Beginnings: Democratizing Research and Experiential Education for Microelectronics

起点：微电子研究和体验式教育的民主化

• 批准号: 2322699
• 负责人: Timothy Horiuchi
• 金额: $ 32.5万
• 依托单位: University of Maryland, College Park
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Cooperative Agreement
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-10-01 至 2026-09-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2322699&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Beginnings; Democratizing; Research; Experiential; Education

As the U.S. ramps up its domestic semiconductor manufacturing capacity, a strong, diverse, domestic microelectronics industry workforce is needed. To address this urgent need, the University of Maryland, College Park (UMD) is partnering with two regional community colleges (CC) — the College of Southern Maryland (CSM) and Montgomery College (MC), and regional industrial technology partners to expand the pool of research- and industry-ready students by creating a new, project-based, experiential learning program for second-year community college students in microelectronics. Specifically, the focus will be on projects in emerging and novel technologies critical for competitive future careers in microelectronics. Electrical and Computer Engineering programs in Community Colleges serve a diverse population, and providing new training opportunities can significantly support underrepresented students in transferring to 4-year degree programs, boosting their career potential. The transition from a local community college to a 4-year degree university program is often difficult due to many interrelated reasons (e.g., being first generation, lack of mentorship and sense of inclusion, financial challenges etc.) and this project seeks to provide the needed support and experiential learning pathway from academic research to industrial internships for students that seek careers in this rapidly expanding technical area. This project will unite and coordinate regional educators and industrial partners to create a more equitable, efficient, educational pathway that serves the national need for a strong microelectronics workforce to solve the problems of tomorrow. The Democratizing Research and Experiential Education for Microelectronics (DREEM) team will carry out an 8-month experiential learning project for second-year community-college students in Electrical Engineering to provide critical technical skills and career-advancing opportunities that includes: a focused 3-week practical workshop on targeted design skills, a semester-long, hands-on research project with University of Maryland, College Park faculty to develop laboratory skills, and a summer internship with industrial partners. With a focus on emerging technologies such as manufacturing of biosensors, neuromorphic signal processing circuits, and machine learning, this project will be emphasizing skills important for the next generation of designers. Students will be individually co-mentored by faculty from the University of Maryland, College Park and local community college faculty with advising activities such as hands-on research projects, resume preparation, and internship applications. DREEM students will also have access to advanced laboratories and facilities at both the University of Maryland, College Park and the USMSM (University System of Maryland, Southern Maryland) Southern Maryland Autonomous Research and Technology (SMART) Building including the state-of-the-art Maryland Autonomous Technologies Research Innovation and eXploration (MATRIX) Lab in Southern Maryland for research. Multiple in-person events will bring the student cohort, faculty, and industry partners together for brainstorming and the creation of personal relationships that are critical for professional development and guidance. To ensure inclusive participation of students with financial needs, each stage of the experiential learning project will be funded at a competitive hourly rate. The effectiveness of preparing students for industry will be guided by an Advisory Board that enables direct input from the industry stakeholders as well as perspectives from engineering education advocacy and diversity, equity, inclusion, and access. Evaluation of the project will be performed by an experienced Education Research Specialist from the University of Maryland Teaching and Learning Transformation Center. This project aligns with the NSF ExLENT Program, funded by the NSF TIP and EDU Directorates, as it seeks to support experiential learning opportunities for individuals from diverse professional and educational backgrounds to increase their interest in, and their access to, career pathways in emerging technology fields.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.

随着美国国内半导体制造能力的提高，需要一支强大的、多元化的国内微电子行业劳动力。为了满足这一迫切需求，马里兰大学园区分校(UMD)正与两所地区性社区学院(CC)--南马里兰学院(CSM)和蒙哥马利学院(MC)--以及地区性工业技术合作伙伴合作，通过为微电子专业的二年级社区大学生创建一个新的、基于项目的体验式学习计划，来扩大研究型和产业界就业型的学生群体。具体地说，重点将放在新兴和新技术的项目上，这些技术对未来竞争激烈的微电子职业生涯至关重要。社区学院的电气和计算机工程课程服务于不同的人群，提供新的培训机会可以显著支持代表不足的学生转到四年制学位课程，提高他们的职业潜力。由于许多相互关联的原因(例如，作为第一代人、缺乏指导和包容意识、经济困难等)，从当地社区学院过渡到四年制大学学位课程往往是困难的。该项目旨在为在这个迅速发展的技术领域寻求职业的学生提供从学术研究到工业实习所需的支持和体验式学习途径。该项目将团结和协调地区教育工作者和行业合作伙伴，创建一条更公平、更高效的教育途径，以满足国家对强大的微电子劳动力的需求，以解决未来的问题。微电子民主化研究和体验式教育(DREEM)团队将为电气工程专业的二年级社区大学生开展为期8个月的体验式学习项目，以提供关键的技术技能和职业发展机会，其中包括：针对目标设计技能的重点3周实践研讨会，与马里兰大学、学院园区教职员工共同开展的为期一学期的动手研究项目，以发展实验室技能，以及与行业合作伙伴的暑期实习。该项目将重点放在生物传感器制造、神经形态信号处理电路和机器学习等新兴技术上，将强调对下一代设计师重要的技能。学生将由马里兰大学、学院园区的教职员工和当地社区大学的教职员工共同指导，开展实践研究项目、简历准备和实习申请等建议活动。DREEM学生还将有机会接触到马里兰大学学院园区和南马里兰州大学系统(USMSM)大楼的先进实验室和设施，包括位于马里兰州南部的最先进的马里兰州自主技术研究创新和探索(MATRIX)实验室进行研究。多个面对面的活动将把学生群体、教师和行业合作伙伴聚集在一起，集思广益，建立对专业发展和指导至关重要的个人关系。为了确保有经济需要的学生的包容性参与，体验式学习项目的每个阶段都将以具有竞争力的小时费率获得资助。一个咨询委员会将指导学生为工业做好准备的有效性，该委员会允许来自行业利益相关者的直接意见，以及来自工程教育倡导和多样性、公平、包容性和准入的观点。该项目的评估将由马里兰大学教学与学习转型中心的一名经验丰富的教育研究专家进行。该项目与由NSF TIP和EDU董事资助的NSF ExLENT计划保持一致，因为它寻求支持来自不同专业和教育背景的个人的体验式学习机会，以增加他们对新兴技术领域的兴趣和获得职业道路的机会。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。