High school students throughout the state of Massachusetts participating in ASPIRE (A Student-led Program in Research and Education) in the Polymer Science and Engineering (PSE) Department at the University of Massachusetts Amherst experience a five-week introductory course on polymer chemistry, physics, and engineering. Since the early 2000s, this course, which is designed and led by graduate students, guides high school students through a sequence of projects focused on fundamental topics in polymer science including structure-property relationships, synthetic strategies, phase transitions, engineering principles, processing, and applications. Students develop basic laboratory techniques, analytical skills, and discover the utility of “everyday polymers” through 15 hands-on experiments culminating in a final project. In this presentation, we provide an overview of the successful ASPIRE program, including examples of vetted laboratory experiments that explore fundamental polymer science and engineering. Highlighted experiments include nylon rope synthesis, stimuli-responsive hydrogels, electron microscopy demonstrations, rheological phenomena with non-newtonian fluids, and applied science with bio-inspired GeckSkin adhesives. We discuss successful tools to recruit and to engage students in polymer science and research through the PSE outreach program that travels to local classrooms to conduct in-class demonstrations introducing and reinforcing concepts learned during the ASPIRE program.

ASPIRE: Polymer science for high school students at UMass Amherst

ACS Fall 2020 Virtual Meeting

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.