Additive Manufacturing Education for Space and Prosthetics: City Tech Receives $1.3M in STEM Research Grants

Students in New York City attending City Tech’s Department of Mechanical Engineering & Industrial Design Technology will be able to graduate as double threats as manufacturing skills are woven heavily into their engineering studies. Further ensuring this are STEM research grants totaling more than $1.3 million recently handed to the department, known to be one of the college’s fastest growing, with ‘historical enrollment,’ and NYC’s only to offer a BA with a concentration in manufacturing.

As part of the grants offered by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and NASA, students will be working with faculty to create medical devices, manufacture parts relevant to additive manufacturing for aerospace, and work in electron beam freeform fabrication.

“These grants provide a wonderful opportunity for City Tech students and faculty to collaborate with other leaders in STEM education and research,” said Dr. Gaffar Gailani, Department of Mechanical Engineering & Industrial Design Technology, principal investigator of both grants. “They will be the seed for our Center of Additive Manufacturing and Medical Devices, which will promote design and fabrication of medical devices as well as partnerships between academia, industry, and community organizations.”

New Horizons is a three-year program funded by NASA, allowing City Tech to draw more engineering students, with the following partnerships:

• NASA Langley Research Center
• North Carolina State University
• Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)

This valuable program will allow students to gain experience in research and development for space additive manufacturing—propelling them on their ways to becoming NASA Student Scholars. The program involves:

• Interactive research
• Summer internships
• Participation in developing an additive manufacturing educational portal

The hope with the New Horizons program is that the Department of Mechanical Engineering & Industrial Design will allow the school to become more closely connected with the space industry and NASA, and offer students an even more well-rounded education. The project currently will involve 750 students. The school will also become a NASA research site, with K-12 educators and students spending time there over the summer working on STEM and NASA research.

Students will learn new skillsets in creating medical devices that should make them further attractive to potential employers upon graduation. City Tech endeavors to expose students to these new skills as early as possible, working with the following project partners:

• Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS)
• Device Development Division
• SUNY Downstate Medical Center, Musculoskeletal Research
• e-Nable the Future Program (e-NABLE / ENFP)

e-NABLE has been behind a number of the prosthetic designs City Tech students have 3D printed, such as the Cyborg Beast and the Odysseus Hand.

It’s also expected that there will be collaborations with nearby hospitals and other medical facilities in the city. In joining either the Design & Fabrication, Materials, K-12, Mechatronics, or Business and Dentistry teams, students will be creating medical devices like surgical instruments and appliances, along with dental equipment and supplies. A three-week program will also be offered to students in the summer, along with the opportunity to attend the Medical Device Conference.

City Tech states that co-principal investigators on these grants include Dr. Sidi Berri, chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering & Industrial Design Technology; Dr. Angran Xiao; Dr. Malek Brahimi; (New Horizons-NASA) Dr. Sidi Berri; Dr. Andy Zhang; Dr. Yu Wang; Professor Renata Budny; Dr. Subrata Saha, SUNY Downstate; Mr. Joseph Lipman, HSS; and Dr. Michael Grieves, Florida Institute of Technology (P&MD-NSF). Discuss in the City Tech forum at 3DPB.com.

[Source: City Tech]