Free ticketed event
We invite participation in a workshop on the Future of Mechatronics & Robotics Education (FoMRE). The workshop is motivated by the tremendous, dynamic growth in Mechatronics and Robotics. To address the need for highly educated, multi-disciplinary professionals, many universities and colleges have introduced courses, minors, and degree programs. However, these efforts lack cohesion. Now is the time to unify and standardize educational material to make MRE education more widely available and easier to adopt.
Our vision is that Mechatronics and Robotics Engineering (MRE) will become one of the most impactful disciplines of engineering; attracting diverse and innovative students, graduating professional engineers who will design, develop, and implement transformative autonomous technologies, and improving human health and welfare.
As a result of this workshop, we anticipate achieving the following outcomes:
• Standardize components such as frameworks, curricula, course outlines, experiments, assignments
• Share broad successes of the MRE community with college and university faculty to support the goal of adoption
• Involve a broad range of colleges and universities
• Partner with professional societies to help create and support champions
• Prepare faculty to teach mechatronics and robotics through hands-on activities
• Foster a diverse, inclusive community of students and educators
Schedule
1. Introduction (30 minutes) – Introduce the workshop origins, goals, and mission,
a. Overview (5 minutes)
b. Organizer and industrial partner presentations (5 minutes each x 5)
2. Interactive sessions I (35 minutes) – The audience can choose any of the following concurrent interactive sessions:
a. Mechatronic education knowledge base (Dr. Vikram Kapila)
b. Robotics education knowledge base (Dr. Mike Gennert)
c. Project-based learning in Mechatronics & Robotics (Dr. James Mynderse)
d. Advanced and open-source platforms for Mechatronics & Robotics (led by Dr Nima Lotfi)
3. Report out I (15 minutes) – Discussion and suggestions
4. Break (15 minutes)
5. Interactive sessions II (35 minutes) – The audience can choose any of the following concurrent interactive sessions:
a. Reducing barriers to adoption (Dr. Vikram Kapila)
b. Accreditation (Dr. Mike Gennert)
c. Preparation to teach Mechatronics & Robotics Engineering (Dr. James Mynderse)
d. Community-building (led by Dr. Nima Lotfi)
6. Report out II (15 minutes) – Discussion and suggestions
7. Break (5 minutes)
8. Summary (30 minutes) – The workshop organizers will lead a panel discussion in which the workshop participants will discuss the outcomes of the individual interactive sessions to devise road maps to achieve the workshop goals.
Limited funding is available from NSF for workshop participants. To apply, please visit https://goo.gl/forms/PhHFbz9qV2ygQgG33.
Michael A. Gennert is a Professor of Robotics Engineering, CS, and ECE at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, where he leads the WPI Humanoid Robotics Laboratory and was Founding Director of the Robotics Engineering Program. He has worked at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center, the University of California Riverside, PAR Technology Corporation, and General Electric. He received the S.B. in CS, S.B. in EE, and S.M. in EECS in 1980 and the Sc.D. in EECS in 1987 from MIT. Dr. Gennert's research interests include robotics, computer vision, and image processing, with ongoing projects in humanoid robotics, robot navigation and guidance, biomedical image processing, and stereo and motion vision. He led WPI teams in the DARPA Robotics Challenge and NASA Space Robotics Challenge and is author or co-author of over 100 papers. His research has been supported by DARPA, NASA, NIH, NSF, and industry. He is a member of Sigma Xi, and a senior member of IEEE and ACM.
Vikram Kapila is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering (NYU Tandon), where he directs a Mechatronics, Controls, and Robotics Laboratory, a Research Experience for Teachers Site, a DR K-12 research project, and an ITEST research project, all funded by NSF. His research interests include K-12 STEM education, mechatronics, robotics, and control system technology. He has received several teaching awards at NYU Tandon, including a 2014-2015 New York University Distinguished Teaching Award. His scholarly activities have included 3 edited books, 8 chapters in edited books, 1 book review, 61 journal articles, and 134 conference papers. He has mentored 1 B.S., 23 M.S., and 5 Ph.D. thesis students; 38 undergraduate research students and 11 undergraduate senior design project teams; over 400 K-12 teachers and 100 high school student researchers; and 18 undergraduate GK-12 Fellows and 59 graduate GK-12 Fellows. Moreover, he directs K-12 education, training, mentoring, and outreach programs that enrich the STEM education of over 1,000 students annually.
James Mynderse is an Associate Professor and Director of the M.S. in Mechatronic Systems Engineering program in the A. Leon Linton Department of Mechanical Engineering at Lawrence Technological University. Dr. Mynderse joined Lawrence Tech from Purdue University where he received PhD, MS, and BS degrees in Mechanical Engineering. Dr. Mynderse teaches at the undergraduate and graduate levels in dynamic systems and control, modern control systems, mechatronic design, and mechatronic system integration. His courses include active and collaborative learning and problem-based learning modules, which improve student participation, and learning. He also serves as the faculty advisor for the Lawrence Tech Baja SAE team. His current research interests include dynamic systems and controls with applications to piezoelectric actuators, microfluidics, unmanned aerial vehicles, and additive manufacturing.
Nima Lotfi is an assistant professor of the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. He is currently in charge of developing and expanding the Mechatronics and Robotics Engineering degree program at the Mechanical Engineering Department. Prior to joining SIUE, he was a research assistant in Missouri University of Science and Technology where he obtained his PhD degree in Mechanical Engineering. During his PhD, Dr. Lotfi was involved in DOE Transportation Electrification Education project in addition to various industrial projects with Tesla Motors and Boeing. He currently teaches courses in the general areas of Mechatronics, Robotics, and Controls. His areas of research interest include control and estimation with applications to alternative and renewable energy systems, mobile robotics, and electrified and autonomous transportation.