| NSF Org: |
DUE Division Of Undergraduate Education |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | July 12, 2017 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | June 10, 2020 |
| Award Number: | 1700615 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Virginia Carter
vccarter@nsf.gov (703)292-4651 DUE Division Of Undergraduate Education EDU Directorate for STEM Education |
| Start Date: | July 1, 2017 |
| End Date: | June 30, 2022 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $599,977.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $599,977.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
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| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
1101 HIGHWAY 1 E THIEF RIVER FALLS MN US 56701-2528 (218)683-8643 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
13892 Airport Drive Thief River Falls MN US 56701-8437 |
| Primary Place of Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | Advanced Tech Education Prog |
| Primary Program Source: |
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| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.076 |
ABSTRACT
The landscape for geospatial information technology (GIT) and unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) technology continues to evolve on a daily basis with new applications for GIT and UAS as well as changing regulations that govern the industry. This rapidly advancing technology requires a collaborative model between education, government, and industry stakeholders to cultivate the necessary advances in knowledge and technician education. The goal of this project at Northland Community and Technical College in Minnesota is to advance technician education by forming new educational pathways and partnerships, leading to a highly skilled GIT and UAS workforce. The program development will parallel significant changes resulting from industry integration of GIT and UAS technology; develop a technician workforce prepared to utilize UAS technology in a safe, efficient and responsible manner for numerous industries; incorporate input from faculty and industry and government stakeholders in shaping the evolution of technician education enhanced by GIT and UAS technology; and expand educational resources and best practices for GIT and UAS technology. This project builds on a small ATE project (1501629) that was designed to bridge the gap between new and emerging aviation technology and technician education in the area of UAS technology. A comprehensive evaluation will determine the impact of the project as well as make recommendations for modifications so that it can have maximum impact.
Northland has the only accredited UAS maintenance program in the country and has helped define nationally recognized credentials in partnership with American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) and SpaceTEC. It launched the first two-year AAS degree program in the country in Geospatial Intelligence Analysis to respond to the growing need for technicians educated in this high demand career field and has recently created a small UAS Field Service Technician Program to develop the knowledge base in technical proficiencies required as small UAS are integrated into the national airspace system (NAS). Building on these activities and those of its partners, the project will create innovative, industry driven curriculum to integrate GIT and UAS technology into technician education; develop collaborative partnerships with universities, public sector, and industry stakeholders to align educational pathways for dynamically changing careers resulting from GIT and UAS technology; and advance faculty knowledge and resources for GIT and UAS technology. The key objectives for this project are to: (a) leverage existing NSF ATE resources to validate workforce assessments and enhance GIT and UAS curriculum modeling for broad disciplines such as agriculture, public safety and infrastructure inspection.; (b) establish collaborative educational pathways by integrating new and existing curriculum across Minnesota State through dual credit enrollment and 2+2 articulation; and (c) expand GIT and UAS professional development opportunities and educational resources throughout higher education including development of curriculum and materials, access to laboratory resources, and workshops for college faculty, high school teachers, and students.
PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) and Geospatial Information Technology (GIT) Integration into Technician Education Project grant (DUE 1700615) at Northland Community and Technical College (NCTC) was funded by the National Science Foundations (NSF) Advanced Technological Education Program (ATE) with an award of $600K and ran July 2017 to June 2022. The Project was led by faculty members with expertise in UAS and GIT from NCTC and St. Cloud State University. UAS (often called drone) is an aircraft without a human pilot onboard that is controlled from an operator on the ground. GIT allows the user to visualize, analyze, and interpret data to understand relationships, special patterns, and trends. The Project informs and enhances skilled technician education in UAS and GIT technologies via a collaborative model for 2-year and 4-year colleges/universities working together with the public sector and industry. The collaborative model (a) Facilitates and cultivates a rapid response to address the critical knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA) for fast-moving advanced technologies; (b) Expands and improves access to resources for educators, students, and colleges; (c) Builds educational program frameworks/pathways; (d) Provides model curriculum, service learning, articulations, degrees/certificates; and (e) Increases the KSA readiness and preparation of students for the future skilled technical workforce. For all content and products resulting from this Project, visit NCAT (ncatech.org), the National Center for Autonomous Technologies, awarded to NCTC by NSF ATE (DUE 1902574, $7M, September 2019 to present).
The Project exceeded its primary outcomes to (1) Inventory all 31 Minnesota State Colleges and Universities for UAS and GIT curricula (and other disciplines impacted) for effective curriculum integration to address current/future industry demands; (2) Leverage ATE resources to validate workforce assessments and enhance UAS and GIT curriculum modeling for broad disciplines; (3) Establish collaborative educational pathways by integrating new/existing curriculum across the MN State system through dual credit enrollment and 2+2 articulation; and (4) Expand UAS and GIT professional development opportunities and educational resources, including curriculum and materials; access to lab resources; and virtual, hybrid, and in-person workshops and training events. The Projects merits and broad impacts include many sUAS (small UAS) and GIT research projects and practical, real-world applications engaging students, educators, and industry/community partners. Major highlights (1) US Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, MN, showcasing sUAS and GIT to fly and map the entire stadium and build an information management system for infrastructure inspection, warranty work, damage/repair; (2) City of Warren, MN, bringing students out at night for flying and taking imagery which is then used to examine trends related to construction, carbon footprints, code compliance; (3) MN Soil and Water Conservation District, Pennington County, MN, partnering with industry and local government (who purchased a drone and a LIDAR sensor for NCTC and provided latest training) on a watershed project to gather data for erosion and maintaining ditches; and (4) MN Department of Natural Resources Forestry, Lake of the Woods County, using data collected for sustainable harvesting and gauging the age of trees to be harvested, especially after fires and other natural phenomena. The Project resulted in NCTC and other educators being trained as Level 1 thermographers as well as proctors for the NIST Standard Test Methods for sUAS. This led to integrating the content into DRONETECH and NCAT offerings and being able to certify others on the competencies of sUAS maneuvering and manipulating (beyond knowledge only). NCTC offers free NIST training and certification to police, fire, and first responders. Lastly, the Project helped seed these innovations (1) Launching Business Plan Competition hosted by NCTC, Sinclair CC, and Atlantic Cape CC; (2) Delivering DroneTECH Train-the-Trainer workshop for Louisiana STEM at Fletcher College, LA; and (3) Guiding 6 MN high school teams (3-6 students per team) for Remote Aerial Drone (RAD) competitions, of which 4 teams have continued since and doubled or tripled the number of teams competing.
Last Modified: 12/06/2022
Modified by: Curtis Zoller
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Inspecting the exterior of the US Bank StadiumNorthland CollegePublic DomainCurtis ZollerUS Bank Stadium Inspection -
Test flight operation for inspection of US Bank StadiumNorthland CollegePublic DomainCurtis ZollerUS Bank Stadium Inspection 2 -
This image shows students participating in the first RAD student competition.Northland CollegePublic DomainCurtis ZollerRobotic Aerial Drone Competition -
Performing the pre flight check list.NorthlandPublic DomainCurtis ZollerPenngington Soil Water Conservation District -
Students are utilizing Virtual Reality to see airframes be assembled and disassembled.Northland CollegeCurtis ZollerVirtual Reality Summer Camp Activity
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