Translational Engineering Skills Program (TESP): Training innovative, adaptive, and competitive graduate students for the 21st Century Work Force
- Conference
- Location
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Indianapolis, Indiana
- Publication Date
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June 15, 2014
- Start Date
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June 15, 2014
- End Date
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June 18, 2014
- ISSN
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2153-5965
- Conference Session
- Tagged Division
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Graduate Studies
- Page Count
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14
- Page Numbers
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24.1281.1 - 24.1281.14
- DOI
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10.18260/1-2--23214
- Permanent URL
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https://peer.asee.org/23214
- Download Count
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529
Paper Authors
Elena Nicolescu Veety North Carolina State University
Elena Veety received the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, in 2011. Her research focused on liquid crystal polarization gratings for tunable optical filters and telecommunications applications. Since 2011, she has been a Teaching Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at North Carolina State University.
Currently, she is the Assistant Education Director for the NSF Nanosystems Engineering Research Center for Advanced Self-Powered Systems of Integrated Sensors and Technologies (ASSIST).
Mehmet C. Ozturk North Carolina State University
Mehmet C. Ozturk received his BS degree in Electrical Engineering from Bogazici University in Istanbul, Turkey in 1980. He received his MS degree from Michigan Tech in 1983 and his PhD degree from NC State University in 1988. Immediately after graduation, he joined the faculty in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
Since 2008, Dr. Ozturk has been serving as the director of the NCSU Nanofabrication Facility, which operates as the central laboratory for the entire University. In 2012, he became the education and diversity director of the NSF sponsored ASSIST Nanosystems Engineering Research Center.
Dr. Ozturk's research interests center around innovations in engineering education, nano-materials/processes and flexible energy harvesting technologies. In the ASSIST center, he is leading a research group working on thermoelectric energy harvesting for self-powered body wearable sensors for health and environmental monitoring. He was named a fellow of IEEE for his contributions in Si and SiGe Epitaxy and their applications in advanced MOS field effect transistors.
Renata S. Engel P.E. Pennsylvania State University, University Park
Renata Engel is Associate Dean for Academic Programs in the College of Engineering at Penn State. A member of the Penn State faculty since 1990, she is Professor of Engineering Design and Engineering Science and Mechanics she has served as Executive Director of the Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence. She has provided leadership to Penn State’s efforts to assess student learning outcomes assessment, to integrate inquiry and discovery into undergraduate courses, and to develop programs to promote inclusive classroom environments. Engel’s discipline specific research couples her interest in design and manufacturing with advanced materials, with a focus on computational modeling. She serves as the education director for Penn State’s participation in the ASSIST Engineering Research Center led by North Carolina State University. For her individual and collaborative contributions to engineering education, she has received several university and national. She is a Fellow of the American Society for Engineering Education. She has held several leadership positions in the American Society for Engineering Education, including president in 2010-2011.
Carolyn A. Vallas University of Virginia
Meghan McGlinn Manfra North Carolina State University
Dr. Meghan McGlinn Manfra is an assistant professor of social studies education at North Carolina State University. Her research focuses on digital history, technology integration, and action research for the professional development of teachers. She is a former high school history teacher and holds a doctorate in educational research. She is the co-editor of the technology section of Social Education and the social studies section of the Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education (CITE) journal. She is the chair-elect of the the Executive Board of the College and University Faculty Assembly (CUFA) of the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS). She has contributed to numerous scholarly journals, including Theory and Research in Social Education, the Journal of Research on Technology in Education, Social Studies Research and Practice, the Journal of Curriculum and Instruction, Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, Computers in the Schools, and Social Education. In addition, she has overseen the evaluation of numerous federally funded education programs, including the Teaching American History grant in Durham and Franklin Counties (NC) and the education programs of the ASSIST NSF engineering research center at North Carolina State University.
Tom Snyder North Carolina State University
Senior level manager with substantial experience in leading global teams, technology development, product design and introduction. Proven innovation skill set with over 25 US patents issued. Highly developed skill set for budget and schedule management, staff development and efficient work processes. Frequently pushes the envelope to break through barriers and achieve new levels of success. Frequent global traveller. Excellent written and verbal communication skills have resulted in repeated success at global collaboration and leadership of global teams and partnerships.
As the ASSIST Industry Liaison, responsible to recruit, manage and develop industry relationships. Foster collaboration between member universities, researchers, students and industry. Drive research towards practical and profitable commercialization. Support IP generation and licensing. Create a culture of innovation and mentor students and small businesses working within the Center. Through educational and industry outreach help build new markets and products from the foundational nanotechnology, nanofabrication, sensor, energy harvesting, low power electronics and medical research conducted in ASSIST.
The NSF sponsored engineering research center is focused on improving societal health through development of self-powered, wearable devices that monitor environmental and physiological metrics for enabling individualized wellness management.
Chunlei Wang Florida International University
Chunlei (Peggy) Wang is an associate professor in the Mechanical and Materials Engineering Department at Florida International University. She received her MS (1993) and PhD (1997) in Solid State Physics from Jilin University (China). Before joining FIU, she held various research positions at Osaka University (1995-2001) and University of California Irvine (2001-2006). At FIU, her group focuses on the development of micro and nanofabrication methods for building novel micro and nanostructures and synthesizing nanomaterials that have unique structures and useful properties for energy and biological applications. She published in 5 book chapters, 90 peer reviewed journal publications, 30 proceedings, 206 conference abstracts, 10 patent and 31 disclosures. She is a recipient of FIU faculty award in research and creative activities (2013), FIU Kauffman Professor Award (2009), and DARPA Young Faculty Award (2008). She was a co-founder of Carbon Microbattery Corporation (now: Enevate Corp), a consultant at Intel Lab, and a guest scientist at Max Planck Institute.
Veena Misra North Carolina State University
Abstract
Translational Engineering Skills Program (TESP): Training innovative, adaptive, and competitive graduate students for the 21st century work forceThe Translational Engineering Skills Program (TESP), developed at the NSF NanosystemsEngineering Research Center (NERC) for Advanced Self-Powered Systems of IntegratedSensors and Technologies (ASSIST), teaches a set of strategic translational engineering skillsthrough experiential learning interventions that enhance the academic curricula and researchactivities, and broaden students’ understanding.ASSIST is a multidisciplinary center that is developing nano-enabled, body-powered, wearablehealth and environmental monitoring systems. The center’s education program focuses onpreparing students who are creative, adaptive, and innovative. Achieving this requires providingour students with more than just technical training and research skills. Specifically, our studentsdevelop translational engineering skills which enable them to transform fundamental researchinto actual products and systems. Within ASSIST, these skills are particularly important intranslating nano-technology research into medical devices and systems that will revolutionize theway we think about health care.TESP encompasses eight translational skills including: Systems Thinking, Entrepreneurship,Industry/Manufacturing, Mentoring/Leadership, Communication, Diversity Awareness,Engineering Ethics, and Medical Devices and Systems. Our program provides strategic, targetedlearning opportunities, designed to improve each skill. The overall objectives are to: (i) increaseproficiencies in the translational skills, (ii) impact attitudes towards learning these skills, and (iii)promote voluntary, long-term participation. For example, to encourage systems thinking,students complete a systems “mind map” activity. In this activity, a facilitator guides studentsthrough the creation of a mind map of the ASSIST center using basic mind mapping software.Students work together to understand and graphically depict the numerous connections betweenthe center’s research thrusts, individual research projects, industry partners, and how all of thesefit into the mission and vision of the center. To encourage entrepreneurship, students engage in apatent mining activity. Under the guidance of the industry liaison officer, students brainstorm,discuss patentable ideas, and practice writing invention disclosures. These, along with a range ofother activities, are developed by combining the expertise of ASSIST faculty with outsidecollaborators.ASSIST graduate students are the target audience, but the long term aim is to disseminate theprogram outside of the center for others to adopt or adapt for their use. In order to evaluate theeffectiveness of TESP we gather data related to student skills, attitudes, products, and ideas. TheTESP evaluation approach is three-pronged: self-assessment, reflection, and skills assessment.Every activity includes a student self-assessment of skills and attitudes using a 5 point Likertscale. After each activity, students write a 1-2 paragraph reflection. Finally, each activityincludes a grading rubric used by the instructor to assess student outcomes. In addition, samplesof student work, including mind maps, invention disclosures, and publications are analyzed togauge student learning. Triangulating data enables us to assess and compare students’ self-efficacy, their attitudes toward the activities, and the instructors’ perception of skill gains.We foresee a variety of outcomes from student participation in TESP, including new researchideas, industry connections, and career choices. Over time, longitudinal data will demonstrate thevalue of teaching translational skills to engineering students. Outputs Outcomes Inputs Ac+vi+es Par+cipants Short Term Medium Term Long Term Student Ac&vi&es Skills: in Core Skill Areas: Proficiency in the core Educa&on skill areas. Directors Systems Thinking Target Products: Long term data Audience: System Mind Maps, shows the Industry Liaison Medical Devices ASSIST Inven+on Disclosures, value of Officer and Systems Behavior: Publica+ons and teaching Graduate Students’ voluntary Presenta+ons Transla&onal Medical Industry/ Students con+nued Skills Director Manufacturing Ideas: par+cipa+on in the Other New research direc+ons; program Par&cipants: TESP is ASSIST Faculty Entrepreneurship Entrepreneurial ventures; NCSU Center gaps iden+fied; successfully Choices: Graduate and New connec+ons to disseminated Partners – Mentoring/ Students’ career Undergradua industry or medical to other Experts in their Leadership choices are te students partners ins&tu&ons fields impacted Communica+on ADtudes and Assessment Mo&va&ons: Coordinator Diversity Percep+ons about the Awareness importance of Transla+onal Skills and Engineering Ethics the benefits of TESP Evalua&on Triangulate data from: Self-‐Assessment, Reflec+on, Skills Assessment
Veety, E. N., & Ozturk, M. C., & Engel, R. S., & Vallas, C. A., & Manfra, M. M., & Snyder, T., & Wang, C., & Misra, V. (2014, June), Translational Engineering Skills Program (TESP): Training innovative, adaptive, and competitive graduate students for the 21st Century Work Force Paper presented at 2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Indianapolis, Indiana. 10.18260/1-2--23214
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