MENTORING ACROSS EDUCATIONAL LEVELS THROUGH THE EECS 425 CAPSTONE CLASS Pran Mukherjee and Alvin Tessmer

1. Abstract The WIMS ERC seeks to open the technology pipeline from research institutions to high schools. A substantial part of that effort is a mentoring program connecting senior level electrical engineering students in the 425 Design and Fabrication Class and K-12 schools, particularly traditionally underrepresented minorities and females. Through this inter-level connectivity it is felt that students will feel more relevance to their math, science and technology classes and that significantly more serious consideration of a career in engineering would result. The 425 Capstone Class • Team design, fabrication, and testing of a complete microsystem, including both a micromachined sensor/actuator chip and an NMOS readout chip • Experience of a full product life cycle • Introduction to laboratory procedures NMOS readout chip EECS 425 Student in Lab Scanning electron micrograph, side view Beam bent up by Internal stresses Sensor chip photograph Top view: 750 µm x 600 µm x 6 µm MENTORING ACROSS EDUCATIONAL LEVELS THROUGH THE EECS 425 CAPSTONE CLASS Pran Mukherjee and Alvin Tessmer Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Engineering Research Center for Wireless Integrated MicroSystems The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 Introduction to EECS 425 High School Outreach • Mentoring relationship showing high school students that they can understand complex engineering topics • Concrete examples showing that engineering is both a technical and a human experience • Hands-on lab experience with circuits and microsystems Mercy High School Students The Vibration Analyzer Chip Approach and Methodology Teaching Sequence • Purpose: to detect the vibrations created by mechanical wear on machinery • Each of the two beams detects vibrations in a specific frequency band • The resonant frequency of the beams is dependent on the squeeze film damping arising from carefully selected beam dimensions • A capacitive sensor beneath each beam is used in conjunction with a separate NMOS readout chip to detect the beam vibrations and resonant state The WIMS MEMS technologies will be used to deliver relevant standards basedcontent to many groups including under-represented, talented minorities and women, high school physics and pre-engineering classes. Graduate and undergraduate mentors are trained to implement strategies that imbed best practices regarding learning styles, differentiation of instruction, empowerment and motivation. These practices, used effectively, will drive student achievement, heighten their sense of self worth and deepen their sense of empowerment. Effective leaders also avoid giving answers and, instead, guide students in uncovering their own answers. • Prerequisite introductory unit: “What is a WIMS device?” • High school students contribute to design proposals • 425 students go out to the high schools to report to the students - mentoring • High school students visit the clean room lab and fabrication facilities • High school students write a paper about MEMS microsystems • Projects go back out to the high school so the students can see them in action. • This chip can motivate discussions of waves, resonance, material stress, and miniaturization of technology Program Results to Date • High School Results • Parents: • “I didn’t know my daughter could do that!” • “It’s terrific – my daughter learned so much!” • Students: • Negative initial reaction became: “Physics is my favorite class.” • Surveys show all would recommend this experience to their friends • Overwhelming response to engineering challenge “I can” • Teachers: • Parents influenced their daughters choice of careers far more than expected EECS 425 Class of 2003 • Mentorship Results • “Introducing WIMS to high-school students required an effort of mental reorganization to put the concepts in terms the students were familiar with. This reorganization also served to reinforce the concepts in my own mind, and create further connections between them.” Implications and Future Work • Changes to high school curriculum: • Get parents involved earlier; let them help their children excel • Active student involvement from design through fabrication and testing • Creation of “modules” for physics teachers • Change to engineering work force • Dr. Ken Wise: “Made a very good start… more of an impact in the future. The sky’s the limit.” ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS • This work is supported by the Engineering Research Centers Program of the National Science Foundation under Award Number EEC-9986866.