NSF Awards WSU $3M for New Graduate Robotics Training

The National Science Foundation awarded an interdisciplinary team of researchers $3M to launch a new graduate training program in advanced robotics and autonomous systems.  Dubbed NRT-LEAD, the project (Convergent Next-Generation Robotics Training: Leadership, Entrepreneurship, and Adaptive Design amid a Changing World of Work) will establish a multi-disciplinary approach to training future robotics scientists, practitioners, and entrepreneurs in the design, implementation, and implications of robotics applications within agricultural, nuclear, and underwater settings. The project will train 52 graduate students, including 21 NRT-funded trainees in Biological Systems Engineering, Psychology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Materials Science & Engineering.

Through convergent problem-based learning in leadership, entrepreneurship, and applied psychology coupled with a cutting-edge technical foundation in robotics and autonomous systems, this NRT program will produce leaders in interdisciplinary research and scholarship who are trained to evaluate the psychosocial implications of next-generation robotic technology for future workers. These objectives will be accomplished via: (i) multi-disciplinary research in the areas of: soft-, micro-, and bio-robots; autonomous systems; flexible electronics; biomimetic devices; and human-robot collaboration; (ii) professional skills training in the areas of entrepreneurship, leadership, supervised teaching, and the psychosocial impacts of next-generation robotic technology on affected employee populations; (iii) technical skills training via coursework, cross-disciplinary seminars, conference attendance, and biweekly research team meetings; and (iv) sustained community engagement by means of site visits, trainee internships, undergraduate mentoring, and an annual research workshop and exposition. NRT trainees will apply their skills beyond the classroom by participating in an immersive field study examining the user experience or market feasibility of next-generation robots in the areas of fruit orchard automation, nuclear waste cleanup, and underwater rescue/repair operations.