| AVS 64th International Symposium & Exhibition | |
| Vacuum Technology Division | Tuesday Sessions |
| Session VT-TuP |
| Session: | Vacuum Technology Poster (and Student Poster Competition) |
| Presenter: | Del Smith, Normandale Community College |
| Authors: | D. Smith, Normandale Community College N. Louwagie, Normandale Community College |
| Correspondent: | Click to Email |
In keeping with the theme of the 2017 Symposium, “Surfaces, Interfaces and Materials: A New Vision,” this paper will discuss the experiences of Normandale Community College (Bloomington, Minn.) instructors offering academic courses in vacuum and thin film technology via a telepresence interface. We believe this new model, which brings together on-campus and remote learners in real time, is a positive direction for technical education. Over the past two years, several organizations throughout the U.S. have enrolled their employees and students in courses, which emphasize hands-on learning with a vacuum trainer system.
Normandale staff in the Vacuum and Thin Film Technology Program, with input from senior technicians from several Minnesota-based industries, designed a High Vacuum Equipment Trainer (HVET) system to use in the classroom. The HVET system has 5x10-6Torr base pressure capability and supports demonstrations of vacuum technology operations such as gauging, gas sensitivity, leak testing, RGA analysis, and plasma generation. Students use the HVET system to practice pumpdown sequences, pumpdown curves, rates of rise, and conductance in a lab environment. There are four copies of the HVET, which can be disassembled and shipped to participating sites; students assemble the HVET system as part of their initial learning experience.
The telepresence classroom at Normandale was designed with a combination of high-performance audio and video feeds and multiple monitors to show close-ups of lab experiments and to allow the instructor to respond to nonverbal cues from remote students. Normandale offers an AAS degree in Vacuum and Thin Film Technology. Two courses from this program are available via telepresence: Intro to Vacuum Tech and Vacuum Analysis and Troubleshooting. Eventually, two more courses will be brought online: Thin Film Deposition; and, Foundations in Vacuum Technology, which will teach chemistry and math concepts in the context of vacuum science. Students will be able to complete these courses in a year, via telepresence, earning a Vacuum Technology Certificate and 12 academic credits, which are applicable towards the AAS degree. This paper will discuss how the trainer systems and telepresence provide remote students with access to formal education in vacuum and thin film technology. (This work was made possible in part by a grant from the National Science Foundation: DUE #1400408.)