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Spring 2020 Magazine, McCormick School of Engineering, Northwestern University

Lab Tour: Materials Science Teaching Lab

Lab Tour: Materials Science Teaching Lab

Northwestern Engineering’s labs are as diverse as the research and teaching performed in them. We spotlight the newly renovated teaching lab in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering.

BY ALEX GERAGE // view article PDF

PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOEL WINTERMANTLE AND MICHAEL GOSS

Unveiled after a three-month renovation, the Department of Materials Science and Engineering’s teaching lab is designed to promote active learning and facilitate student work groups engaged in solving experimental and computational problems in research areas like biomaterials, energy, nanomaterials, and surfaces and interfaces.

“The new materials science teaching lab increases the department’s visibility to the Northwestern community,” says Erik Luijten, professor and chair of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. “The space is bright and modern and will enhance the student learning experience at all levels.”

Located adjacent to the main corridor of Cook Hall, the 2,200-square-foot facility’s features include:

Active Learning Stations

Active Learning Stations

Positioned in the center of the teaching lab, six workstations, each seating up to five students and equipped with a computer monitor, allow instructors to move easily throughout the lab to observe work and conduct small group instruction.

Meeting Place

Meeting Place

With large windows that showcase the work inside to passersby, this seating area outside the lab provides space for students to gather and relax between lab sections.

Experimental Lab Stations

Experimental Lab Stations

Featuring Leica and Nikon microscopes and other interactive equipment, these stations are placed strategically along the perimeter of the teaching lab.

Support Spaces

Support Spaces

Two adjacent rooms housing fume hoods and benchtop furnaces support materials processing, synthesis, and characterization and allow classes and small groups to easily transition between lecture-based learning and hands-on experimentation.