Equipment: Enhancing Undergraduate STEM Education with a Universal Testing Machine

With support from the Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI Program), this Educational Instrumentation project at California State University, Chico (Chico State) will strengthen undergraduate learning in Civil Engineering, Concrete Industry Management, Mechanical & Mechatronic Engineering, and Construction Management. Specifically, this project will secure a fully automated test apparatus for mechanically testing a wide range of engineering materials, allowing students to conduct advanced materials testing and research in CIVL 212: Civil Engineering Materials, CIMT 231: Fundamentals of Concrete and Testing, CMGT 330: Soil Mechanics, Concrete, and Construction Surveying, MECH 210: Materials Science and Testing, and CIVL 415 / CIMT 365 / MECH 340W (Advanced Lab Courses). An estimated 350 students will utilize the project-funded equipment each year. The goals of this project are to enrich the learning and experiences of undergraduate students by upgrading critical equipment in civil engineering and to cultivate workforce-ready skills in materials characterization and quality assurance. The team proposes to leverage the equipment by using it as the core of a regional hub, which would be a focus for industrial collaborations, internships, and K-12 outreach. The project leverages outreach through open houses, demonstration days, and visits to local schools to stimulate interest in the institution and the program. The project will assess the impact of the funded equipment using well-defined metrics, including the creation, refinement, and implementation of rubrics, surveys, and other data collection instruments that will ensure rigorous and consistent evaluation processes. This project is funded by the HSI Program, which aims to enhance undergraduate STEM education and increase capacity to engage in the development and implementation of innovations to improve STEM teaching and learning at HSIs. 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.