Event Recaps
Foothill & De Anza Community College Visit
We had a fantastic time hosting students from Foothill College and De Anza College at our nanofabrication facilities in August! From engaging lightning talks to window tours and hands-on demos of our AFM and tabletop SEM, we hope that it was an enriching experience for everyone. Check out some photos from their visit!
In-Person NanoSIMST
This summer, we held a four-day professional development workshop designed for middle school STEM teachers. NanoSIMST, short for Nanoscience Summer Institute for Middle School Teachers, is overseen by Daniella Duran, the Director of Education and Outreach for nano@stanford. This year, we welcomed 15 teachers from schools across California, spanning from Oakland to Los Angeles, and even one from Arkansas! The program aims to introduce nanoscience to teachers through engaging activities, interactive labs and tours, insightful lectures, and diverse pedagogical approaches. The ultimate goal is to provide support to teachers, so they are empowered to bring nanoscience content and careers to their students. Since the program’s kickoff in 2017, we have trained 145 teachers, positively impacting approximately 12,565 students, including 2,352 students this year.
SNSF Spectra TEM Celebration
In early June, SNSF hosted a Spectra TEM event, which celebrated the latest innovations in atomic scale multimodal materials characterization. Guests expanded their capabilities and understanding of materials analysis, engaged in presentations by Stanford faculty and industrial partners, spoke with experts about today's instrumentation, and went on facility tours to see the new Spectra (S)TEM. Many thanks to the guest speakers who shared their insights and research highlights: Dr. Claudius Mundoma, Dr. Tobias Beetz, Prof. Jennifer Dionne, Prof. Kunal Mukherjee, Prof. Matteo Cargnello, Dr. Lee Casalena, Dr. Cory Thomas Cline, and Prof. Arun Majumdar!
AFM-IR Symposium
In collaboration with Bruker, nano@stanford hosted a Nanoscale Spectroscopy Symposium earlier this month, which featured four guest speakers: Xiaodan Gu, Jeremie Mathurin, Cassandra Phillips, and Jinhee Kim. This was an amazing opportunity for attendees to learn more about the newly installed AFM-IR instrument at SNSF and its capabilities, as well as hear about the diverse research applications of AFM-IR, including Polymer Composites, Geology & Asteroids, 2D Materials, and Biological Tissue. Huge thanks to Christina Newcomb, David Tweddle, and everyone else involved for their support in coordinating this workshop!
Nanobytes & Unite: An Interactive Town Hall
In May, we shifted gears and hosted our first Interactive Town Hall at the Allen Patio. This event featured a liquid nitrogen ice cream bar, paintball PPE activity, wafer decorating, nano art exhibit, poster sessions, and more. Huge shoutout to the nano@stanford staff and nano-LMC members who were involved in making this event a success!
Oakland Promise/K2C Visit
We had the pleasure of hosting students from Lockwood Elementary School and La Escuelita Elementary School at our campus, where they immersed themselves in hands-on experiences and exploratory tours of our campus and facilities. Highlights included a sun print photolithography activity, a desktop SEM demonstration, captivating materials magic, and an inspiring Oakland Promise Scholars panel. We'd like to extend our sincere thanks to Oakland Promise and K2C for their invaluable support in coordinating this enriching visit and enabling us to share the wonders of nanoscience with young learners!