Utah IGERT website

The robotics group from the School of Computing and the Department of Mechanical Engineering was recently awarded an NSF Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) grant (John Hollerbach, PI). This five year program totalling $2.4M provides fellowships and specialized training in Biocentric Robotics. The fellowships support ten students a year with a generous $30,000 stipend and should boost the visibility of the SoC's new Robotics Track degree program and amplify the natural synergies that exist between the SoC and ME robotics faculty.

The theme of Biocentric Robotics comprises (1) robots that physically interact with people for medical and quality of life purposes (medical robots, rehabilitation robots, physical assistance robots), and (2) robots designed according to biological principles to achieve advanced capabilities. To support the Biocentric Robotics theme, a comprehensive educational program has been designed. New courses will be offered to impart relevant knowledge of biological systems (physiological modeling and bioinstrumentation), and to train students in the componentry (sensors, actuators, mechatronic design) needed to build advanced robot systems. Two new laboratory spaces for teaching and research (a small workspace lab for subsystem design and a large workspace lab for robots to move around in) are planned. New trainees will start their fellowships with research lab rotations the summer before classes start and go through a specific interdisciplinary program of study during the year.

An additional aspect of the IGERT is a substantial outreach effort. A number of LEGO robotic competition clubs are planned at different school levels, using both faculty and trainee involvement. The goal is to use robotics as a hook to entice K-12 students into interest in a college technical degree, a purpose that robotics is uniquely positioned for. Information programs for undergraduate women and minorities already at the University of Utah are planned. The minority institutions Montana State University (American Indians) and North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (African Americans) will participate in exchange visits.

The first year of the program has just been launched with six new Trainees from the SoC and ME. The IGERT team is excited about the start of this novel educational program.