The National Science Foundation funded National Center for Next Generation Manufacturing (NCNGM) supported the Connecticut College of Technology (COT) Site Coordinators Meeting on May 29th, 2024. This final meeting of the 2023-2024 academic year began with welcome remarks from Dr. Karen Wosczyna-Birch, Executive Director, COT & Executive Director & PI, NCNGM. It was a gathering for networking, Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering Technologies (MET²) Program student presentations, and a review of recent and upcoming COT and NCNGM initiatives and activities.
There was also a presentation by Amy Thompson, Chief Talent & Training Officer, Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology (CCAT) on their new Faculty Fellowship for Incorporating Industry 4.0 & Model-Based Design (MBD) Practices into Curriculum.
Following the presentation was an overview of the MET² Program by John Birch, CEO of The Birch Group and Executive Director of MET², and Eric Flynn, a professor at CT State Community College Gateway and Lead Technology Faculty for MET².
The MET² Program provides genuine, real-world, industry-driven challenges or problems to fuel projects explored by self-managed teams of students. Program teams are inter-institutional and interdisciplinary to capitalize on the synergy between the theoretical knowledge of university students and faculty, complemented by the requisite hands-on technical skills of community college students and faculty. The 2024 team met regularly and conducted research culminating in a professional-level final report and presentation. The MET² Program is supported by the NCNGM through its National Science Foundation funding. This year the students were tasked with researching and developing a prototype in response to the problem statement: “Design and analyze a mounting configuration that can secure an optic with the required accuracy of +/- 50 microns in the X and Y directions with respect to a light source.” These students, named below and pictured, presented and demonstrated the research project proposed by ASML and then reflected on their learning experiences.
Alissa Pace, CT State Manchester
Anthony Sihaphong, University of New Haven
Diego Angeles, CT State Manchester.
Kaiden Esteves, Central Connecticut State University
Following the presentations, Dr. Karen Wosczyna-Birch reviewed the COT and NCNGM upcoming initiatives, activities, and important dates. The meeting ended with a networking lunch where all attendees were able to network and further continue discussions on collaborations.
Congratulations to all of our students, faculty, and partners on another successful academic year!