Marquese Pollard and Arriana Nwodu, Florida A&M University graduate students at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering were the first two students from the college to be involved with a new emersion program funded by the National Science Foundation-Research Infrastructure for Science and Engineering (NSF-RISE). The two industrial engineers collaborated with students from the University of Michigan (UM) to gain hands on experience in manufacturing systems.
Hui Wang, Ph.D., a professor in industrial and manufacturing engineering, wanted the students to get exposed to the UM environment where they could experience manufacturing systems, automation and production first hand.
“Instead of just visiting the facility, the idea was to collaborate with the UM students on a senior design project,” Wang said. “Researchers at the university have developed a cyber-platform to create cost-effective personalized products. In this particular project, our students worked with the Michigan students to create a cost-effective personalized bicycle.”
Pollard, an master’s student graduating in fall 2018, designed and modeled the handle bars and seat to his specifications and developed a 3D model prototype using additive manufacturing techniques. Nwodu, another master’s student, helped set up the personalization. Using input from an undergraduate senior design project, the UM team used analytics to optimize the manufacturing system design.
“For me personally, the research connected what we create in a lab to the real world,” Pollard said. “The more students who get to see what is out there, the more ideas will flow. It motivates us to go further, to go on to get our doctorate.”
The big three auto companies are located in the Great Lakes area and there is a history of manufacturing in the university, Wang said. “They are always trying to improve manufacturing quality and gain competitive advantages. The goal is high efficiency and high quality. This was a great opportunity for our students to learn what advanced manufacturing research is about.”
NSF-RISE is a research program associated with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) and is dedicated to provide research experiences to help recruit minority scientists.
Tarik Dickens, Ph.D., a professor in industrial and manufacturing engineering at FAMU-FSU Engineering associated with the program explains, “The program stimulates student’s interest in manufacturing research and integrates research and training to specifically re-engage underrepresented minorities in the engineering research community.”
Dr. Jack Hu, Vice President of Research at UM was very supportive of the project and wants to continue offering the Michigan experiences for future RISE students based on personalization projects, according to Wang.
This academic exchange was supported by a $958,000 grant from the NSF-RISE High-Performance Additive Manufacturing of Composite Structures, which also funds FAMU-FSU Engineering’s work in the development of reconfigurable cyber-physical robotic (CPR) systems.