About the ATE Convergence Labs
Increasing synergies between fields – for example, leveraging IT and GIS for precision agriculture, or embedded smart devices for Manufacturing 4.0 – has become a critical part of the applied STEM and workforce landscape, and ATE has led the way in adapting and expanding technician training to incorporate these new developments. Organized and conducted in collaboration with appropriate ATE centers, the Convergence Labs provide new opportunities for projects and centers to connect with each other and learn about and explore this rapidly-expanding realm. These hands-on labs are held annually at the ATE PI Conference and showcase applied STEM fields that currently have strong and active synergistic connections.
ATE Convergence Lab 2024 - Partner Brief (PDF, 7.4 MB)
2024 ATE Convergence Lab Partners
NCAT
NCAT, or the National Center for Autonomous Technologies, develops, adapts, and implements educational resources, in addition to serving as a resource hub for autonomous technology education and career pathways.
PI Jonathan Beck • NSF Award 2400926
MSTCOE
The Minnesota State Transportation Center of Excellence (MSTCOE) drives workforce innovation through education and industry collaboration, providing leadership on workforce development in the transportation industry.
PI Carl Borleis • NSF Award 2054997
GeoTech
The National Geospatial Technology Center of Excellence, or GeoTech, maintains a hub for high-quality geospatial curriculum materials, resources, and national services, and promotes partnerships that boost diversity and skill level in the workforce.
PI Vince DiNoto • NSF Award 2202038
MATE
The Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) center is a leading advocate for marine technology and resources, fostering member success, and enhancing public understanding of the ocean industry.
PI Jill Zande • NSF Award 1502046
CAAT
The Center for Advanced Automotive Technology (CAAT) provides educational resources to ready students for the continuously evolving, technology-driven workforce needs of the automotive industry.
PI Joseph Petrosky • NSF Award 1902369
NEVC
NEVC, the National Electric Vehicle Consortium, fosters collaboration among academic, agency, and industry experts in all areas of electric vehicle manufacturing to strengthen the nation’s electronic vehicle workforce.
PI Kevin Cooper NSF Award • 2202050
NEVTEX
The Northwest Engineering and Vehicle Technology Exchange (NEVTEX) develops and evaluates educational models in order to address the need for skilled technicians in the emerging industry of electronic vehicles.
PI Kenneth Mays • NSF Award 2301095
CREATE
The Center for Renewable Energy Advanced Technological Education (CREATE) tackles the rapidly-changing energy landscape by producing curricula, professional development, and industry partnerships.
PI Kenneth Walz • NSF Award 22401631
Learn More About STEM Convergence
NSF’s 10 Big Ideas
“The grand challenges of today -- protecting human health; understanding the food, energy, water nexus; exploring the universe at all scales -- will not be solved by one discipline alone. They require convergence: the merging of ideas, approaches and technologies from widely diverse fields of knowledge to stimulate innovation and discovery. The National Science Foundation is well positioned to foster convergence: We have deep connections to all fields of S&E and have been supporting interdisciplinary research for decades. Convergence blends scientific disciplines in a coordinated, reciprocal way and fosters the robust collaborations needed for successful inquiry. Convergence builds and supports creative partnerships and the creative thinking needed to address complex problems”.
On the emergence of interdisciplinary scientific fields: (how) does it relate to science convergence?
“Interdisciplinary scientific fields, such as synthetic biology, bioinformatics, and human brain science, often emerge at the intersection of existing scientific disciplines. This fundamental process is described in the literature streams of ‘science convergence’ and the ‘evolution of new scientific fields’. However, despite their empirical relevance and the potential for science convergence to accelerate the evolution of these new fields, the two concepts have been developed separately up to this point. In this study, we therefore investigate the interplay between the two concepts by first conducting a systematic review of the literature on science convergence to examine its underlying dynamics.”
Exploring the research landscape of convergence from a TIM perspective: A review and research agenda
“Convergence at the level of science, technology, market or industry can increasingly be witnessed in a number of empirical settings. It is currently seen as one of the most important influence factors on and trigger for developing innovation strategies. This empirical relevance is mirrored by a surge in publications. Therefore, motivated by a highly dynamic but at the same time rather unstructured body of literature, this review offers a systematic and critical analyses of studies related to Technology and Innovation Management (TIM) research that address convergence from a processual perspective.”