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Board 345: NSF ATE: Internet of Things Education Project

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Conference

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Baltimore , Maryland

Publication Date

June 25, 2023

Start Date

June 25, 2023

End Date

June 28, 2023

Conference Session

NSF Grantees Poster Session

Tagged Topic

NSF Grantees Poster Session

Page Count

6

DOI

10.18260/1-2--42970

Permanent URL

https://strategy.asee.org/42970

Download Count

103

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Paper Authors

biography

Gary J. Mullett Springfield Technical Community College

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Gary J. Mullett, a Professor of Electronics Technology and the present Department Chair of the Advanced Engineering Technologies (AET) Group, presently teaches advanced technology topics at Springfield Technical Community College (STCC) located in Springfield, MA. A long-time faculty member and consultant to local business and industry, Mullett has provided leadership and initiated numerous program and/or curriculum reforms as either the Chair or Co-Department Chair of the four technology degree programs that formerly constituted the Electronics Group and now continues in that position for the AET Group. Since the mid-1990s, he has been very active in the National Science Foundation’s ATE and CCLI programs as a knowledge leader in the wireless telecommunications field. A co-founder of the National Center for Telecommunications Technologies (subsequently the ICT Center) located at STCC, Mullett also played a principal role in the development of the innovative and long running Verizon NextStep employee training program that led to a two-year associates degree in telecommunications for hundreds of the companies’ employees. The author of two, technician oriented, textbooks, Wireless Telecommunications Systems and Networks and Basic Telecommunications – The Physical Layer, Mullett did both his undergraduate and graduate work (in microwave Remote Sensing) in the ECE Department at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst where he also taught the undergraduate sequence of courses in electromagnetics. He has presented at numerous local, regional, and national conferences and also internationally on telecommunications and wireless topics and on the status of the education of electronics technicians at the two-year college level. His current interests are; the development of novel and innovative systems-level approaches to the education of technicians, uses of the emerging field of networked embedded controllers and sensor/actuator networks, and wirelessly enabled cyber-physical system applications in the context of the Internet of Things (IoT) and Industry 4.0.

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Abstract

An ongoing convergence of technologies has given rise to the rapid implementation of the next generation of uses of the Internet. These Internet applications/systems are commonly known as the Internet of Things (IoT). These IoT functions incorporate networks of advanced sensors and actuators, embedded intelligence, and present-day networking technologies to provide the exchange of data over the Internet with other network connected devices and systems in what is now called machine-to-machine (M2M) communications. In many cases, this technology gives rise to novel and innovative cyber-physical control systems that were not previously possible. In fact, IoT technology has the potential to affect nearly every aspect of human endeavor and commerce by increasing system efficiency and reducing energy consumption of almost all types of industrial activities. Furthermore, IoT can provide real-time monitoring of the nation's infrastructure and environment and has the real potential to improve public health, safety, and national security. Today, society is on the cusp of Industry 4.0 and, at the same time, the rapid electrification of the world in the attempt to stem climate change by adopting alternative energy sources (solar, wind, etc.) and reducing fossil fuel usage. The transition to Industry 4.0 is in great part facilitated by IoT applications that enable many supportive and essential industrial functions. The steady integration of IoT applications into industrial environments results in increasing automation, the improvement of timely communications and self-monitoring and increasing the use of smart machines that can analyze and diagnose process issues without the need for humane intervention. Likewise, the integration of alternative energy sources and the transition to electric and autonomous vehicles, advanced batteries, power storage, microgrids and smart grids, and carbon removal initiatives will all be enabled and made more efficient through the use of IoT applications. This NSF ATE project has developed IoT curriculum and a one-year Certificate of Completion in IoT technology. It is believed that these curricula materials may be readily adopted by the various advanced manufacturing support technologies (e.g. Mechatronics, Robotics, Automation, Electrical/Electronics, Photonics, Nano, Metrology, etc.) taught at the two-year college level. This poster session presentation will highlight the significant outcomes of this ongoing ATE project.

Mullett, G. J. (2023, June), Board 345: NSF ATE: Internet of Things Education Project Paper presented at 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Baltimore , Maryland. 10.18260/1-2--42970

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