INTEGRATING STANDARDS EDUCATION 

INTO THE NANOMATERIALS 

ENGINEERING CURRICULUM

Stacey M. Louie1 and Jiming Bao2

University of Houston

1Civil & Environmental Engineering 

2Electrical & Computer Engineering

NIST Standards Services Curricula Development Program Workshop | Virtual Meeting | December 16, 2022 1
PROJECT OVERVIEW

Incorporate standards education related to nanotechnology into 

two engineering courses at the University of Houston (UH)

 CIVE 7397 (Experimental Methods in 

Nanomaterials Engineering)

 ECE 5320/6307 (Nanomaterials 

and Solar Energy)

Disseminate educational modules through collaborations with 

partnering institutions (academic and industry)

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Dr. Louie (PI) Dr. Bao (Co-PI) Dr. Kapral (Evaluator)

UH Personnel
UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON

• Carnegie Tier One 

research university

• Student population:

≈ 80% undergraduate, 

≈ 20% graduate / 

professional

• Hispanic Serving 

Institution (> 30%)

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CULLEN COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

• Seven departments

• Biomedical

• Chemical & Biomolecular

• Civil & Environmental

• Electrical & Computer

• Industrial

• Mechanical

• Petroleum

• Enrollment: 4,276

• ≈ 70% undergraduate, 

≈ 30% graduate

• 30% Hispanic

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NANOTECHNOLOGY EDUCATION

 Established research field (since the 1980s)

 Applications in research and industry are rapidly growing

 Electronics/semiconductors

 Nanomedicine (e.g., COVID vaccine)

 Environment, health, & safety (EHS)

 Active standards development

 ISO TC 229 – Nanotechnologies

 ASTM Committee E56 – Nanotechnology

 IEC TC 113 – Nanotechnology for electrotechnical products/systems

Schoenmaker et al., 2021, Int. J. Pharmaceutics, 601: 120586

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NIST SSCD PROGRAM: TEACHING GOALS

 Develop an understanding of standards pertaining to 

vocabulary, classifications, and characterization related to 

nanomaterials

 Develop student skills and confidence in implementing and 

critically evaluating standard test methods

 Promote an appreciation for the value of standards and the 

standards development process

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COURSE OVERVIEW

 CIVE 7397 (Experimental Methods in Nanomaterials Engineering)

 New lecture- and laboratory-based course on analytical methods

 Graduate students in engineering

 ECE 5320/6307 (Nanomaterials and Solar Energy)

 Existing course (> 10 years), cross-listed with Materials and Chemical 

Engineering

 Combined undergraduate and graduate students

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CLASSROOM-BASED COURSE CONTENT

 Course modules to introduce standards for nanotechnology

 Demonstration activities

(Gold nanoparticle synthesis and behavior)

 Standards development

(Guest lectures – NIST and industry scientists)

NIST SRM 1898 Certificate of Analysis

Phornano Holding GMBH. Nano Gold, 2022,

https://www.phornano.com/4ngold

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LABORATORY-BASED COURSE CONTENT

Implement and evaluate standards for nanomaterial characterization

 Four shared laboratories between CIVE/ECE courses

 One application-specific laboratory per class

(ThermoFisher Scientific, NicoletTM iSTM 10 

FTIR Spectrometer, 

https://www.thermofisher.com/order/cat

alog/product/IQLAADGAAGFAHDMAPC)

(Shimadzu, UV-2600i, 

https://www.shimadzu.com/an/products/

molecular-spectroscopy/uv-vis/uv-vis-nirspectroscopy/uv-2600i-uv2700i/index.html)

(Malvern Panalytical, ZetaSizer Nano ZS, 

https://www.malvernpanalytical.com/en/suppo

rt/product-support/zetasizer-range/zetasizernano-range/zetasizer-nano-zs)

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UV-Vis Spectroscopy

(ISO/TS 17466) 

Fourier Transform 

Infrared Spectroscopy

(ISO/TS 14101)

Dynamic Light Scattering

(ASTM E3247)

Zeta Potential Measurement

(ASTM E2865) 

Field Flow 

Fractionation (FFF)

(ISO/TS 21362)

Single Particle Inductively 

Coupled Plasma Mass 

Spectrometry

(ISO/TS 19590)

Wyatt Technology, Eclipse AF4/DAWN HELEOS II / Thermo iCAP RQ ICP-MS

(Photo from UH Environmental Engineering laboratories)
EVALUATION AND DISSEMINATION PLAN

Evaluator: Dr. Andrew Kapral, UH Hewlett Packard Enterprise Data Science Institute

Spring 2023

 External advisory board (EAB): NIST, industry, academic collaborators

 Review course content, provide guest lectures

 Graded coursework and laboratory reports: Instructors/TAs

 Pre-post self report surveys: Dr. Kapral

 Student familiarity with standards

 Student confidence (Likert scale) in understanding/implementing specific standards

Summer 2023 to 2024

 Share assessments with EAB for feedback on the process

 Distribute modules to other IHEs for evaluation

 Develop webinars and open educational resources (OER)

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PROJECT TIMELINE

Milestone Semester

PIs attend and present in NIST workshops Fall 2022 Fall 2023 or 2024

PIs develop courses and coordinate all staff/TAs Fall 2022 Fall 2023

Courses delivered and evaluated at UH Spr 2023 Spr 2024

EAB and collaborating IHEs evaluate course 

content, implement labs, and provide feedback

Spr/Su 2023 Su 2024

Course outcomes shared at conferences Fall 2023 / Spr 2024

Open course materials produced/disseminated Spr 2024 / Su 2024

Final Summary Paper submitted to NIST Su 2024

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