The 2024 Breakthrough Research and Education Workshop (BREW) was held on Friday, September 27. The BREW serves multiple purposes and is an important annual activity for the Center. The workshop is an opportunity for all of the participants across the Center to: (1) Share their current research with each other; (2) Meet face to face with people from other research groups; (3) Review and discuss the expectations and priorities of the Center for students and postdocs and for faculty; and (4) Explore ways that the Center can bring materials science to young people through education and outreach activities.
Education and Outreach
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Highlights Teacher’s Work Stemming from MRSEC RET Program
A recent article from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel highlights a project of an alum of the MRSEC Research Experience for Teachers (RET) program. Lalitha Murali is one of a handful of teachers selected to participate in the NASA/ Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium, Embedded Teacher Program in collaboration with the International Space Station National Lab and the Zero Gravity Corporation.
MRSEC Participates in Wisconsin Science Festival
Swarms of children from across Wisconsin buzzed from booth to booth at the Wisconsin Science Festival’s Hands-On Expo on Wednesday, Oct. 18.
2023 BREW Kicks Off the New MRSEC
The 2023 Breakthrough Research and Education Workshop (BREW) was held on Friday, September 29. The full-day event was well attended by 47 faculty, graduate students, postdocs, and staff. The workshop served as a kickoff for the new Wisconsin MRSEC, which just began operating under a new grant from the NSF on September 1.
UW will launch materials engineering research initiative with major NSF sponsorship
The University of Wisconsin–Madison Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) has received $18 million from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for interdisciplinary exploration of fundamental questions in materials science.
(2022) Bringing Science Home with Free Activity Kits
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Wisconsin MRSEC developed and disseminated inclusive science activity kits. The project started in partnership with a local food pantry as an effort to engage with economically disadvantaged members of the Madison community. Food pantry staff and clients provided crucial insight to make the kits accessible and inclusive, such as including all the necessary materials including common household items like tape and including instructions in Spanish and English.
(2022) A Teacher Inspired by Her MRSEC RET Program Experience Develops Her Own Research Experience
Jamie Lauer, a Wisconsin (WI) high school teacher, participated in the MRSEC’s cross-cultural Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) program in 2019 and 2021. The program is run in collaboration with the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez (UPRM) to give teachers in WI and PR authentic research experiences in labs at UPRM and in MRSEC. During the 2019 RET capstone week, Jamie traveled to PR where she learned about the geography, culture and educational systems of the island. During the virtual 2021 program, Jamie learned about the native Taino people of PR.
Free, Informative Online Workshop: “Enhancing Undergraduate Research with Machine Learning”
Please join us for a free, informative online workshop “Enhancing Undergraduate Research with Machine Learning” on Saturday, October 22 from 11 am -1 pm (CT).
Online Field Trips Bring Science to the State
For more than ten years, the Field Trip Program has brought students and teachers to Madison, Wis., for a day of activity and exploration. But when the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered on-campus activity, the Discovery Outreach Team had to get creative. This spring, more than 28 Field Trips will connect students statewide to researchers using an entirely online model. The post Online Field Trips bring science to the state appeared first on Morgridge Institute for Research. Read the full article at: https://morgridge.org/story/online-field-trips-bring-science-to-the-state/
Winners of the MRSEC Educational Video Competition Announced
The winners of the Wisconsin MRSEC Educational Video Competition have been announced. There were two videos awarded in this competition. The winner of the Most Engaging Video is “Thin Film Fun” by the Ediger Group. The winner for Most Informative Video is “Determining Distances with Diffraction” by Tesia Janicki.