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: 2322700
• 负责人: Palmyra Catravas
• 金额: $ 37.5万
• 依托单位: Montgomery College
• 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=2322700&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、多样化的国内微电子行业劳动力队伍。为了满足这一迫切需求，马里兰州大学帕克分校（UMD）正在与两所区域社区学院（CC）-南马里兰州学院（CSM）和蒙哥马利学院（MC）以及区域工业技术合作伙伴合作，通过为微电子社区学院二年级学生创建一个新的，基于项目的体验式学习计划，扩大研究和行业准备就绪的学生人数。具体而言，重点将放在对微电子未来竞争性职业至关重要的新兴和新颖技术项目上。社区学院的电气和计算机工程课程服务于多样化的人口，提供新的培训机会可以显著支持代表性不足的学生转入4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，从当地社区学院过渡到4年制学位大学课程通常很困难（例如，作为第一代，缺乏导师和包容感，财务挑战等）该项目旨在为在这一迅速发展的技术领域寻求职业的学生提供所需的支持和从学术研究到工业实习的体验式学习途径。 该项目将联合和协调区域教育工作者和工业合作伙伴，创造一个更公平，更有效的教育途径，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，以提供关键技术技能和职业发展机会，包括：为期3周的针对性设计技能的实践研讨会，与马里兰州大学合作的为期一学期的实践研究项目，学院公园教师发展实验室技能，并与工业合作伙伴的暑期实习。 该项目侧重于生物传感器制造、神经形态信号处理电路和机器学习等新兴技术，将强调对下一代设计师至关重要的技能。学生将由来自马里兰州大学，学院公园和当地社区学院的教师单独共同指导，指导活动包括动手研究项目，简历准备和实习申请。DREEM学生还将有机会获得先进的实验室和设施在两个马里兰州，学院公园和USMSM（马里兰州，南马里兰州大学系统）南马里兰州自主研究和技术（SMART）建设，包括国家的最先进的马里兰州自主技术研究创新和探索（MATRIX）实验室在南马里兰州的研究。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，进行头脑风暴，并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时薪提供资金。学生为行业做好准备的有效性将由咨询委员会指导，该委员会可以直接从行业利益相关者以及工程教育倡导和多样性，公平，包容性和访问的角度进行输入。该项目的评估将由一位来自马里兰州大学教学和学习转化中心的经验丰富的教育研究专家进行。该项目与由NSF TIP和EDU董事会资助的NSF ExLENT计划保持一致，因为它旨在为来自不同专业和教育背景的个人提供体验式学习机会，以增加他们对以下内容的兴趣和访问：该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值进行评估，被认为值得支持和更广泛的影响审查标准。