Tratignon. Dr. Tratignon is a member of the Atomic Energy Commission in France investigating the long term behavior on cement and metals in hyper alkaline environments. This topic is critical in the disposal of nuclear waste. France is supplied with 80% of its electricity through nuclear power plants. It also supplies Germany and Spain with much of its electricity as well.

Retirements Mean Goodbye

This past winter brought some changes to our summer activities. Two key elements of the program were lost to retirement. Mr. Tom Gamble, who supervised the undergraduate physics lab, was instrumental in the success of many of our summer experiments said good bye to CMU and took a long awaited retirement.

Accompanying Tom was George Biddle. This young man worked 50 plus years at CMU in the machine shop. He retired once before and then came back to work part time. This summer has a void, a loss of many years of experience due to the retirement of these two young men. Everyone, who came in contact with these individuals, is a better person as a result of that contact.

Where Are They Now?

Pete Candreava who had taught at Schenley High School, has taken physics position at North Hills H.S.

UPDATES

Updates to the surveys will be needed this school year. Dr. Rohrer will begin to gather data from the surveys that were submitted and need to be updated to include this forthcoming school year, in order to prepare all documentation to renew this NSF Grant, so other teachers can benefit from it. A notice will be sent in October requesting the information.

Where do materials engineers work?

Because materials are the starting point for new products, materials engineers work on the leading edge in many industries. In microelectronics, materials engineers focus on making microelectronic units smaller, less expensive and faster. They work to increase the capacity of magnetic memory devices such as hard drives and the storage capacity of permanent magnetic devices. Materials engineers have enhanced monitor resolution, decreased weight and increased battery life for computers. Advances in materials have made telecommunications and cellular phones more affordable. Safety, fuel efficiency and reduced pollution are just a few of the assignments for materials engineers in the automotive industry where composites and polymers are replacing steel body panels and aluminum and ceramics are finding new uses. Materials engineers are leading the development of strong, lightweight composites in high-tech industries such as aeronautical and aerospace. By developing artificial skin for bum victims and chromium alloy hip implants, materials engineers are improving quality of life for many people. Other contributions to health care include new diagnostic equipment like ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging. Energy production is becoming a cleaner process due to pollution controls. New power sources, like solar cells which convert sunlight to electricity, are becoming more cost-effective thanks to research by materials scientists. New developments in permanent magnetic material have revolutionized their application. New ceramic engines will be able to operate at higher temperatures, increasing engine efficiency. In sports, materials engineers have delivered stiffer golf clubs to increase distance, low-friction bearings for roller blades, lighter-weight bicycles and more reliable and controllable parachutes. (Article from ASM International, A Materials Information Society http://www.asm-hartford.org/career.htm)

High School Teachers Summer Internship