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Traditional Education Reimagined

Ned Thomas, Texas A&M University, introduced a session on reimagining traditional education in materials science and engineering. The speakers were Sam Shames, chief operating officer and co-founder at Embr Labs; Bryce Meredig, founder and chief science officer of Citrine Informatics; and John Mauro, professor and associate head for graduate education, materials science and engineering at Pennsylvania State University. Following their remarks, Robert Hull, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, moderated a discussion.

ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING

Sam Shames, Embr Labs

Shames spoke about how his experience studying materials science and engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) set him up for success as an entrepreneur. Drawn to materials science and engineering because of its applicability to a variety of fields, Shames sparked the idea for his company, Embr Labs, as part of an MIT contest. He credits the MIT entrepreneurial ecosystem as playing an important role in the company’s path from technical advances in wearable heating and cooling materials to marketing successful consumer products. Today, the company continues to improve its technology and explore other materials science opportunities.

Shames pointed to several reasons why studying materials science creates so many potential pathways. First, materials science, which touches on aspects of

thermodynamics, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, and other fields, is inherently flexible. Second, its inherent focus on the relationships among structure, function, performance, and processing can be directly applicable to designing a well-organized company. Finally, materials science education is both well-suited to online learning and tangible, because everything is made of something, from a golf ball to a costume to an instrument’s varnish. This means that students of many backgrounds can find appeal in project-based, materials science opportunities that build on their passions.

DATA SCIENCE, ENTREPRENEURSHIP, AND MATERIALS SCIENCE EDUCATION

Bryce Meredig, Citrine Informatics

Citrine, a broad materials informatics platform with which companies can harness data and artificial intelligence (AI) to accelerate innovation, also began as a contest-winning idea. Meredig and Citrine chief executive officer Greg Mulholland, materials scientists who met in business school, wanted to transform the materials science industry through the data and AI revolution. Citrine is now a growing business with more than 70 employees around the world. Meredig discussed ways to enhance materials science education by incorporating data science and cultivating entrepreneurship.

First, Meredig argued that materials science students must also learn data science. Solving the kinds of materials science and chemistry problems Citrine tackles requires employees with deep physical sciences domain knowledge and computing and statistical expertise. While adding new degree requirements is not always feasible, Meredig argued that data science should be integrated into core courses and urged programs to encourage students to pursue second majors or minors in complementary subjects like computer science or statistics.

Second, to encourage entrepreneurship, Meredig said materials scientists should receive business training in soft skills such as leadership, team-building, and public speaking. Some students might also be encouraged to pursue relevant coursework at their institution’s business school. In addition, departments can offer hands-on entrepreneurship courses, business incubators, or accelerators. He said the skills he learned in his entrepreneurship coursework, such as prototyping, testing, and iterating quickly, are not taught in traditional engineering programs but are essential for successful entrepreneurship in the field.

IDEAS FOR THE FUTURE OF MATERIALS SCIENCE EDUCATION

John Mauro, Pennsylvania State University

Mauro shared several ideas to promote and improve materials science education in the post-pandemic world. First, he argued that materials scientists should recognize and raise the visibility of their important role in ushering in the information age—for example, in lasers, optical fiber, displays, and touch screens. The information age is now poised to revolutionize materials design, as machine learning accelerates new materials development and optimization, creating a virtuous cycle where the materials developed today are used in turn to develop better materials in the future. To enable this cycle, he argued that materials education must incorporate data science, modeling and simulation, and statistics, all necessary skills for the jobs of the future. Even experimentalists need these skills, he said, especially if another lockdown closes in-person laboratory work.

Second, while we are in the information age, there is a parallel disinformation age spreading untruths and confusion through multiple channels, including government censorship and social media, that must be addressed. Mauro warned that disinformation is incredibly dangerous because it erodes democracy, trust in science, social unity, and public health. Technology is helping the fight against COVID-19 by accelerating vaccine development but also harming the fight by spreading false information, he said.

Third, Mauro said it is important to ensure that higher education gives students the skills to solve the next pandemic. Unfortunately, education is under threat from a societal devaluing of learning. Yet a well-rounded liberal arts education is more important than ever, because it is not scientists that are being trained—it is human beings who want to contribute to science and create positive changes for the world.

Finally, Mauro reiterated points made by other speakers about the unique advantages of the shift toward online learning—for example, removing geographic constraints and enabling new academic alliances, while at the same time noting that the loss of international students due to COVID-19 will hurt the field.

PANEL Q&A DISCUSSION

Hull moderated a Q&A session exploring advice for graduates, ideas for change, and collaborations.

Advice for Graduates

An online participant asked what advice the panelists had for those soon to graduate. Shames advised choosing a company for its people, not its reputation,

because coworkers determine your level of satisfaction more than salary, benefits, or prestige. Mauro agreed, adding that the organization’s values should also align with their personal values, and stressed that new workers should always be open to meeting and learning from new people. Meredig agreed that these cultural aspects are very important and added that the best companies emphasize continual growth and learning.

When asked if they would change any decisions made in their own educational journeys, Shames replied that if he had known he was going to start a business, he would have taken more business classes, especially to understand finances. It takes more than a science background to be able to run a science-based business, he stated. Mauro agreed, noting that formal business courses are useful whether joining a startup or an established company.

Meredig, who has a master’s of business administration, replied that he would have taken more statistics and computer science classes and added that he benefited from a second major in the humanities. He suggested that materials science education should be more customizable, affording students the opportunity to enrich their skillset with both technical and non-technical courses in other departments.

Ideas for Change

An online participant asked the panelists what universities, or materials science departments in particular, should change. Meredig replied that there should be more industry–academic collaborations to give students the hands-on experience and workplace training necessary for successful careers. Mauro agreed, noting that entrepreneurship assistance programs would also be beneficial. Shames added that a culture of competitiveness in engineering should be replaced with a focus on exciting applications. Making connections from the classroom to the outside world could go a long way toward keeping engineering students motivated, he said.

Angus Rockett, Colorado School of Mines, suggested starting a broad, interdisciplinary master’s degree focusing on communication and project management. Mauro agreed that there is a great need for either a standalone program or integration of those skills into an existing one. Shames added that students shouldn’t be “spoon fed” structured curricula, but trained to think for themselves. Meredig agreed, noting that students will need that skill to succeed when they join the workforce. A master’s degree like Rockett described could help, and Meredig added that the core materials science curriculum should also be changed to emphasize critical workplace skills.

Haydn Wadley, University of Virginia, asked the panelists what curriculum changes would prepare students for lifetime work. Shames pointed to a need for project-based work, where students can see fundamental concepts in action. Mauro replied that a cultural change is needed, to instill a love of lifelong learning into

students, while Meredig emphasized computing and robotics as key skills for future workplaces.

Katsuyo Thornton, University of Michigan, agreed with Meredig on the importance of implementing data science into core materials curricula and asked if there was a resource for faculty to find modules suitable for integration into core classes. Meredig suggested nanoHUB,¹ a large collection of simulation tools for computational nanotechnology research, education, and collaboration. In addition, he added that Citrine would be open to collaborations focused around understanding faculty needs and creating relevant training material.

Collaborations

Asked to comment on government–industry relationships, Meredig noted that his company has an external research department that collaborates with research groups, academia, and government agencies. He acknowledged the value of initiatives such as AFWERX that help to provide entry points for companies seeking to collaborate with the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). Mauro said that he has worked in situations where funding came from both private companies and government, and he found that a balanced mixture of each side’s benefits is best. In general, industry moves to the application stage faster, but government funding is more stable and long term. Shames said that working with the government brought a higher level of rigor to Embr’s proposals. He said government relationships can add credibility and offer a good route to fund long-term research.

Hull asked if the pandemic has changed how the panelists work with collaborators and suppliers. Shames replied that his company’s global supply chain was somewhat disrupted, but as a young company, they navigated the crisis fairly smoothly. Citrine’s workers were comfortable with remote technology, and they had already applied materials science core principles to workplace organization and relationships. Mauro agreed that the pivot to online collaboration went smoothly for his research group as well and expressed his belief that some changes, such as reduced travel, could become permanent. Meredig noted that the lockdowns particularly impacted experimental work, affecting the ability to generate new data. Because Citrine had a large remote contingent before the pandemic, the company had already been focused on implementing best practices for successful remote work.

Thomas transitioned to the next workshop segment by stating that while there have been several ideas proposed to give students more freedom and new experiences, it is also critical that they learn specific criteria to succeed in the workplace. In an ideal world, he suggested that the workforce development pipeline would

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¹ See the Network for Computational Nanotechnology’s nanoHUB website at https://nanohub.org.

include the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology’s (ABET’s) criteria for uniformity and certification and would start as early as kindergarten. He introduced a second session focused on reimagining materials science and engineering education featuring Jeffrey Fergus, professor of materials engineering at Auburn University and ABET fellow for accreditation leadership, and Josh Cramer, education and workforce director at America Makes. Hull moderated a short discussion after each talk.

ABET AND CURRICULAR INNOVATION

Jeffrey Fergus, Auburn University

ABET is a confederation of 35 professional technical societies, including materials science and manufacturing, that sets and updates requirements for engineering program accreditation. Emphasizing that these requirements are not inflexible (though they are often perceived to be), Fergus described the process through which programs can make changes while remaining aligned with accreditation standards.

ABET considers impacts in eight categories when examining program changes: students, program educational objectives, student outcomes, continuous improvement, curriculum, faculty, facilities, and institutional support. For example, student outcomes are affected by proposed changes to graduation requirements, faculty are affected by proposed subject area additions, and new facilities must hew to certain qualifications.

In addition, specific criteria for core subjects such as structure, properties, process, performance, design, computational skills, and multidisciplinary work apply to programs in a given focus area, such as metals, metallurgical, and ceramics engineering. These criteria are deliberately general to accommodate a wide range of types of programs, Fergus said, and can be changed by the representatives from the relevant professional societies by a process that includes opportunities for public comment. For example, there is a current push for adding flexibility to hour requirements for certain categories of topic areas, and the ABET community is examining this proposal to ensure that any change would retain the ultimate goal of supporting engineering workforce training.

One change to the general accreditation criteria that is currently under deliberation pushes for more diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) training to create a consistent message across every ABET commission. Fergus said addressing DEI in the accreditation criteria is important to student success because graduates need to be able to work on diverse teams and serve diverse clients. In addition, training will enhance faculty awareness of the critical importance of DEI and create a more inclusive university setting overall.

Q&A Discussion

When asked how ABET adjusted to the pandemic, Fergus replied that ABET was able to move everything online fairly smoothly, even in some cases increasing efficiency, but the personal connections have been missed. In addition, ABET’s flexible criteria supported the quick pivot to remote student work. Fergus also noted that while anyone can give ABET input, the best way to be involved is to become active in one of the member professional societies.

INDUSTRY-DRIVEN APPROACHES AND APPRENTICESHIP MODELS

Josh Cramer, America Makes

America Makes is DoD’s Manufacturing USA institute focused on additive manufacturing (AM). It has three core activities: to develop and implement AM technology, to accelerate human capital through education and workforce development (EWD), and to maintain a collaborative public–private AM ecosystem.

Cramer outlined four components of America Makes’ EWD plan. The first is defining, identifying, and executing requirements via roadmaps, educational pipelines, and re/upskilling the existing workforce. Second, the organization promotes workforce credentials to satisfy its 200+ industry members and assist in creating a rich body of knowledge frameworks. Third, it advances AM-enhanced tailored warfighter training to help fill industry gaps. Finally, the organization promotes thought leadership, locally and nationally, to revitalize the perception of manufacturing as a promising career opportunity.

Success in AM requires enriching the entire talent pipeline, which involves reskilling the current workforce, identifying and reaching out to underrepresented populations, and crafting K-16 curricula, Cramer said. America Makes has executed more than 100 collaborative EWD projects across the “K-to-gray superhighway,” targeting kindergartners and Girl Scouts all the way to older workers, with an eye toward creating pathways for lifelong learning and career advancement. In addition, Cramer’s team is mapping knowledge, skills, and abilities to workforce competencies to create an AM-specific body of knowledge and credentials across different job roles and functions, while recognizing that the necessary skills are constantly changing as AM evolves.

Industry-driven solutions include apprenticeships, digital badge programs, academic collaborations, appropriate credentialing, improved recruiting and mentoring, and on-the-job training and educational opportunities. While some turnover is inevitable, and losing employees after investing in their training is painful, cultivating employee development is worth it, Cramer stressed, citing Henry Ford’s

quote, “The only thing worse than training your employees and having them leave is not training them and having them stay.”

Closing, Cramer noted that well-trained employees are more engaged in their jobs, earn higher wages, and are more likely to become lifelong members of companies and communities, adding that America Makes is open to creating customized plans for organizations interested in advancing workforce engagement.

Q&A Discussion

In response to a participant’s question, Cramer said that COVID-19 has accelerated EWD activities at America Makes. The time and funds freed up by canceled travel created new opportunities to improve existing remote content. In addition, many courses were already well-suited to remote learning, and the organization launched a collaboration providing middle and high school teachers with dynamic resources, such as gamified platforms, as part of its talent pipeline efforts.

Asked what advice America Makes has for future DoD Institutes, Cramer replied that institutes should start with a roadmap and identify industry gaps and end points. For example, America Makes has created more than 200 resources that assess AM companies’ wants and needs in order to identify and fill the right gaps.

Cramer also noted, in reply to a question, that a collaborative platform enables workers to move between America Makes and its affiliated companies, and Thomas commented that those transitions represent success stories. Cramer added that because AM is beginning to merge with subtractive manufacturing methods, it is including subtractive manufacturing training in its EWD program to ensure that machinists learn those skills as well.