REU Site: Smart Manufacturing Research Experiences for Undergraduates (SMREU)

智能制造是关乎美国经济国家利益的关键领域。这个面向大学生的智能制造研究体验（SMREU）项目将解决智能制造领域的科学挑战，同时提高国内劳动力部署、使用和维护智能制造技术的能力。因此，它有助于网络基础设施劳动力的发展，这是我国目前面临的最关键的人力资源需求之一。重要的是，SMREU专注于在当地的初级本科院校（PUIs）招募工作，包括社区学院和历史上的黑人学院和大学（HBCUs）。从这些附近的机构专门招聘，有望在德雷塞尔大学和当地的pui之间建立有意义的长期关系，包括教师之间的研究合作，德雷塞尔大学学士、硕士和博士研究生的资助项目，以及本科生研究交流，这样REU的影响在项目完成后仍能持续很长时间。通过共同招募少数民族、女性、其他未被充分代表的群体，以及那些无法在自己的教育机构获得先进研究设施的人，SMREU希望为我们国家一些最优秀、最聪明的学生开辟新的职业道路，否则他们可能会错过这些机会。拟议的SMREU网站的总体目标是每年为12名学生提供与智能制造相关的尖端研究的实践经验，这些学生来自通常不向本科生提供研究经验的机构，特别强调代表性不足的少数群体。与智能制造相关的具体研究课题将由Drexel大学广泛的教育单位的研究活跃教师每年设定，包括化学，生化，电气和计算机，材料和机械工程以及计算机科学。研究课题的选择将使这些领域与整体智能制造主题之间产生协同作用。来自这些不同领域的教师将指导SMREU的参与者。这种经历有望鼓励学生继续STEM职业（特别是在智能制造领域），包括追求研究生教育，让他们沉浸在一个充满活力的研究环境中，他们将发展：(i)技术技能，包括数学建模、数据分析、优化、实验设计、自动化和其他与智能制造相关的领域；（ii）定义、诊断和解决开放式问题所必需的批判性思维技能；（iii）沟通（口头和书面），时间和资源管理，以及其他“软”但对现代工程师至关重要的技能。除了研究项目外，学生还将参加专业发展研讨会、对研究过程进行积极反思和反馈的会议、来自行业的邀请研讨会，以及到当地制造公司实地考察。这些活动的协同作用将帮助学生了解他们自己的努力在智能制造的更广泛的科学和工程挑战中的作用。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Smart manufacturing is a critical area of national interest for the US economy. This Smart Manufacturing Research Experiences for Undergraduates (SMREU) program will address scientific challenges in smart manufacturing while contributing to the quality of the domestic workforce ablility to deploy, use, and maintain smart manufacturing technologies. It therefore contributes to cyberinfrastructure workforce development, one of the most critical needs in human resources currently faced by our nation. Importantly, SMREU focuses on recruiting efforts at local primarily-undergraduate-institutions (PUIs), including community colleges and historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Recruiting specifically from these nearby institutions is expected to establish meaningful, long-term relationships between Drexel University and local PUIs including research collaborations between faculty, feeder programs for Drexel BS, MS, and PhD students, and undergraduate research exchange, such that the impacts of the REU last long after the project has completed. With concerted recruitment of minorities, women, other underrepresented groups, and those who do not have access to advanced research facilities at their own educational institutions, the SMREU hopes to open new career paths to some of the best and brightest students in our nation who might otherwise miss out on these opportunities. The overall objective of the proposed SMREU Site is to provide hands-on experience in cutting-edge research relevant to smart manufacturing to twelve students per year from institutions that do not typically offer research experiences to undergraduate students, with a particular emphasis on under-represented minority groups. Specific research topics relevant to smart manufacturing will be set annually by research active faculty from a broad cross-section of educational units at Drexel University, including Chemical, Biochemical, Electrical and Computer, Materials, and Mechanical Engineering, and Computer Science. Research topics will be selected such that there will be a synergy among these areas and the overall smart manufacturing theme. Faculty members from these diverse fields will mentor SMREU participants. This experience is expected to encourage students to continue STEM careers (especially in the area of smart manufacturing), including pursuit of graduate education, by immersing them in a dynamic research environment where they will develop: (i) Technical skills including mathematical modeling, data analytics, optimization, design of experiments, automation, and other areas related to smart manufacturing; (ii) Critical thinking skills that are necessary to define, diagnose, and solve open-ended problems; and (iii) Communication (both oral and written), time and resource management, and other “soft” but vital skills for modern engineers. In addition to research projects, students will attend professional development workshops, sessions for active reflection and feedback on the research process, invited seminars from industry, and field trips to local manufacturing companies. The synergy of the activities will help students understand the role of their own efforts in the broader scientific and engineering challenges of smart manufacturing.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.