Collaborative Research: Training Next Generation Faculty and Students to Address the Infrastructure Crisis

TUES 2型项目正在建立基础设施转型和教育中心（CIT-E），作为实践社区的核心。 其目的是通过将基础设施主题纳入现有课程，促进本科土木和环境工程课程的转型。 该项目建立在威斯康星大学普拉特维尔分校土木与环境工程系和西点军事学院土木工程项目开发的土木基础设施的基础上。 这六所合作机构的规模、学生人数和环境各不相同（亚利桑那州立大学、新墨西哥州矿业与技术学院、诺维奇大学、波特兰州立大学、罗文大学和托莱多大学）。 该项目的目标是：1）建立和维持基础设施转型和教育中心（CIT-E），作为可以通过实践社区不断改进的基础设施教育材料的来源，2）在合作机构的教师中发展基础设施主题和教学法的教育专业知识，3）提供，评估，并在合作机构为中东欧和其他专业提供以基础设施为主题的课程或模块，4）增强CEE学生的能力，将CEE子学科中设计的组件和系统视为更大基础设施系统的组成部分，和5）增强中东欧学生从社会而不仅仅是技术角度看待基础设施挑战的能力。该项目采用了一种创造性的模式，从事合作教师的基础设施为主题的课程材料的内容创作者和模块维护者的角色，以发展和维持实践的社区。 此外，还采用了一项结构化计划，以促进六个合作机构采用基础设施课程材料并使之制度化，并提供教师发展和支持，八个不同机构的500多名学生和15名教师，包括一些少数民族学生人数不足的机构，直接受到项目活动的影响，增加在可持续基础设施方面具有知识和专长的学生和教师人数。 一个以CIT-E和多个教师发展研讨会为中心的实践社区被用来促进该项目中开发的课程材料和实践的传播和采用。

This TUES Type 2 project is establishing the Center for Infrastructure Transformation and Education (CIT-E) as the centerpiece of a community of practice. The aim is to facilitate the transformation of undergraduate civil and environmental engineering programs by incorporating infrastructure topics into their existing curriculum. This project builds upon the sophomore-level courses and other modules on civil infrastructure developed by the Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) Department of the University of Wisconsin-Platteville and the Civil Engineering program at West Point Military Academy. The six collaborating institutions are of varying sizes, student population, and settings (Arizona State University, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Norwich University, Portland State University, Rowan University, and University of Toledo). The project objectives are to: 1) establish and sustain the Center for Infrastructure Transformation and Education (CIT-E) as the source for infrastructure education materials that can be continuously improved by a community of practice, 2) develop educational expertise in infrastructure topics and in pedagogy in faculty at collaborating institutions, 3) deliver, assess, and institutionalize infrastructure-themed courses or modules for CEE and other majors at collaborating institutions, 4) enhance the ability of CEE students to view components and systems designed in CEE sub-disciplines as integral parts of the larger infrastructure system, and 5) enhance the ability of CEE students to view infrastructure challenges from a societal, rather than solely technical, perspective. The project employs a creative model that engages collaborating faculty in roles of content creators and module maintainers of the infrastructure-themed course material to develop and sustain the community of practice. In addition, a structured plan to facilitate the adoption and institutionalization of infrastructure curricular material at the six collaborating institutions, and provide faculty development and support is used.More than 500 students and fifteen faculty at eight diverse institutions, including some with large numbers of underrepresented minority students, are directly impacted by the project activities, increasing the number of students and faculty with knowledge and expertise in sustainable infrastructure topics. A community of practice centered on CIT-E and multiple faculty development workshops is employed to facilitate the dissemination and adoption of the curricular material and practices developed in this project.