Creative design thinking, automation, and manufacturing of precision systems

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Division of Undergraduate Education awarded Pensacola State College $445,576 under the STEM Education program (CFDA 47.076) on October 1, 2025, to develop and deliver curriculum in creative design thinking and robotic manufacturing of precision systems. The project will create an integrated educational pathway consisting of two-semester course offerings followed by an enhanced internship course designed to meet regional employer demand for technicians with advanced manufacturing and design skills. The curriculum will enable students to design, troubleshoot, and prototype precision instruments while acquiring hands-on competencies in disassembly, assembly, troubleshooting, and repair of microsystems using robotics, augmented reality, machine learning, and microelectronics technologies.

The award, which extends through September 30, 2028, supports the NSF Advanced Technological Education Program's mission to prepare technicians for advanced-technology fields critical to the nation's economy. No sub-awards are planned for this grant. The curriculum modules and instructional resources developed will combine design thinking pedagogy with practical manufacturing skills to address identified gaps in the regional workforce and align with the growing "making things" movement in advanced electronics and mechanical systems manufacturing.

Abstract

Advanced manufacturing of electronics and mechanics has been widely identified as a key regional and national priority. The making things movement is harnessing the latest 2D and 3D digital fabrication technologies to creatively combine manufacturing and entrepreneurship. Regional employers have expressed the need for employees with creative technical design skills, entrepreneurial thinking skills, and the ability to produce precision systems. The goal of this project is to create a curriculum that teaches both design thinking and robotic manufacturing of devices and systems. This project will develop modules that will be offered through two-semester course offerings followed by an enhanced internship course for student-employer participation. The resulting educational pathway will provide students with the ability to design, troubleshoot, and prototype a common precision instrument. Students will fabricate a precision microsystem, acquiring skills such as disassembling, assembling, troubleshooting, and repairing using instructional resources, hands-on and design thinking information, and lab exercises. Students will gain experience in robotics, augmented reality, machine learning, and microelectronics and electronics systems topics. This project is funded by the advanced technological education program that focuses on the education of technicians for the advanced-technology fields that drive the nation's economy. 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.- subawards are not planned for this award.