An Introduction to the Integrated Community-Engaged Learning and Ethical Reflection Framework (I-CELER)

Cultivating ethical Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics researchers and practitioners requires movement beyond reducing ethical instruction to the rational exploration of moral quandaries via case studies and into the complexity of the ethical issues that students will encounter within their careers. We designed the Integrated Community-Engaged Learning and Ethical Reflection (I-CELER) framework as a means to promote the ethical becoming of future STEM practitioners. This paper provides a synthesis of and rationale for I-CELER for promoting ethical becoming based on scholarly literature from various social science fields, including social anthropology, moral development, and psychology. This paper proceeds in five parts. First, we introduce the state of the art of engineering ethics instruction; argue for the need of a lens that we describe as ethical becoming; and then detail the Specific Aims of the I-CELER approach. Second, we outline the three interrelated components of the project intervention. Third, we detail our convergent mixed methods research design, including its qualitative and quantitative counterparts. Fourth, we provide a brief description of what a course modified to the I-CELER approach might look like. Finally, we close by detailing the potential impact of this study in light of existing ethics education research within STEM

The enigmatic pair of dwarf galaxies Leo IV and Leo V: coincidence or common origin?

We have obtained deep photometry in two 1x1 degree fields covering the close pair of dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSph) Leo IV and Leo V and part of the area in between. We find that both systems are significantly larger than indicated by previous measurements based on shallower data and also significantly elongated. With half-light radii of r_h=4'.6 +- 0'.8 (206 +- 36 pc) and r_h=2'.6 +- 0'.6 (133 +- 31 pc), respectively, they are now well within the physical size bracket of typical Milky Way dSph satellites. Their ellipticities of epsilon ~0.5 are shared by many faint (M_V>-8) Milky Way dSphs. The large spatial extent of our survey allows us to search for extra-tidal features with unprecedented sensitivity. The spatial distribution of candidate red giant branch and horizontal branch stars is found to be non-uniform at the ~3 sigma level. This substructure is aligned along the direction connecting the two systems, indicative of a possible `bridge' of extra-tidal material. Fitting the stellar distribution with a linear Gaussian model yields a significance of 4 sigma for this overdensity, a most likely FWHM of ~16 arcmin and a central surface brightness of ~32 mag arcsec^{-2}. We investigate different scenarios to explain the close proximity of Leo IV and Leo V and the possible tidal bridge between them. Orbit calculations demonstrate that they are unlikely to be remnants of a single disrupted progenitor, while a comparison with cosmological simulations shows that a chance collision between unrelated subhalos is negligibly small. Leo IV and Leo V could, however, be a bound `tumbling pair' if their combined mass exceeds 8 +- 4 x 10^9 M_sun. The scenario of an internally interacting pair appears to be the most viable explanation for this close celestial companionship. (abridged)Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures, small number of minor textual changes, accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journa

Kondo effect in a double quantum-dot molecule under the effect of an electric and magnetic field

Electron tunneling through a double quantum dot molecule, in the Kondo regime, under the effect of a magnetic field and an applied voltage, is studied. This system possesses a complex response to the applied fields characterized by a tristable solution for the conductance. The different nature of the solutions are studied in and out thermodynamical equilibrium. It is shown that the interdot coupling and the fields can be used to control the region of multistability. The mean-field slave-boson formalism is used to obtain the solution of the problem.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures. To appear in Sol. State Com

Co-operative Kondo Effect in the two-channel Kondo Lattice

We discuss the possibility of a co-operative Kondo effect driven by channel interference in a Kondo lattice where local moments are coupled to a single Fermi sea via two orthogonal scattering channels. In this situation, the channel quantum number is not conserved. We argue that the absence of channel conservation causes the Kondo effect in the two channels to constructively interfere, giving rise to a superconducting condensate of composite pairs, formed between the local moments and the conduction electrons. Our arguments are based on the observation that a heavy Fermi surface gives rise to zero modes for Kondo singlets to fluctuate between screening channels of different symmetry, producing a divergent composite pair susceptibility. Secondary screening channels couple to these divergent fluctuations, promoting an instability into a state with long-range composite order. We present detailed a detailed mean-field theory for this superconducting phase, and discuss the possible implications for heavy fermion physics.Comment: 23 double column pages. 9 fig

Tristability in a non-equilibrium double-quantum-dot in Kondo regime

Electron tunneling through a non-equilibrium double quantum dot in the Kondo regime is studied. In the region of negative differential resistance, it is shown that this system possesses a complex response to the applied potential characterized by a tristable solution for the current. Increasing the applied potential or reducing the inter-dot coupling, the system goes through a transition from a coherent inter-dot regime to an incoherent one. The different nature of the solutions are characterized and it is shown that the effects of the asymmetry in the dot-lead coupling can be used to control the region of multistability. The mean-field slave-boson formalism is used to obtain the solution of the problem.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures. To appear in Sol. State. Com