Rakisha Nicholson peers through a microscope as Jasmin Feimster inserts a specimen into a test tube. They are both students at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University who participated in the Faculty and Student Teams program at Argonne in the summer of 2002. The program fosters collaboration between faculty and lab scientists while providing hands-on research training for students.

Argonne hosts the National School on Neutron and X-ray Scattering since it is the only laboratory with both an X-ray synchrotron and a spallation neutron source. Here Intense Pulsed Neutron Source (IPNS) researcher Evan Maxey (left) oversees graduate students Qijuan Li (right) and Brian Newberry installing a sample for testing in the General Purpose Powder Diffractometer at IPNS.

Education programs train new scientists

Well-trained scientists are critical to America’s national security and economic stability. Argonne’s Division of Educational Programs, the largest in the Department of Energy system, works to enhance science education in the United States through a variety of programs including traditional internships, teacher training and other programs that take advantage of Argonne’s unique facilities.

Argonne hosts the National School on Neutron and X-ray Scattering. In 2001, 60 graduate students from across the country attended the school that combines lectures and experiments to teach students the fundamentals of the interaction of X-rays and neutrons with matter. The students come from such disciplines as physics, chemistry, geology, biochemistry, materials science and biomedical and mechanical engineering.

“Argonne is the best place in the country for the school because it is the only location that has both an X-ray synchrontron and a spallation neutron source user facility,” said Harold Myron, director of Argonne’s educational programs, speaking about the lab’s Intense Pulsed Neutron Source and Advanced Photon Source. The school is supported by the Department of Energy’s Office of Basic Energy Sciences.

Traditional internships remain an important method for the lab to train future scientists. In 2001, more than 200 graduate students had appointments at Argonne, and more than 350 undergraduates participated in research programs. A testament to the success of these programs happens when former students become researchers at the lab.

Luis Nuñez, a researcher in the lab’s Chemical Technology Division, interned at Argonne as both an undergraduate and graduate student. “These appointments gave me great exposure to state-of-the-art R&D in the fields of materials science, engineering and other areas and opened my mind and increased my curiosity toward research,” Nuñez said. The positive experience he had as an intern not only encouraged Nuñez to return to Argonne after he received his Ph.D., but also to serve as a mentor and supervisor to students himself.

A study by the Evaluation Center at Western Michigan University also acknowledges the effectiveness of an undergraduate internship at Argonne. According to the center’s final report, “Overwhelming evidence from interns and mentors indicates that the program provides an experience for undergraduate students that is both unique and beneficial. Each intern has a professional and often personal experience that is found no place else in the usual university program.”

The report goes on to say that interns “learn to appreciate practical experiences in laboratories where they are pursuing real problems and interacting with professionals engaged in meaningful work.”

Besides reaching out to students at four-year universities, the lab also strives to reach students at community colleges through a special internship program. This is an especially important goal since at least 50 percent of U.S. college students attend a community college.

College students aren’t the lab’s only focus, however. Several programs are aimed at high school students in the hopes of stimulating their interest in science and encouraging them to pursue a scientific or technical career. These programs include research appointments, the annual Science Careers in Search of Women conference and the Rube Goldberg machine-building contest.

Students are only one part of the education equation. Argonne also has programs to teach teachers. These include a program for science teachers in training who spend 10 weeks studying at the lab and making lesson plans based on Argonne research. The Educational Outreach Vehicle trains educators in the use of sophisticated scientific equipment and then brings the equipment to the teachers’ classrooms. The Educational Networking Consortium provides Internet access to teachers and helps them to learn how to harness this powerful tool for classroom use.

Through all of its programs, Argonne reaches thousands of students and teachers around the country. In 2001, more than 17,000 people participated in the lab’s educational programs. And on the World Wide Web, the lab’s reach goes even further. The lab’s online “Ask A Scientist” program averages 1.4 million hits per month.

For more information, please contact Donna Jones Pelkie.

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