Web site will explore nanotechnology

Design student takes on big-scale project for small-scale technology

As Lauren Rawlings, a multimedia design student from Woodbury, Minn., thought about her syllabus requirement for a senior project course, she knew two things: she wanted her multimedia project to benefit the university and she wanted a real client-designer relationship.

Rawlings researched campus needs by e-mailing department chairs and then scheduling potential “client” meetings with those who responded. After meeting with Forrest Schultz, applied science program director, and Juliet Fox, adjunct professor of apparel and communication technology, she decided to help the instructors launch a Web site about nanotechnology.

“They were looking for a way to reach out to the Stout and Menomonie communities,” says Rawlings. “They wanted a way to explain what Stout is doing and to link to resources available regarding nanotechnology.”

Nanotechnology is a growing field, which studies the behavior of materials when engineered at the nanoscale. A nanometer is one billionth of a meter, or 1/100,000 the thickness of a human hair.

The National Science Foundation predicts that the market for nanotech products and services will reach $1 trillion by 2015. Currently sold products using nanomaterials include paints, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, clothing and computer screens. The public also anticipates that nanotechnology will advance environmental protection, lower energy costs, and provide better food and nutrition products, according to a report released by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and The Pew Charitable Trusts in September 2005.

To address the industry’s potential, UW-Stout is developing a cross-disciplinary concentration in nanotechnology that takes advantage of its strengths in applied science, engineering and food technology.

“Although the term nanotechnology appears quite futuristic, the fundamental science is not,” says Schultz. “This Web site is envisioned to help UW-Stout share its educational strengths and capabilities in this emerging field.”

Rawlings became excited about the new concentration and saw the potential of a Web site as a way to incorporate her education in multimedia design with her job skills at UW-Stout’s Learning Technology Services.

“I have done Web design for small businesses, so I know the value of working with real clients,” says Rawlings. “And since I’ve been working in Millennium Hall on training and tutorial projects, I’ve become interested in instructional technology. Linking the two together will be like exploring a whole new realm for me.”

Since the beginning of the semester, Rawlings has been meeting once a week with Schultz and Fox. She is helping them explore the possibility of using UW-Stout’s Web development resources to create a working online forum for posting pictures and research information. She also will feature interactive instructional technologies such as diagrams, animations and a virtual tour of the labs and equipment.

“Forrest and I have been incredibly impressed with the way Lauren has embraced this project, as it is not an easy subject to master,” says Fox. “What a great learning experience for her and a major benefit to Stout and the nanoscience program.”

Although Rawlings and her classmates were given the freedom to choose the direction of their final projects, only 20 percent of the students selected real clients, says Phillip Motley, assistant professor of art and design, and instructor of the senior project courses. And, Rawlings was the only student to select a university client, he says.

“I think her plans are strong and if they are all realized, she’ll have a great final project,” predicts Motley. “I also think that she’ll get a lot of future value out of this experience because she is working for a real client and all that that entails.”

Rawlings will work on the project throughout the spring semester, and the Web site will be exhibited at the Art and Design Senior Show on May 12.