NRT: Alabama Collaborative for Contemporary Education in Precision Timing (ACCEPT)

超过三分之一的美国经济(每年11万亿美元)直接依赖于精确的时机。精确授时(PT)是我国国家安全不可或缺的一部分。令人难以置信的是，美国没有学位课程致力于培养年轻人才掌握支撑我们社会的计时技术。作为回应，阿拉巴马大学(UA)通过与企业和政府合作伙伴的直接对话，创建了首个精确计时专业的MS和博士课程，其中包括物理、工程和数学课程。这些对话清楚地表明，精确的时间和频率领域需要能够在考虑商业和国家安全利益的同时，跨STEM多个学科应用大规模沟通和谈判技能的人才。美国国家科学基金会研究培训奖(NRT)阿拉巴马州精密计时当代教育合作奖(ACCEPT)将开发一种创新的研究生(硕士、博士)教育模式，以满足精密计时劳动力发展的独特需求。Accept将为160名MS和博士生提供全面的培训和教育机会，其中包括来自物理、数学、电气和计算机工程的24名资助学员。学员将结合这三个系的课程与精确计时专家确定的关键领域(团队合作、领导力、道德、沟通)的专业发展，并通过与接受合作伙伴的研究经验、学生主导的倡议以及会议和工作场所的网络将他们的培训付诸实践。精确计时(PT)是一个高度跨学科的领域，需要广泛的学术和进程技能。整合它们需要大量的实践投入，包括学习、实践和成长体验。NRT项目团队将以三大支柱为基础，为多才多艺的STEM专业人员建立培训计划：1)跨学科课程，其中基础STEM课程导致以PT为重点的课程，将动手技术沉浸和以讨论为基础的PT研讨会相结合；2)从第一天起就集成应用的全面劳动力发展(专业、沟通、科学)；3)为学生提供持续的专业沉浸体验，以在现实使用案例中增长技术和劳动力技能。学员将从强大的学科基础发展到成功的跨学科工作，同时整合现实世界的培训和发展。学员将学习运行授时设备；分析、调查和优化时间信号；并进行创新，使时钟更坚固、可靠和紧凑。与此同时，他们将获得与企业、政府和国防领域的利益相关者进行沟通所需的经验和技能。这要求他们了解PT在我们社会中的重要性，理解PT领域广泛的人际网络的重要性，并接受道德培训并扎根于此。该计划将通过为PT的跨学科学位课程创建一个可扩展、可转移的模板来促进研究和教育基础设施。全国的学术部门将受益，因为该计划很容易扩展和转移到任何STEM研究生计划，终结性和形成性的评估方法告知计划的稳定性。NSF研究培训(NRT)计划旨在鼓励开发和实施大胆的、具有潜在变革意义的STEM研究生教育培训模式。该计划致力于通过创新的、基于证据的、与不断变化的劳动力和研究需求保持一致的综合培训模式，在高度优先的跨学科或趋同的研究领域有效地培训STEM研究生。  该奖项反映了国家科学基金会的法定使命，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。

Over one-third of the U.S. economy ($11 Trillion annually) directly depends on precision timing. Precision timing (PT) is an integral part of our national security. Incredibly, there is no degree program in the US dedicated to training young talent in the timekeeping technologies that underpin our society. In response, the University of Alabama (UA) has created the first MS and PhD concentrations in precision timing, incorporating courses in physics, engineering, and mathematics, developed through direct conversation with corporate and government partners. These conversations made clear that the field of precision time and frequency requires talent that can apply large-scale communication and negotiation skills across multiple STEM disciplines while considering business and national security interests as well. This National Science Foundation Research Traineeship (NRT) award, the Alabama Collaborative for Contemporary Education in Precision Timing (ACCEPT), will develop an innovative graduate (MS, PhD) education model responsive to the unique needs for precision timing workforce development. ACCEPT will provide a comprehensive training and educational opportunity for one hundred and sixty (160) MS and PhD students, including twenty-four (24) funded trainees from physics, mathematics, and electrical and computer engineering. Trainees will combine coursework across these three departments with professional development in critical areas identified by precision timing experts (teamwork, leadership, ethics, communication), and put their training into practice via research experiences with ACCEPT partners, student-led initiatives, and networking at conferences and workshops.Precision timing (PT) is a highly interdisciplinary field that requires a wide range of academic and processional skillsets. Integrating them requires significant practical immersion that includes learning, practice, and growth experiences. The NRT program team will build a training program for versatile STEM professionals equipped to take on leadership roles in precision timing based on three pillars: 1) an interdisciplinary curriculum where foundational STEM courses lead to PT-focused courses blending hands-on technology immersion and discussion-based PT seminars; 2) holistic workforce development (professional, communication, scientific) with integrated application from day one, and 3) a sustained professional immersion experience for students to grow technical and workforce skills in realistic use-case scenarios. Trainees will build from a strong disciplinary foundation to successful interdisciplinary work while integrating real-world training and development. Trainees will learn to run a time service facility; analyze, investigate, and optimize time signals; and innovate to make clocks more robust, reliable, and compact. In parallel, they will gain the experience and skills necessary to communicate with stakeholders in business, government, and defense. This requires them to understand the importance of PT in our society, the importance of navigating the extensive interpersonal network that is the PT field, and to be ethically trained and grounded. The program will boost research and education infrastructure through the creation of a scalable, transferable template for interdisciplinary degree programs in PT. Academic departments nationally will benefit as the program is readily scalable and transferable to any STEM graduate program, with summative and formative evaluation approaches informing programmatic stability. The NSF Research Traineeship (NRT) Program is designed to encourage the development and implementation of bold, new potentially transformative models for STEM graduate education training. The program is dedicated to effective training of STEM graduate students in high priority interdisciplinary or convergent research areas through comprehensive traineeship models that are innovative, evidence-based, and aligned with changing workforce and research needs.  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.