Beginnings: Sensor Technology as a Vehicle to Cultivate Experiential Learning for Emerging and Novel Technologies

This project aims to serve the national interest by training a skillful workforce to meet the growing technology challenges delineated in the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022. Sensor technology is among the fastest-developing branches in modern technology and contributes to all aspects of industrial applications. The transformation in miniature, intelligent and convoluted sensor systems will enable scientific and engineering innovations in the defense, space, civil, health, and environmental technology sectors. To embrace such a transformation, Illinois Tech’s ExLENT project, through the International Center for Sensor Science and Engineering (ICSSE), assembled a team of experts to provide cross-disciplinary, experiential training in combined areas of advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, environmental control, semiconductor and microelectronics. The goal of the project is to prepare underserved groups, particularly veterans, and underrepresented populations in STEM with the technical capability to tackle the multifaceted challenges in the sensor technology sector. The project consists of education and mentored research in sensor technology in an academic setting, followed by related industrial internship training. Specifically, through a 9-credit certificate program, Illinois Tech’s ExLENT project offers dedicated mentorship, hands-on training, and one-on-one collaborative career support through faculty mentors, industrial partners, and Veterans Administration (VA) associated organizations. Of note, the project will afford veterans unique opportunities for reskilling/upskilling and reintegrating into civilian society, creating a strong career path into the emerging technology workforce. This project aligns with the NSF ExLENT program, funded by the NSF TIP and EDU Directorates, as it seeks to support experiential learning opportunities for individuals from diverse professional and educational backgrounds to increase their interest in, and their access to, career pathways in emerging technology fields. 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.