Wearable graphene-based stress biosensor development with community college and high school students
Abstract
The overarching goal of this project is to facilitate the transition of students from local community colleges and high schools to the research-oriented university environment to prepare them for further education and a future career in the STEM field. Community college and high school students will be recruited to participate in an 8-week summer biosensor camp at Iowa State University (ISU). A student recruitment strategy is in place for this project to ensure students areselected from diverse backgrounds across the state of Iowa including underrepresented minorities, women, and those belonging to low-income households. At the summer camp, participating students will develop the research skills necessary to fabricate and test biosensors and learn otherprofessional development skills. More specifically, the students will help overcome the shortcomings of current wearable biosensors by creating a wearable patch that integrates graphene-based sweat biosensors directly into waterproof polymer microfluidic patches that adhere to the skin. The microfluidic patches will collect sweat from subjects engaged in physical exercise, whilethe graphene sensors simultaneously monitor the concentrations of five sweat biomarkers associated with hydration levels and fatigue (i.e., sodium, chloride, potassium, lactate, and glucose). Overall, this project will recruit a mix of 15 community college and high school students with 10 staying on the ISU campus and 5 commuting. The students will be split into five groups of three so that they can be mentored and managed effectively in the laboratory. During the 8-week biosensor summer camp, the participating students will also engage in the design and fabrication of a permanent exhibit at the Science Center of Iowa (SCI) to showcase their research and teach K-12 students about biosensors and nanotechnology. Finally, the students will help create biosensor kits that K-12 teachers can use in to introduce biosensors and nanotechnology to their students through a variety of hands-on activities (e.g., pH sensor made of cabbage, glucose biosensor made of stamped carbon flakes). Teachers from the participating schools will be invited to attend workshops during the summer camps in order to receive training on how to fabricate, test, and analyze the biosensors in the kits, so they can implement new hands-on activities in theirown classrooms. The objectives of this proposal will be conducted with the following specific aims.Aim 1. Summer Camp: Develop and organize an 8-week summer biosensor camp at Iowa State University to expand the research and professional skills of community college and high school students to better prepare them for university-level research and a career in the STEM field.Aim 2. Research Experience: Develop wearable monitoring sweat patches with flexible graphene-based biosensors and polymeric microfluidic patches at the summer camp and evaluate their performance.Aim 3. K-12 Outreach: Design and help construct a permanent exhibit on biosensors and nanotechnology for K-12 audiences at the Science Center of Iowa and develop biosensor kits for K-12 teachers.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- May 08, 2020
- Source ID
- N000142012375
Entities
People
- Jonathan Claussen
Organizations
- Iowa State University
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy