NLI: Design and Development: Developing interest and pathways for engineering engagement in the localized contexts of urban spaces across the US Northeast

Preparing communities and the future engineering workforce to address societal challenges requires educational experiences that highlight the complex, interconnected nature of environmental and social systems–core elements of the Engineering for One Planet (EOP) framework. Adding in McGowan and Bell's place-based framework, this Design & Development Research project will link learning outcomes from the EOP framework to a multi-city environmental research program through (i) a hyper-local rainfall sensor network, developed by undergraduate students and installed by middle school students in participating schools and clubs, (ii) an associated curriculum for middle school students, and (iii) a research collaborative involving data collection by middle school students, aimed at developing student interest in and pathways to engineering, while emphasizing urban resilience and flood preparedness in their communities. By addressing spatial and temporal gaps in rainfall data needed for flood forecasting, real-time response to weather emergencies, and resilient urban development, the sensor network program aims to motivate students to engage with and develop an interest in engineering by recognizing how collaborative engineering solutions support human well-being, starting with their local communities. The multi-city network will connect middle school and undergraduate students across three cities in two states, fostering collaboration and emphasizing the importance of interdisciplinary engineering solutions to challenges that have social, environmental, regional, and hyper-localized implications. Curricular materials will be shared publicly, allowing additional sites to join the research network, which will expand the educational program as well as the range or density of rainfall data collection sites. With this expanded data collection coverage, the network will also be better positioned to answer important questions regarding hyperlocal rainfall patterns and distribution. Moreover, students will develop engineering ways of thinking through sharing their stories around flooding while practicing engineering design. This project's overarching goal is to investigate how localized educational experiences and engagement with a multi-city research network influence students' interest in interdisciplinary engineering pathways, and their understanding of the complexity of urban environmental challenges. Through partnerships with education centers in three cities, the project team will collaborate with middle school educators and undergraduate engineering students to codesign a low-cost rain gauge sensor kit and curriculum that highlights the complex interconnectedness of engineered and natural systems within urban communities. The team will then work with middle school students to implement the curriculum, build and deploy rainfall sensors, analyze data in a multi-city research collaborative, and share processed data through a public dashboard. Through a mixed methods approach, the team will assess how participation in a localized informal education experience impacts student interest in engineering and related pathways. The project's narrative inquiry approach will build knowledge about what role stories play in how students conceptualize what engineers do in designing and supporting urban environments. Through observation of the research collaborative, the team will build knowledge regarding how and in what ways the collection of environmental data in the context of an interdisciplinary, multi-city collaboration contributes to students’ conceptions of engineering. The program will also provide students the opportunity to engage with Internet of Things sensors as a documented and practical approach for collecting localized environmental data in urban spaces. Work with these sensors and the data they collect will provide participants with important experience in microelectronics and artificial intelligence. The project's focus on urban NSF Award ID: 2535969 | Program: 1300PYXXDB H-1B FUND, EDU, NSF,01002627DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT | Principal Investigator: Catherine Hoar | Institution: Boston College, CHESTNUT HILL, MA | Award Amount: $328,116 View on NSF Award Search: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/show-award/?AWD_ID=2535969 View on Research.gov: https://www.research.gov/awardapi-service/v1/awards/2535969.html