Support for Students to Participate in the Student Challenge at the 40th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Precision Engineering; San Diego, California; 3-7 November 2025

This grant provides funding to support students to participate in the Student Challenge at the 40th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Precision Engineering (ASPE) in San Diego, California, 3-7 November 2025. ASPE is the leading international conference on precision engineering, attracting researchers and practitioners from academia, industry, and government. Its focus includes the fundamentals and applications of precision engineering, which underpin critical advancements in manufacturing, defense, healthcare, and measurement science. A highlight of the conference is the ASPE Student Challenge, an annual team competition launched in 2014 to foster hands-on experience and deep understanding in precision design and control principles. By supporting student participation in the ASPE Annual Meeting and providing valuable experiential learning through the Student Challenge, this grant will help cultivate future engineering leaders in precision design, mechatronics, and precision control. ASPE is a flagship conference in the field of precision engineering, with technical coverage spanning mechanical, electrical, and optical metrology; flexure design; mechatronic design; precision control theory and practice; ultra-precision machining; and system integration. Conference activities include oral and poster presentations, expert-led tutorials, commercial presentations, an industrial exhibition, and a student challenge. In 2025, the ASPE Student Challenge will task teams with manufacturing a playable musical record from acrylic using an air-bearing spindle and a diamond cutting tool. Through this project, students will gain key technical knowledge and hands-on experience in precision machine design and control, surface metrology, toolpath generation, and high-precision motion systems. This grant will promote the next generation of precision engineers by (a) providing experiential learning in precision design, manufacturing, and metrology through the hands-on challenge; (b) enabling exposure to foundational knowledge via expert-led tutorials; and (c) offering insight into state-of-the-art research and industrial practices through technical sessions and networking opportunities. 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.