REU Site: Advanced Robotics & Manufacturing at Illinois Tech

The Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site in Advanced Robotics & Manufacturing (ARM) at Illinois Institute of Technology provides undergraduate students with research training in robotics, automation, and additive manufacturing. The program is designed to engage students with varied academic backgrounds, including those with limited prior exposure to these fields, through structured mentoring, progressive technical training, and interdisciplinary research experiences. Participants learn to formulate research questions, develop and test hypotheses, conduct experiments, and communicate findings. This REU site addresses the national need to prepare a highly skilled workforce for advanced manufacturing and robotics. By introducing students to technologies that are increasingly important to U.S. industry, the site contributes to innovation, economic competitiveness, and workforce development. Recruitment emphasizes students from community colleges and institutions with limited research capacity, thereby expanding access to high-impact educational opportunities. Partnerships with manufacturers, innovation hubs, and national laboratories in the Chicago area provide exposure to real-world applications and career pathways. Outcomes of the project will include enhanced undergraduate research participation, stronger workforce readiness, and broader dissemination through publications, presentations, and educational integration. This REU Site supports a ten-week interdisciplinary research program in advanced robotics, automation, and manufacturing. Students receive training in robot programming and safety, human-robot collaboration, additive manufacturing processes including laser powder bed fusion, binder jetting, material extrusion, and aerosol jet printing, as well as materials design and characterization methods for establishing process-structure-property relationships. Research activities span mechanical engineering, materials science, civil engineering, biomedical engineering, chemistry, and architecture, and will include experimental, computational, and analytical approaches. The program begins with an online pre-arrival session followed by laboratory onboarding, safety instruction, and research preparation. Students work closely with faculty and graduate mentors on guided research projects designed to build technical skills and foster independent inquiry. Additional activities include seminars, professional development workshops, communication training, and visits to research and industry partners within the Chicago manufacturing ecosystem. Evaluation will assess student learning, research engagement, and professional growth. The project will advance undergraduate research training by developing a scalable model for preparing students to contribute to robotics and advanced manufacturing research, while generating presentations, publications, and curricular impacts in these 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.