Thinking small creates big opportunities for Nanotech students

When Carol Bouvier helped create District 214's first Introduction to Nanotechnology class 10 years ago, she thought it would be cool. But she didn't know just how cool - and impactful and award-winning -the class would turn out to be.

The class was launched alongside a cutting-edge nanotechnology lab at Wheeling High School. Opened in 2013, the nano lab offered a different way to look at science - and at teaching science. The lab includes special microscopes that allow students to study and manipulate "nano" or extremely small things. Nanotechnology is typically used for industrial purposes in medicine, energy, consumer products and manufacturing.

Wheeling science teacher Bouvier and her late teaching partner Lisa del Muro created the class. Bouvier recalled, "I looked at all the equipment we had and thought it would be great to add a research element to the class. So every year we ask students to pick an experiment based on their own interests - something that is engaging, that they are personally interested in, but something that uses the equipment in the lab."

Today, each student in the honors-level Nanotechnology class produces an original research project. The projects are presented at WHS's annual Positive Impact Science Symposium, which was held on April 6, and also at the annual Illinois Junior Academy of Science Region 6 Science Fair.

This year's students presented their projects at the IJAS regional fair in March, and for the first time, every student was awarded a gold medal for excellence. In addition, all of the students qualified to present at the IJAS State Science Fair on April 28-29 at Southern Illinois University's Carbondale campus.

Bouvier said the student projects involve up to 100 hours of work: designing an experiment, conducting the experiment, writing a 30-page paper, creating a presentation and assembling a science fair board for display.

But the Nanotechnology projects are different from those in most other high school science classes. "Most science classes have pre-made labs; everyone knows they are going to work. Students follow the recipe, but the teachers and students know the answer is already known," Bouvier said. "But in this class, they and I don't know the answer. They are truly investigating questions that we don't know the answer to."

As a result, she said, "Students design an experiment, but they fail all the time. They run into roadblocks, and have to redesign and redo the experiment. It hardly ever works the first time. But in the process, they learn perseverance. And when they finally get the answer, it's a true sense of accomplishment."

Bruce French, math/science division head at Wheeling, said, "Carol Bouvier has been an insatiable learner of all things 'nano' ever since the inception of the program. Carol worked hand-in-hand with Lisa del Muro as co-creators, thrilled to build something exciting for our students. Then, on her own for several years, Carol worked tirelessly with Oakton's Nano program, area high schools, and also local industries, to expand her skills and knowledge on behalf of her students. Carol is truly a gift to the students of Wheeling High School and District 214."

The class has been a capstone for Bouvier, who is retiring from District 214 at the end of the school year. "As an educator here, at the end of my career, I can say there are many things I'm proud of, but the work these kids do is truly awesome," she said. "The learning is something special, when they are not just fed the information. I have kids of all abilities, and I hear back from them after graduation that they learned how to learn in the nano experience. That, to me, is the best success of all."

The 2023 Illinois Junior Academy of Science Region 6 Gold Medal winners, headed to the state fair at the end of April, are:

Brandon Claudio and Monica Gucwa: Evaluating the efficacy of carbon particles to create hydrophobic surfaces (also won Best In Category - Material Science)

Jack Costello and Pratyu Tata: The effect of cooling method on properties of lead-free solder (also won WJE Engineering Award)

Julia Dolas and Emma Tkachuk: Toxicity of common pesticides on nitrogen fixing microbes in water and soil (also won the Association for Women Geoscientists Award and Illinois Water & Environmental Association Award)

Ilana Keselman and Max Klincewicz: The effect of polypropylene fibers on the toughness of Portland cement

Michael Piecuch: Effect of gold nanoparticle density on thermo-optical properties of glass (also won the U.S. Air Force Award and Optical Society of Chicago Award)

Veronica Ruvinsky: The effect of antimicrobial oil treatments on physical properties of bamboo (also won the Iota Sigma Pi - Women in Chemistry Award)

Samy Torres: Analysis of fingerprint topography over time using 3D profilometry

Janani Venkat-Ramanan: The effect of rapamycin on planaria regeneration after bisection (also qualified for the statewide Student Research Showcase sponsored by the Illinois Science & Technology Coalition)