Invited Paper MG+EN+MS-WeA1
21st Century Skills and Educating the Next Generation Workforce for Expedited Innovation and Deployment

Wednesday, October 30, 2013, 2:00 pm, Room 202 B

The goal of the Materials Genome Initiative [MGI] is to expedite materials discovery, innovation and deployment via the development of new approaches to materials research that exploit interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation. Successful implementation will require a workforce possessing 21^st Century Skills including critical thinking, problem solving, communication, collaboration, technological fluency and creativity. To address the need for US competitiveness in a global economy, educational reform has been initiated at the K-12 level with the development of 21^st Century Skills Standards [1], Common Core Standards [2] and the Next Generation Science Standards [3]. Similar reform is needed at the university and post-graduate [PG] professional development levels to assure the optimal development of a STEM educational pipeline. At the university level, reform has been initiated with the development of novel approaches to all university [non-major] requirements as well as courses and programs for majors (e.g., [4,5]). For the effective implementation of the MGI, it is important to realize the natural synergies that exist between these efforts and those within the materials science education and research communities. Arguably, individuals acquire and refine these necessary skills best via exposure to, and active participation in, authentic science research. NSF funded Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers [MRSECs] support interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary materials research and education of the highest quality [6]. All MRSECs include education and outreach components that effectively integrate the collaborative and innovative aspects of materials research. Components are developed and implemented at the K-PG levels and also include programs that educate the general public. For this presentation, educational reform at all levels will be reviewed with an emphasis on approaches with the greatest potential positive impact on the implementation of the MGI. In particular, an interdisciplinary team-based approach to materials research effectively leveraging programs within the Center for Research on Interface Structures and Phenomena (CRISP) MRSEC will be described that integrates materials science education and research while maximizing on the attainment of the 21^st Century Skills necessary for successful implementation of the MGI.

1.http://www.p21.org/overview/skills-framework/351

2. http://www.corestandards.org/

3. http://www.nextgenscience.org/

4. http://www.aacu.org/resources/generaleducation/index.cfm

5. http://www.tms.org/pubs/journals/jom/0910/thornton-0910.html

6. http://www.mrsec.org/