NSF Award
1818655
The Historically Black Colleges and Universities Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP) through Targeted Infusion Projects supports the development, implementation, and study of evidence-based innovative models and approaches for improving the preparation and success of HBCU undergraduate students so that they may pursue science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) graduate programs and/or careers. The project at Virginia State University seeks to strengthen the university's ability to recruit, retain, and graduate underrepresented students in STEM by enhancing the manufacturing engineering curriculum. Undergraduate students are involved in the project as researchers. <br/><br/>This project has the objectives to: enhance the cybermanufacturing engineering curriculum; increase the number of students enrolled in and graduating from the cybermanufacturing program; and improve the placement rates of graduating seniors into STEM graduate programs or the STEM workforce. The evidence-based strategies and activities to achieve these objectives are to: infuse concepts such as digital thread, sensing and acquisition and data analytics into the targeted courses under the framework of cognitive apprenticeship; develop three new lab courses based on digital design and manufacturing of centrifugal pumps for the targeted courses; enable digital thread and digital twin cyberlearning environments at the institution; and establish joint undergraduate research opportunities with Virginia Tech. The project will be guided by an external evaluator, as well as internal and external advisory committees.<br/><br/>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.
