Equipment: enhancing undergraduate stem education with a universal testing machine

California State University, Chico (Chico State), received a $163,874 Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's Division of Undergraduate Education under the STEM Education program (CFDA 47.076), effective October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2027. The award supports the acquisition and implementation of a fully automated universal testing machine to enhance undergraduate materials characterization and testing capabilities across five civil engineering, concrete industry management, mechanical engineering, and construction management courses. The equipment will serve approximately 350 undergraduate students annually, enabling advanced materials testing and research in courses including Civil Engineering Materials, Fundamentals of Concrete and Testing, Soil Mechanics, Materials Science and Testing, and advanced laboratory courses.

The project is funded through the Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) Program component, which targets capacity-building and educational innovation at institutions serving significant Hispanic student populations. Beyond classroom instruction, Chico State will leverage the equipment as a regional hub for industrial collaborations, internships, and K-12 outreach activities, including open houses, demonstration days, and school visits to stimulate interest in STEM programs. The project incorporates rigorous assessment protocols using rubrics, surveys, and structured data collection instruments to evaluate the equipment's impact on student learning outcomes and workforce readiness in materials characterization and quality assurance.

Abstract

With support from the improving undergraduate stem education: hispanic-serving institutions (HSI program), this educational instrumentation project at california state university, chico (chico state) will strengthen undergraduate learning in civil engineering, concrete industry management, mechanical & mechatronic engineering, and construction management. Specifically, this project will secure a fully automated test apparatus for mechanically testing a wide range of engineering materials, allowing students to conduct advanced materials testing and research in civl 212: civil engineering materials, cimt 231: fundamentals of concrete and testing, cmgt 330: soil mechanics, concrete, and construction surveying, mech 210: materials science and testing, and civl 415 / cimt 365 / mech 340W (advanced lab courses). An estimated 350 students will utilize the project-funded equipment each year. The goals of this project are to enrich the learning and experiences of undergraduate students by upgrading critical equipment in civil engineering and to cultivate workforce-ready skills in materials characterization and quality assurance. The team proposes to leverage the equipment by using IT as the core of a regional hub, which would be a focus for industrial collaborations, internships, and k-12 outreach. The project leverages outreach through open houses, demonstration days, and visits to local schools to stimulate interest in the institution and the program. The project will assess the impact of the funded equipment using well-defined metrics, including the creation, refinement, and implementation of rubrics, surveys, and other data collection instruments that will ensure rigorous and consistent evaluation processes. This project is funded by the HSI program, which aims to enhance undergraduate stem education and increase capacity to engage in the development and implementation of innovations to improve stem teaching and learning at hsis. 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.