NanoEarth Hosts High School Science Camp Students

The National Center for Earth and Environmental Science (NanoEarth) hosted 47 rising 11th and 12th graders from eight different states and three different countries for the Virginia Tech (VT) College of Science’s Explore Physical Sciences Camp this summer. Students traveled from Virginia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, New York, Maryland, Alabama, South Carolina, Vietnam, and India. The weeklong on-site camp introduces college life, academics, laboratories, and innovative science topics to high school students.

Students spent time in four different labs within the Nanoscale Characterization and Fabrication Laboratory (NCFL). NCFL Instrument Specialist Steve McCartney discussed the research capabilities of the SEM. Students were able to gain hands-on experience on the SEM, while they discussed nano topics.

NanoEarth’s Instrument Specialist Charis Horn, Ph.D. and the NCFL’s Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) Instrumentation Laboratory Manager Hongyu Wang, Ph.D. discussed how the TEM works and the importance of nanoscience. Students viewed the lattice planes of gold nanoparticles and operated the TEM to move the sample and explore different particles. 

NCFL Focused Ion Beam (FIB) and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) Laboratory Manager, Jarret Wright, Ph.D. discussed FIB capabilities. This included information about electron microscopy theory, high-resolution SEM imaging, and different detector modes. During both sessions, Wright engraved the VT logo onto pennies for the group. In the afternoon session, students were able to watch a graduate student perform a TEM lift-out in addition to the milling on the FIB for the engraved pennies.

NanoEarth Postdoctoral Associate Bipin Lade, Ph.D. led the students through nano demonstration kits. The NISE NanoDays kits help visualize how nano properties can change what we can actually see, such as water resistant fabric or magnetic ink. In the morning, Geosciences graduate student Emmanuel Paul Irumhe, Geosciences undergraduate student Chloe Smith, Nanoscience undergraduate Eleni Ziu, and Nanoscience undergraduate Jonathan Bryant aided Lade in performing the demo kits and explaining nanoscience to the students. In the afternoon, Materials Science and Engineering graduate student Anugrahaprada Mukundan and Mechanical Engineering graduate student Wuzhou Zu both helped with performing demo kits and teaching students nanoscience concepts. 

Throughout the day, VT Ph.D. candidate in Geosciences, Cecelia (Cece) Wood, Geosciences undergraduate Chloe Smith, and Geosciences graduate student Emmanuel Paul Irumhe assisted in photography and day of organization of the event.

Additional photos from the event: