Workshop on Unified Curriculum and Course Design for Mechatronics and Robotics Engineering

Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester MA

Investigators

Abstract

The field of Mechatronics and Robotics Engineering (MRE) has seen continuous growth for almost half a century, and MRE is now embedded in nearly all manufacturing operations. However, it is only within the last decade that educational institutions have started to recognize this field as a distinct engineering discipline, as more universities and colleges offer MRE degree programs. Despite this increased interest, MRE still lacks a well-defined and unified framework for undergraduate degree programs. This project's main motivation is to overcome this challenge in order to train future engineers, with a strong multidisciplinary theoretical and experimental skillset. Graduates with this skillset will be crucial for American competitiveness, because they will be capable of design, development, and implementation of transformative autonomous technologies that improve human health and welfare. This vision will enable MRE to become one of the most impactful disciplines of engineering, attracting diverse and innovative students, graduating professional engineers who will design, develop, and implement transformative autonomous technologies, and improving human health and welfare. To realize this vision, this project proposes to educate the educators by conducting an intensive workshop to prepare current and future MRE faculty to effectively design and teach courses in this discipline. The project team will familiarize participants with the most recent technological and pedagogical advances in undergraduate MRE education through a combination of lectures, active learning, and hands-on lab exercises. This will serve to build a diverse, inclusive MRE community, increase the number and breadth of colleges and universities that offer MRE education, strengthen the MRE offerings at colleges and universities that already teach MRE, and empower faculty to lead MRE curriculum initiatives at their institutions. The proposed workshop will empower participants to serve as change agents, educational innovators, and thought leaders at their institutions. It will do this by engaging attendees in active hands-on learning of state-of-the-art MRE education concepts, techniques, and approaches. As a result of the workshop, the MRE educational community will be enlarged and engaged, leading to enhanced opportunities for students to become Mechatronics and Robotics Engineering professionals. The workshop will meet several societal goals as well. First, by educating the educators, it will leverage a workshop of 25 participants into an improved education for 10s of thousands of students over time. Robotics, as demonstrated through the media, competitions, and public perception, has immense potential to draw large numbers of students into STEM fields. These students will in turn contribute to the nation’s long-term economic competitiveness and vitality by developing new mechatronic and robotics technologies and applications. Last, by promoting diversity and inclusivity, the workshop will lead to broader participation in engineering by underserved populations. 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.