RET Site: Innovation-based Manufacturing

该奖项为弗吉尼亚理工学院和州立大学(VT)在Christopher B.Williams博士的指导下，为工程和计算机科学领域教师研究经验(RET)现场计划提供的为期三年的持续奖励，名为RET Site：基于创新的制造。在过去的几十年里，北美制造业一直受到来自低劳动力成本国家的竞争的持续挑战。为了保持竞争力，制造业迫切需要基础研究努力，致力于使创新的实验室研究有效地过渡到全面生产。为了满足这一需求，VT成立了基于创新的制造中心(CIBM)，该中心由一个多学科的研究团队组成，他们正在探索新的制造技术、对传统技术的改进以及改进创新、信息、制造过程及其相关供应链的管理方法。CIBM的使命是为制造系统的创新创造基础，作为加快创新技术的商业发展的一种手段，从而在培训下一代制造业领导者的同时改造和提升国家的制造业基础设施。在这种背景下，CIBM建议建立一个RET网站(RET：IBM)，为36名初中和高中的科学、数学和工程预科教师(为期3年，每年12名)提供为期6周的暑期研究和专业发展经验。RET的主要目标是：IBM通过为教师提供机会，参与具有丰富STEM原则背景范例的尖端制造业研究课题，从而朝着改善年轻人对工程和制造业的看法迈出重要的一步。这一目标显然促进了发现和理解，同时促进了教学、培训和学习。在职和职前教师参与者将从弗吉尼亚州西南部的县招聘，这些县既包括农村地区，也包括城市地区，因此影响到广泛的社会经济领域。拟议的RET：IBM计划的制造重点将与该地区既定的历史产生良好的共鸣，但最近在我国经济的这个重要部分的存在正在减少。这项拟议的计划的总和将导致一批受过教育、有动力的学生渴望进入STEM学科。

This award provides funding for a three year continuing award for a Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) in Engineering and Computer Science Site Program at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (VT) entitled, RET Site: Innovation-based Manufacturing, under the direction of Dr. Christopher B. Williams. In the last decades, the North American manufacturing sector has been continuously challenged by competition from low labor cost countries. In order to remain competitive, the manufacturing sector is in urgent need of fundamental research efforts that are dedicated to enabling the efficient transition of innovative laboratory research to full-scale production. To address this need, VT has formed the Center for Innovation-based Manufacturing (CIbM), which is composed of a multidisciplinary team of researchers that are exploring new manufacturing technologies, improvements to traditional technologies, and improved methods for managing innovation, information, manufacturing processes and their related supply chains. The mission of the CIbM is to create a foundation for innovation in manufacturing systems as a means to accelerate the commercial development of innovative technologies and thus transform and advance the country's manufacturing infrastructure while training the next generation of manufacturing leaders. In this vein, the CIbM proposes to host a RET site (RET:IbM) that will provide a total of 36 science, math, and pre-engineering middle and high school teachers (12 per year for 3 years) with a 6-week summer research and professional development experience. The primary goal of the RET:IbM is to make significant steps towards improving young people's perception of engineering and manufacturing by providing opportunities for teachers to engage in cutting-edge manufacturing research topics that are rich with contextual examples of STEM principles. This goal clearly advances discovery and understanding while promoting teaching, training and learning. In-service and pre-service teacher participants will be recruited from counties of southwest Virginia, which contain both rural and urban areas, thus impacting a wide socio-economic spectrum. The manufaturing focus of the proposed RET:IbM program will resonate well with the region's established history, but recently diminishing presence, in this vital portion of our nation's economy. The sum of the proposed program's initiatives will result in a pipeline of educated and motivated students eager to enter STEM disciplines.