PROGRAM

Through the Project Vision's ATE grant, community college presidents and senior leaders across 13 states were interviewed about the personal and professional qualities they associate with faculty success in grant-funded work. This demo will showcase key findings and demonstrate how they can help colleges identify, engage, and support faculty in grant initiatives and strengthen grant success across the institution.

Participants will build and test a tabletop hydroponic system used in SFCC’s NSF ATE GerminATE project. This hands-on Learning Lab shows how one classroom system can teach biology, chemistry, physics, environmental science, and workforce skills. Attendees will perform sample investigations involving plant anatomy, nutrient chemistry, light measurements, and grower decision-making, then leave with lesson ideas, data sheets, and implementation resources for adapting hydroponics to STEM courses.

This panel brings together past participants of EARTh Center professional development experiences to share how these immersive opportunities have shaped their teaching. Panelists will discuss new topics and perspectives they have brought into their classrooms, changes in how they approach existing curriculum, and the impact on their students. Attendees will gain concrete examples of how field-based professional development can translate into richer, more relevant learning experiences for students while building a community of peers that extends beyond the experience itself.

This session shares updated strategies, fresh insights, and multi-year data on increasing high school enrollment in STEM technician career pathways. Presenters will highlight evolving outcomes from a multi-year project, including their latest research on high school student STEM attitudes, retention patterns, and longitudinal impact. Attendees will exchange ideas around practical, adaptable strategies for recruitment and engagement, alongside candid reflection on what did not work, unexpected hurdles from the past year, and how the project adapted its approach.

This Innovation Demo introduces LabVIEW, a real-world test and measurement automation software development environment used with students at the high school, community college, and university levels. The demonstration will show how graphical dataflow programming can be used to create a basic telemetry monitoring program and interface with external data acquisition (DAQ) hardware for system monitoring and control. Attendees will see how LabVIEW can be used to introduce graphical dataflow programming, integrate external DAQ modules, and create automated test and measurement programs.

Learn how biotech faculty from three states are leveraging the Business and Industry Leadership Team (BILT) model to develop industry-responsive programs. Panelists will share their experiences with BILT adoption and how the model has been adapted for their unique labor market needs. Hear about challenges they faced and outcomes resulting from BILT’s co-leadership approach. Attendees will gain strategies for embedding industry-validated competencies into coursework, activating employer partnerships in instruction, and creating agile, workforce-aligned pathways.

Community colleges across ATE disciplines face two challenges: attracting new technical faculty and helping current faculty stay current with workforce needs. Using the National Cybersecurity Training & Education Center (NCyTE) Cybersecurity Fellowship and Faculty Externship programs as examples, this interactive session will explore strategies for recruiting, preparing, mentoring, and developing faculty. Participants will discuss how these models can be adapted across technical fields and identify opportunities for collaboration and replication.

Artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies are increasingly part of professional practice in technical roles. As these technologies become integrated into the workplace, classroom instruction must prepare students accordingly. However, implementation can present logistical, technological, and managerial barriers. This session will introduce and discuss strategies for faculty professional development that prioritize agency and innovation, with a focus on an “incubator” model for engaging faculty with emerging technologies.

This Learning Lab introduces participants to an AI-native design framework for educational technology, in which agentic AI is a central component of educational software tools. Focusing on two AI-native tools—Aladdin, engineering design software developed as part of an ATE project, and AIMS, software for molecular modeling, building, and design—participants will have substantial time to explore and use the tools with support from facilitators with expertise in Aladdin, AIMS, and the AI-native framework. The session will conclude with a discussion of potential future applications of the framework.

AI is evolving faster than most institutions can redesign programs, prepare faculty, and align with employer needs. This session uses the National Applied Artificial Intelligence Consortium’s (NAAIC) national work as a foundation to explore three transferable practices for emerging technologies: institutional mentorship, strategic industry leadership, and nationwide faculty training. Panelists will respond to practical questions, share lessons learned, and help ATE participants understand how to adapt tools, partnerships, and training models for their own disciplines and regions.

Partnering across the ATE community amplifies the impact of projects, consortia, and centers. Join three national leaders for a discussion on strengthening and developing networks. The Automotive Manufacturing Technical Education Collaborative (AMTEC), the National Center for Next Generation Manufacturing, and the National Applied AI Consortium (NAAIC) will share how they have partnered with each other, built relationships with industry partners such as Google, FANUC, and NOCTI, and connected across institutions to advance technician education, teacher professional development, and more.

Join us for this welcome lunch plenary featuring remarks from Dr. Olga Pierrakos, Lead ATE Program Director at the National Science Foundation, and keynote speaker Aisha Bowe, former NASA aerospace engineer, entrepreneur, and founder and CEO of STEMBoard. From her start at a community college to a career in aerospace engineering, entrepreneurship, and spaceflight, Aisha will share a powerful perspective on opportunity, innovation, and the possibilities created through STEM education.

ATE students and recent alumni will highlight their program of study and/or career path at a student poster session and reception. Please take the time to visit the student posters, enjoy some refreshments, and learn more about their work.

The Friday morning plenary session will feature remarks from Corby Hovis, Section Head for Workforce & Talent Development in the National Science Foundation’s Directorate for STEM Education, and a keynote address from Jason Spyres, CEO of TAP3d.

Drawing on his own experiences and commitment to STEM technician education, Jason will offer an inspiring perspective on resilience and adapting to change. His keynote will celebrate the students, opportunities, and workforce impact made possible through ATE while looking ahead to how the community can build on that impact for the future.

This lunch session will feature an information exchange highlighting federal initiatives that connect with the work of the ATE community. Dr. Olga Pierrakos, NSF ATE Lead Program Director, will introduce representatives from NASA, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and other federal partners. They will share brief information about complementary efforts and resources that can be leveraged to strengthen STEM technician education and the broader ecosystem that supports it. 
Please enjoy the lunch buffet and be seated for remarks starting at 12:40 p.m.

Through the Enhancing Engineering Technology and Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing Technician Education (ETSTE) initiative, NSF and Intel Corporation are working together to strengthen education and workforce development for the semiconductor industry. This session will highlight the NSF–Intel partnership and feature ATE awardees supported through ETSTE who are advancing semiconductor technician education at community colleges. Panelists will share their approaches, early outcomes, and lessons learned, including the role of industry collaboration in strengthening semiconductor education and workforce pathways.

This session will give student participants the opportunity to build their networking skills and connect with professionals from industry and across the STEM community. Through a fast-paced speed networking format, students will practice introducing themselves, asking questions, and making professional connections while learning about career paths, workplace experiences, and the skills that support career success.

Ask three groups why XR has not reached the classroom and you get three answers. Developers point to faculty adoption. Faculty cite a lack of training. Administrators raise employer demand and cost. RECITE surveyed 44 developers and 109 two-year college faculty and interviewed training directors, revealing differences in how stakeholders view XR adoption. This session will share what happens when every stakeholder is asked the same questions and how this approach can help projects identify disconnects and strengthen implementation of XR, AI, and other emerging technologies.

Even strong ATE projects can encounter challenges when grant commitments meet institutional systems, changing leadership, and competing priorities. A former NSF ATE program director and an experienced ATE PI will briefly frame challenges commonly encountered across projects. Participants will examine real-world scenarios, share approaches for working effectively with administrators, and collaboratively develop strategies for navigating institutional processes. They will leave with practical actions for strengthening internal relationships, institutional support, and project implementation.

ATE projects collect data for many purposes, from project management and evaluation to dissemination and demonstrating impact. A thoughtful approach to data management makes ATE projects more efficient and effective. Through a facilitated discussion, participants will exchange promising practices, challenges, and ideas for strengthening data capacity within their ATE projects. Participants will walk away with new ideas for integrating data collection into project management, organizing and maintaining project data, and turning data into stories of project impact.

Tube graphics are visual maps of a program’s pathways, courses, and career outcomes, introduced at previous conferences. This session demonstrates one way they can be put into practice: adapting an existing tube graphic into a bridge connecting community college faculty, high school teachers, and students. Faculty present their tube graphic at a teacher workshop, opening dialogue with high school teachers, who then design a student assignment that pairs the visual with a hands-on biotech week so students learn the science and pathway in context. The demonstration will share the model and lessons about follow-through.

This Innovation Demo shows how Cuyahoga Community College built and ran a live cybersecurity tabletop system using AI and airport industry data to expose students to real-world industry scenarios. Students in the Cybersecurity and Critical Infrastructure Pathway for Aviation Industries program worked through scenarios involving threat detection, incident response, and airport coordination. The demonstration will show how the tabletops were built, how students engaged with the scenarios, and how the model can be scaled and used across technical programs.

Molecule World® is a user-friendly molecular modeling app that runs on multiple operating systems. The app uses authentic scientific data from databases to put DNA, RNA, protein, and chemical models at students’ fingertips. The demonstration will show how Molecule World can be used to compare antibody structures produced by generative AI, create copyright-free images of molecules, and help students use structures to explore why some mutations cause cancer or make viruses resistant to drugs. Editing features in the Pro version allow instructors to create new kinds of learning experiences.

Come explore how convergence is reshaping the energy, environmental, and natural resources sectors and what these changes mean for the skilled technical workforce. This year’s Convergence Lab, jointly led by the CREATE Energy Center and EARTh Center, will explore the use of SCADA in wastewater management, water quality, and the energy industries, including curriculum and training tools being used in the classroom. Organized by ATE Central, this one-day, hands-on, interactive event brings projects, centers, and other members of the ATE community together to make connections, share ideas and expertise, and explore emerging technologies and practices.

Evaluation reports are only useful if the people who need them can actually read and understand them. This hands-on workshop is designed for ATE evaluators and project teams who want to move beyond the basics and build practical skills for producing accessible evaluation reports. Designing evaluation reports with accessibility in mind from the start is a professional responsibility and a growing legal requirement. The session addresses considerations unique to evaluators and project teams producing data-heavy reports, including structuring evaluation matrices for assistive technology, making logic models screen-reader-compatible, and designing data visualizations for everyone. Through guided practice, participants will work directly with their own reporting materials and leave with concrete strategies to make their evaluation reports more accessible. Whether you are new to accessibility or looking to strengthen existing practices, this workshop offers actionable guidance grounded in the real reporting demands of ATE evaluation work. Join us to make sure your project’s evaluation work reaches everyone it is meant to serve. Note: Participants must bring a laptop or personal device that can access Microsoft Word or Google Docs. (Advance Registration & Ticket Required)

ATE projects and centers have expertise, partnerships, programs, and national networks that can make them valuable collaborators on larger initiatives within and beyond ATE. This interactive session will explore how ATE leaders can identify opportunities, build relationships, and participate in collaborative proposals. Examples including the National Network for Microelectronics Education (NNME), National Quantum and Nanotechnology Infrastructure (NQNI), NSF Engines, and other cross-program collaborations will help launch a discussion about successful strategies, challenges, and opportunities for expanding ATE’s impact.

The “three-legged stool” of certification is a commonly used framework for determining the appropriate licensure level for technicians across multiple disciplines. Advanced technological education can touch all three legs: education, experience, and exam. This session will examine the framework and introduce a complementary approach for understanding the relationship among technicians, licensure exams, and daily work. The approach will be demonstrated in the context of water professional licensure.

The NavigATE project works to raise awareness of the NSF ATE program, including through ATE Community exhibit booths at national and regional conferences. In coordination with ATE Central, this session will explore how ATE centers and projects can use these and other opportunities to share resources, professional development activities, and project information. Participants will discuss what to share, where and how information can be disseminated, and opportunities to strengthen coordination and seed new collaborations across the ATE community. Examples of ATE center and project materials will also be shared.

Two-year colleges need XR content but often cannot afford to build or buy it. Universities can build it, with access to labs, student developers, and release time that many two-year colleges do not have. RECITE’s OEXR Library connects the two, with roughly 100 openly licensed assets and university partners contributing content. This session will explore two questions that determine whether these resources can be used: what the license actually permits and how a student opens the content on a device they already own. No headset lab required.

Technician education leaders face challenges in developing buy-in for new credentials and programs. In this Community Action session, presenters will share input received from faculty, learners, and employers and how it informed the design of digital badges for professional skills. Participants will then discuss what different stakeholders need to support adoption, share their own experiences, and identify strategies for building buy-in among each group. Attendees will leave with shared recommendations they can adapt to their own institutions. No prior experience implementing digital badges or professional skills is needed.

Technicians do more than keep pace with innovation—they help drive it. This Super Spotlight brings together ATE alumni who have built successful careers in industry to share how their education prepared them for the workplace, what they learned once they entered the field, and what they now see as essential for success. Drawing on their experiences as students, technicians, and innovators, panelists will reflect on how their fields are changing; the skills and experiences that have mattered most in their careers; and the value of entrepreneurial thinking—including initiative, problem-solving, adaptability, and the ability to recognize opportunities and develop new approaches. Their view from the workplace offers important insights into how we prepare the next generation of the STEM technical workforce.

Who is promoting your ATE program? It starts with you, armed with your evaluation data, and grows with everyone you equip to share your story. This experiential Learning Lab pairs real NSF ATE case studies with guided practice. Facilitators model how to find high-value “impact signals” in project data; teams then practice identifying these signals before applying a simple frame (what to say, who needs to hear it, what makes it credible) to their own work. Bring an evaluation report, annual report, or project description (samples provided) and leave with a draft statement, templates, and a sustainability plan.

This session highlights strategies, partnership models, and examples of how industry and community colleges are working together to prepare students for careers in the semiconductor industry. Panelists will share approaches to hands-on and work-based learning, employer-aligned skill development, and structured pathways from education into the workforce. Attendees will gain practical, replicable approaches for strengthening industry partnerships and preparing community college students for high-demand semiconductor careers.

Rural communities often face “technology deserts” characterized by limited awareness of technology careers, reduced access to advanced technical education, and fewer industry engagement opportunities. This session shares lessons learned from two ATE projects focused on cybersecurity and artificial intelligence technician education in rural Ohio. Panelists will highlight community engagement strategies, outreach models, partnerships, and emerging practices that can help community colleges transform underserved regions into sustainable technology talent ecosystems.

This panel explores the RISE New Instructor Fellowship, an initiative designed to transition industry professionals into effective engineering technology educators. Drawing on experiences from the first cohort, panelists will share lessons about orientation, bootcamp preparation, and readiness for co-instruction. Academic leaders will discuss program effectiveness and hiring confidence, while a Fellowship participant shares firsthand experience. Attendees will gain insights into the model and strategies for adapting it to their own institutions.

Rural colleges do not have the luxury of large labor pools or deep employer networks, yet they must build talent pipelines that keep pace with industry growth. How can rural colleges meet that challenge? This Community Action session will use the IT Pathways model at Laramie County Community College, developed through partnerships with employers, K–12 districts, and federal programs, as a starting point to explore what works—and what doesn’t—across recruitment, retention, program design, credential completion, remote learning, and job placement. Building from this example, participants will share their own experiences and identify strategies for building effective rural talent pipelines.

This session highlights replicable models for building community-centered pathways that expand student access, participation, and success in cybersecurity and STEM. Panelists will share strategies that connect early engagement, education, and workforce preparation, including dual credit and hands-on learning opportunities. The session will demonstrate how communities, educational institutions, and workforce partners can work together to strengthen pathways from early education through career entry.

Discover how connections across the ATE community spark innovation, strengthen programs, and expand opportunities for students and educators. This interactive session features perspectives from an ATE PI and Co-PI at community colleges in New York and Minnesota, and a New York high school teacher whose ATE-supported professional development experience has enhanced classroom practice and student engagement. Participants will explore opportunities for collaboration across the ATE community and take away strategies for building partnerships. To participate fully in the interactive activities, attendees are encouraged to bring a cell phone or laptop.

Work-based learning is often associated with internships at external employers. This session explores a different model that brings authentic work directly into the technical college lab. Using a manufacturing automation cell, students apply classroom concepts to real-world projects, troubleshoot problems, and reinforce course competencies. Attendees will learn how the model was implemented, discuss successes and challenges, and exchange ideas for adapting the approach to their own programs.

The biotechnology community continues to adapt to rapid technological shifts, evolving industry needs, and dynamic workforce demands. The most urgent questions and innovative solutions often originate from the field itself. In this Community Action Session, participants will use an unconference format designed to harness the collective intelligence, diverse expertise, and real-time priorities of ATE Principal Investigators, Co-PIs, and project partners. The unconference format shifts agenda-setting directly to attendees, allowing their priorities and questions to guide the discussion.

Major investments in emerging technologies, research, infrastructure, and regional innovation are creating new opportunities to leverage ATE across the broader STEM ecosystem. This Super Spotlight will explore how ATE can connect with NSF programs, other federal initiatives, and major investments in emerging technologies and regional innovation to extend impact and strengthen the skilled technical workforce. Panelists will share examples of these connections in action and identify opportunities for greater alignment across the STEM ecosystem.

Test drive the EvaluateUR Method—a learning tool designed to assess the outcomes students gain through course-based research, internships, engineering technology competitions, and independent research. Following a brief introduction to the method and its variants, participants will select a variant and try it out by taking on the role of a student researcher or intern, CURE instructor, competition team member, or research mentor. As participants work through the method’s steps, session leaders will provide guidance and answer questions so attendees leave with firsthand experience and practical strategies for implementing the method in their own programs.

Do you want to know what it takes to visit Capitol Hill and highlight the success of your ATE project? Hear how Journal of Advanced Technological Education (J ATE) authors prepared for meetings with their congressional representatives and senators, communicated their project successes, and followed up afterward. Attendees will leave with practical guidance for engaging with legislators at the state or federal level.

To stay aligned with industry trends and anticipate workforce and faculty professional development needs, CREATE has conducted an energy stakeholder survey every three to four years since 2012. This session will share a survey methodology that can be adapted across ATE disciplines and examine 15 years of findings on changes in the energy industry and expectations for the decade ahead. Attendees will gain insights for identifying emerging workforce needs and informing future ATE projects in energy technology and related fields.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly changing teaching and learning across engineering technology and related fields. This session will explore how AI is being used across technical disciplines, including its role in instruction, student engagement, and homework assignments. Participants will discuss approaches to the appropriate use of AI in the classroom, share experiences and challenges, and consider how these tools can support student learning and instructional efficiency.

ATE Connects is a key component of the conference, offering ATE projects and centers dedicated time to connect with participants, explore the ATE community, and share resources. Taking place over two sessions, ATE Connects features more than 200 projects and centers through Conversation Hubs organized by STEM discipline area. Join us for these lively sessions of networking, information sharing, and community building!

Session I Disciplines: Advanced Manufacturing Technologies; Agricultural and Environmental Technologies; Applied Research in Technician Education; Engineering Technologies

Don’t miss the ATE Connects Countdowns taking place in the back of the Exhibit Hall! These fun, fast-paced presentations give speakers up to 10 minutes and five slides to count down their Top 10—or fewer—best practices, technology trends, and lessons learned in STEM technician education. In between networking and visiting the Conversation Hubs, check out one or more Countdowns taking place from 11:00–11:55 a.m.

ATE Connects is a key component of the conference, offering ATE projects and centers dedicated time to connect with participants, explore the ATE community, and share resources. Taking place over two sessions, ATE Connects features more than 200 projects and centers through Conversation Hubs organized by STEM discipline area. Join us for these lively sessions of networking, information sharing, and community building!

Session II Disciplines: Biological and Chemical Technologies; General Advanced Technological Education; Information and Security Technologies; Micro and Nanotechnologies

Don’t miss the ATE Connects Countdowns taking place in the back of the Exhibit Hall! These fun, fast-paced presentations give speakers up to 10 minutes and five slides to count down their Top 10—or fewer—best practices, technology trends, and lessons learned in STEM technician education. In between networking and visiting the Conversation Hubs, check out one or more Countdowns taking place from 4:00 - 4:55 p.m.

What makes a hands-on professional development workshop successful? Drawing on participant feedback from vacuum technology workshops held between June 2025 and June 2026, this Countdown will highlight five key components of an effective workshop. Insights reflect the experiences of community college and high school technology and science faculty, technical personnel, administrators, and students, with lessons that can be applied across technical fields.

How is artificial intelligence being used in advanced manufacturing? Drawing on work with industry and higher education partners, the NSF ATE-funded National Center for Next Generation Manufacturing will highlight five real-world applications of AI in advanced manufacturing. Attendees will also receive related resources to help incorporate these examples into their own programs.

The GRRATE Summer Institutes project developed seven strategies to support the long-term sustainability of project activities beyond grant funding. Organized around institutional partnerships, programmatic integration, and dissemination, these strategies offer practical options for sustaining project activities as grant funding comes to a close.

How do you rapidly scale a regional cybersecurity pathway with national alignment? This Countdown shares the top 10 steps from Los Angeles Valley College’s ATE project, including creating tuition-free noncredit bridges to credit and degree programs, aligning curricula with California and NIST NICE standards, embedding paid apprenticeships, and recruiting students through K–12 outreach.

AI infrastructure and data center deployment are happening at a rapid pace across the country, and many community college administrators and faculty are called to respond when a data center project is announced in their community. Informed by NOVA's data center projects, here are the top 10 things to do if you are getting a data center.

This Countdown shares three ways industry associations can enhance an ATE project. Using a partnership with the California Land Surveyors Association as an example, presenters will highlight how this collaboration helped advance project goals and offer lessons other ATE projects can apply.