RET Site: Interdisciplinary Additive Manufacturing Research Experience for Teachers (IAM-RET)

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The Interdisciplinary Additive Manufacturing Research Experience for Teachers (IAM-RET) Site at Colorado School of Mines (Mines) will prepare high school teachers to integrate additive manufacturing into science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) curriculum. This 3-year project will work with 30 teachers, providing mentorship by Mines faculty and graduate student researchers and professional development opportunities. The experiences will provide teachers the knowledge and experience to educate high school students about the different career pathways and opportunities in industrial additive manufacturing. High school teachers will experience hands-on use of the industrial additive manufacturing equipment in the Mines laboratories that can fabricate many different types of materials such as plastics, ceramics, and metals for applications in many fields including medical, automotive, and aerospace. A pipeline of students highly qualified with industrial additive manufacturing knowledge will help strengthen American-based supply chain resilience and further advance American manufacturing global competitiveness.The Interdisciplinary Additive Manufacturing Research Experience for Teachers (IAM-RET) Site at Colorado School of Mines (Mines) will prepare high school teachers to integrate additive manufacturing into science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) curriculum. A major barrier towards implementation of additive manufacturing is a lack of qualified workforce with knowledge about the different industrial additive manufacturing processes. This knowledge requires working at the interface of many different interdisciplinary fields including manufacturing, mechanical engineering, and material science to perform accurate process and material selection for additive manufacturing applications. The IAM-RET site will introduce industrial metal, ceramic, and polymer additive manufacturing processes to high school teachers, who will develop curriculum educating their students on the same concepts, creating a significant impact on the integration of additive manufacturing into the 9-12 curriculum. The program will also include group professional development and curriculum development opportunities. Follow-up academic year engagement between the teachers, their students and Mines will include a design competition among participating high schools. Broad dissemination of the IAM-RET curriculum and results will enhance workforce development efforts and impact the additive manufacturing community nationwide. The experience will produce a lasting partnership among collaborating high schools, universities, and the local AM industry to produce a highly skilled workforce, poised to strengthen the Colorado additive manufacturing industry.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.