College hosts two events for North Carolina Science Festival

The College of Engineering at North Carolina State University will open its doors to anyone with an interest in science and engineering during two events with a focus on nanotechnology, soft matter and microorganisms that thrive in extreme environments.

NC State’s annual NanoDays event and an outreach event coordinated by the Research Triangle Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) will both be held on Wednesday, April 20 on NC State’s Centennial Campus.

Both events are free and the public is invited.

• From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the atrium of Engineering Building III, NanoDays will highlight the College’s research on nanotechnology with student poster presentations, tabletop demonstrations that bring nanoscale phenomena to life and tours of engineering laboratories.
• ­From 6 to 8 p.m. in the atrium of Engineering Building I, the Research Triangle MRSEC will stage hands-on demonstrations from various areas of soft matter and a presentation from Dr. Robert Kelly, Alcoa Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (CBE).

Started at NC State more than a decade ago, NanoDays is now a nationwide education and outreach program. Each year, middle and high school students and their teachers come to campus to not only learn about science, but to get a taste of what college life is like.

“The goal is to educate students and the public about advances in nanotechnology and the awesome research we are doing here at NC State,” said Dr. Gail Jones, Alumni Distinguished Graduate Professor in the university’s College of Education. Jones, a professor of science education at NC State, founded NanoDays.

Launched in September 2011, Research Triangle MRSEC is a national resource for materials science and engineering research and education that encompasses faculty members and students at NC State, Duke University, North Carolina Central University and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

Kelly’s presentation, “More heat than light: life in boiling water, in hot acid and (maybe?) on other planets,” will focus on extreme thermophiles, microorganisms that can flourish in boiling water and acidic hot springs and the exciting opportunities in astrobiology and biofuels that research on these organisms represent.

Hands-on demonstrations during the MRSEC program will allow participants to make liquid nitrogen ice cream, see self folding-origami and learn about 3D printing and the science behind Jello.

“Since its inception, the RT-MRSEC has been involved very actively in various forms of public outreach. We do so for multiple reasons,” said Dr. Jan Genzer, Celanese Professor in CBE and MRSEC co-director. “First, we constantly strive to increase participation and diversity in STEM fields through education and mentoring of K-12 and undergraduate students. In a sense, this is a great recruiting event for all Triangle universities and the MRSEC in particular. We also put a lot of effort toward enhancing public awareness of materials research through lectures and hands-on demonstrations (many of which we have developed ourselves). We conduct those in middle and high schools, at local colleges and in various public places. The NC Science Festival represents a true hallmark of our activities in public outreach.”

The North Carolina Science Festival is a multi-day celebration showcasing science and technology that is taking place in locations statewide from April 8 to 24, 2016. Learn more at ncsciencefestival.org.

Information on NC State’s Centennial Campus, including maps, driving directions and parking details can be found at centennial.ncsu.edu/centennial/visitors.php.