This group presents materials about two projects used in a first-year engineering course at Purdue University that were developed by the nanoHUB team. The first project was to develop a mathematical model to solve a problem for a client. The second project was to use their mathematical model as the basis for the design of a simulation tool. Each project took about half of the semester to complete. The context of both projects was an application of nanotechnology - solar panel fabrication. The students were to develop a mathematical model to optimize mixtures of quantum dot materials to minimize cost, toxicity, or cost and toxicity while achieving particular band gap energy. The first project focused on the development of a mathematical model to solve the given problem. This project was submitted in the form of a written memo detailing the math model. The second project required students to make their mathematical model into a simulation, identify a direct user for whom this simulation could be useful, and create two to three more simulations to make a cohesive simulation suite for their direct user. The teams’ final simulation was submitted in the form of a MATLAB-based graphical user interface (GUI) and supporting code files.

All of the materials are in the resource tab. Some materials are only accessible to group members; please request to join. We welcome and encourage group discussion.(You can contribute substantial resources to nanoHUB.org through the resource contribution process, and then send a message to the group manager so that links to those resources can be added to this group.)
 

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