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ATE Central

About the ATE Program

The National Science Foundation's Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program has been funding innovation at two-year colleges for over twenty years. With a focus on the education of technicians for the high-technology fields that drive our nation's economy, and strong partnerships between academic institutions and industry, ATE promotes improvement in the education of science and engineering technicians at the undergraduate and secondary school levels. The ATE program supports curriculum development; professional development of college faculty and secondary school teachers; career pathways to two-year colleges from secondary schools and from two-year colleges to four-year institutions; and other activities. Fields of technology supported by the ATE program include, but are not limited to, advanced manufacturing technologies, agricultural and bio-technologies, energy and environmental technologies, engineering technologies, information technologies, micro- and nano-technologies, security technologies, and learning, evaluation, and research.

The ATE program supports proposals in three major tracks: Projects, Centers, and Targeted Research in Technician Education. For more information about the ATE program, please visit the resources listed below:

  • The ATE home page on the National Science Foundation site provides an overview of the ATE program, contact information for the associated program officers, and examples of recent awards.
  • The ATE solicitation provides detailed information about the program and outlines key concerns of the funding agency, budgetary guidelines, and programmatic requirements.
  • The ATE@20 Book outlines the first 20 years of the ATE program, providing history, stories, and pictures that highlight the impact of ATE grantees nationwide.
  • The ATE@20 Blog provides further coverage of stories that showcase ATE accomplishments, highlights news and events of interest to the community, and provides a dissemination pathway for ATE impacts.
  • Visit ATE Central's Stay In the Loop page to keep abreast of community activities and news.