New york city college of technology city tech is a hispanic serving institution and the designated senior college of technology within the 24 unit city university of new york cuny, the largest urban…

This is a $445,865.33 cooperative agreement awarded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to the Research Foundation of the City University of New York (RFCUNY), which operates as the fiscal administrator for the New York City College of Technology (City Tech). The contract is part of NASA's "New Horizons in Space Additive Manufacturing and STEM Education" program and aims to improve retention and graduation rates of underrepresented students in STEM fields through hands-on research experiences in space additive manufacturing (AM) and electron beam freeform fabrication (EBF3).

The project will integrate NASA-relevant research into City Tech's engineering curriculum, provide student internships and research opportunities, and establish a NASA research site to host K-12 educators and students for STEM activities. This contract is not a set-aside and does not appear to be associated with a larger contract vehicle. The parent organization, the City University of New York (CUNY), is a major recipient of federal research and educational grants, leveraging its diverse academic expertise to conduct scientific work and develop workforce training programs for the government.

New york city college of technology city tech is a hispanic serving institution and the designated senior college of technology within the 24 unit city university of new york cuny, the largest urban public university system in the nation. The college seeks to improve the preparation of its growing population of underrepresented students in the engineering program and to improve retention and graduation rates through a productive research-centered partnership with NASA langley research center, north carolina state university ncsu, and goddard space flight center gsfc office of education new york city research initiative program. The objectives and goals of this collaborative project are well aligned with NASA strategic goals and objectives and CO stem priorities. These objectives include 1. To improve retention and graduation rates of underrepresented students in stem and enhance their skills through hands-on research experiences in space additive manufacturing am in which students can do engineering rather than study engineering; 2. To undergraduate education through the introduction of NASA relevant research into curriculum and implementing project based learning, an evidence based practice, in eight courses. Undergraduate students will be introduced to am and electron beam freeform fabrication EBF3 through a series of four engagements levels. Through these research experiences, students skills will be challenged in different environments and projects as they progress toward designation as a NASA student scholar. These challenges will include hands on research activities, summer internships, and participation in developing an educational portal for am. At the same time, city tech will collaborate with gsfc office of education new york city research initiative program and will become a NASA research site that will host two teams of k-12 educators and students for most of the summer to conduct stem and NASA-relevant research. Additionally ncsu will host am summer camp for k 12 students which will introduce the students to am technologies and design. This project will fill a critical GAP in the engineering program offerings of the department of mechanical engineering and industrial design by making them more relevant to current space industry needs including those of NASA and will create curriculum and learning experiences for all participants such as pre-college students, their teachers, and university faculty and students that do not currently exist. The project will have positive impact on more than 750 students currently enrolled in the department of mechanical engineering and industrial design technology and k 12 teachers and students. The sustainable impact will be extended nationwide to the stem community through a website that contains educational portal of am and other stem educational materials and projects.