TEA Center Renewal: Sustaining Technological Excellence Pursuit in Advanced Manufacturing at Navajo Technical University (S.T.E.P)

A goal of the Tribal Colleges and Universities Program (TCUP) is to increase the intellectual leadership of TCUP institutions, thereby positioning them to address scientific or engineering priorities for their communities, or broadly for the United States. The TCUP Enterprise Advancement Centers (TEA Centers) strand supports TCUP institutions in applying their STEM instructional and research capacity to address this goal. This project, submitted by Navajo Technical University (NTU) and titled “TEA Center Renewal: Sustaining Technological Excellence Pursuit in Advanced Manufacturing at Navajo Technical University (S.T.E.P)", aligns directly with TCUP goals through the renewal of the TEA Center for Advanced Manufacturing housed at Navajo Technical University. Focusing on the theme of advanced manufacturing (AM), the Center for Advanced Manufacturing (CAM) has experienced great success in integrating AM research, education, and workforce development through activities such as the provision of student internships and faculty research experiences, the advancement of AM techniques, and the publication of six research articles. The center’s synergistic partnerships with national laboratories, industry, and other institutions of higher education have fostered leveraging of resources across organizations, collaborative interdisciplinary research, and cutting-edge student internship and workforce development experiences. The renewal of the center builds and expands on these foundational successes to advance its goals. During the next phase of the CAM, the center will move forward into high priority research areas such as cybersecurity. Additional educational opportunities are offered such as micro-certifications in specific areas of AM, workshops for faculty, and sponsored graduate student research experiences. Partnering with regional and national organizations continues and includes new collaborators, promoting the advancement of knowledge and partners’ AM education and R&D goals. The center furthers its contribution to the economic stability of the Navajo Nation through the continued development of a skilled technical workforce and preparation of students for the pursuit of advanced degrees. The CAM also continues collaborations with Navajo Nation representatives in the identification of STEM priorities and design of activities that address the specific needs of the Tribe. 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.