Flexible Technology Education to Upskill/Reskill for a Vacuum Technician Career

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This project aims to serve the national interest by improving curricula that address vacuum technology in a technician education program. Vacuum technology is a critical enabling technology that combines complex concepts in mathematics, chemistry and physics in support of advanced manufacturing and research. Vacuum systems remove air and water vapor from an enclosed environment to create a pressure condition many orders of magnitude less than atmospheric pressure. Although vacuum technology plays an integral role in fields such as semiconductor manufacturing and space technology and research, its significance is largely unrecognized by the public. Manufacturing and research organizations utilize expensive vacuum systems, equipment worth tens of millions of dollars, with expectations that the systems function around the clock. Unanticipated downtime due to a vacuum system malfunction is extremely costly. Organizations rely on technicians who possess the knowledge and skills to maintain and repair these systems. Technicians are responsible for quickly troubleshooting and correctly diagnosing issues with the vacuum system performance in order to minimize disruptions in system operation as well as preserve the integrity of the process and product affected by the system. This project will enhance the curricula in vacuum technology and create targeted support services to benefit students, especially incumbent workers, so they are motivated to persist in this program of study to develop the knowledge and skills valued by organizations that utilize vacuum systems. This project proposes a combination of activities in the areas of program development and improvement and curriculum and educational materials development. The disciplinary focus is vacuum technology, an area of study vital to semiconductor fabrication, nanotechnology, advanced manufacturing and research. The objectives of the project are to: 1) Incorporate cross-disciplinary learning opportunities into the curriculum to better prepare technicians for the future of work; 2) Offer shorter length modules with more entry points and provide more flexibility in the sequence of module completion; and 3) Implement student support strategies that increase student persistence and completion of a credential and successful transition to the workforce, particularly for nontraditional-aged students, individuals underrepresented in vacuum technologies, veterans, and dislocated workers. The project will advance knowledge and understanding of the cross-disciplinary STEM competencies required for vacuum technicians in the era of Industry 4.0. Offering the new modularized courses is a strategy to address some of the barriers to entering vacuum technology by opening up access to courses at times and durations better suited for nontraditional-aged learners. Individuals will be able to access courses through a combination of asynchronous and synchronous courses that can be offered virtually or face-to-face. The project will contribute to our understanding of how to provide technicians with just-enough instruction in cross-disciplinary STEM skills to allow them to transition into today’s workforce. This project is funded by the Advanced Technological Education program that focuses on the education of technicians for the advanced-technology fields that drive the Nation’s economy.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.