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$350K NSF grant to MTSU, Columbia State will certi...

$350K NSF grant to MTSU, Columbia State will certify future robotics, automation technicians

From left, Columbia State Community College Development Officer (development and grants) Patrick McElhiney, Business and Technology Dean Mehran Mostajir and adjunct faculty member Daniel Garrett and Middle Tennessee State University Engineering Technology associate professor Jorge Vargas celebrate the National Science Foundation grant partnership that will assist the Midstate region in certifying future technicians in robotics and automation systems in a classroom lab on the MTSU campus in Murfreesboro, Tenn., earlier this year. The nearly $350,000 NSF is a three-year research and development award that continues until May 31, 2027, and could bring Columbia State graduates to MTSU. (MTSU photo by Andy Heidt)

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — A National Science Foundation grant collaboration between Middle Tennessee State University and Columbia State Community College will assist the Midstate region in certifying future technicians and engineers in robotics and automation systems.

The nearly $350,000 NSF grant, announced earlier this year, is a three-year research and development award that continues until May 31, 2027. It was awarded to Columbia State, but MTSU’s Jorge VargasEngineering Technology associate professor, is principal investigator for the university.

Columbia State Community College adjunct faculty member Daniel Garrett, left, and Middle Tennessee State University Engineering Technology associate professor Jorge Vargas check out relatively new Flex Space robotics equipment in an MTSU lab earlier this year on campus in Murfreesboro, Tenn. Columbia State and MTSU are utilizing a three-year, nearly $350,000 National Science Foundation grant to aid in certifying future technicians and engineers in robotics and automation systems in the Midstate. (MTSU photo by Andy Heidt)
Columbia State Community College adjunct faculty member Daniel Garrett, left, and Middle Tennessee State University Engineering Technology associate professor Jorge Vargas check out relatively new Flex Space robotics equipment in an MTSU lab earlier this year on campus in Murfreesboro, Tenn. Columbia State and MTSU are utilizing a three-year, nearly $350,000 National Science Foundation grant to aid in certifying future technicians and engineers in robotics and automation systems in the Midstate. (MTSU photo by Andy Heidt)

The grant comes a year before MTSU’s engineering programs — including mechatronics engineeringrobotics and others — move into the new, $74.8 million, 90,000-square-foot Applied Engineering Building, scheduled to open by the fall 2025 semester with greater space and state-of-the-art equipment to better train current students and attract more prospective ones.

Dr. Jorge Vargas, associate professor, Department of Engineering Technology
Dr. Jorge Vargas

“We’re extremely excited to work on this robotics certification project,” Vargas said. “It’s a matter of developing different modules for this certification mapping. There are different topics or subjects for students to do in the field after they get certified.”

The goal of this project, which was started in 2022 by Vargas, is to get certifications to technicians and engineers so they can be competitive in the work field, he said.

Vargas was joined in the effort by Daniel Garrett, a Columbia State adjunct faculty member and former MTSU Engineering Technology graduate student to establish a one-year robotics certificate at Columbia State.

MTSU faculty will bring their extensive knowledge in robotics and automation through the partnership with Columbia State. Vargas and Mehran Mostajir, dean of the Department of Business and Technology at Columbia State, hope their students earn an associate degree and transfer to MTSU to pursue their bachelor’s.

Vargas said MTSU’s portion of the grant, around $100,000, will be used to prepare modules and “help me build the curriculum.”

From left, Columbia State Community College Development Officer (development and grants) Patrick McElhiney, Business and Technology Dean Mehran Mostajir and adjunct faculty member Daniel Garrett and Middle Tennessee State University Engineering Technology associate professor Jorge Vargas celebrate the National Science Foundation grant partnership that will assist the Midstate region in certifying future technicians in robotics and automation systems in a classroom lab on the MTSU campus in Murfreesboro, Tenn., earlier this year. The nearly $350,000 NSF is a three-year research and development award that continues until May 31, 2027, and could bring Columbia State graduates to MTSU. (MTSU photo by Andy Heidt)
From left, Columbia State Community College Development Officer (development and grants) Patrick McElhiney, Business and Technology Dean Mehran Mostajir and adjunct faculty member Daniel Garrett and Middle Tennessee State University Engineering Technology associate professor Jorge Vargas celebrate the National Science Foundation grant partnership that will assist the Midstate region in certifying future technicians in robotics and automation systems in a classroom lab on the MTSU campus in Murfreesboro, Tenn., earlier this year. The nearly $350,000 NSF is a three-year research and development award that continues until May 31, 2027, and could bring Columbia State graduates to MTSU. (MTSU photo by Andy Heidt)
Daniel Garrett of Chapel Hill, Tenn., an August 2022 graduate of Middle Tennessee State University with a master’s degree in engineering technology
Daniel Garrett

The proposal by Garrett, who is now at Northwest Florida State College in Niceville, Fla., indicates the first group of students “will enter the program in spring 2025 and graduate by the end of the year with nationally recognized industry certifications and 16 hours of college coursework.

“Hands-on methods and classroom instruction will ensure that each student can perform programming, maintenance, setup, safety evaluations and operations with different robotic systems. As a result, Columbia State graduates can go directly into workplace settings with confidence.”

As for the impact, Vargas said “we have 500 students in Engineering Technology. It could impact 500 people. … It is open for everybody as long as you have an interest and background.

“We haven’t advertised or promoted it yet. We plan to do it in the spring when we get the modules set. I’ll talk about it in my classes and other professors will do the same. We’ll reach out to the sophomore and junior classes for sure.”

Columbia State Community College Business and Technology Dean Mehran Mostajir, left, shows Development Officer Patrick McElhiney how to use a FANUC robotic system arm that is available to Middle Tennessee State University students and potential Columbia State transfer students in a classroom laboratory on the MTSU campus in Murfreesboro, Tenn., earlier this year. Columbia State and MTSU received a nearly $350,000 National Science Foundation grant to assist the Midstate region in certifying future technicians and engineers in robotics and automation systems for the next three years. (MTSU photo by Andy Heidt)
Columbia State Community College Business and Technology Dean Mehran Mostajir, left, shows Development Officer Patrick McElhiney how to use a FANUC robotic system arm that is available to Middle Tennessee State University students and potential Columbia State transfer students in a classroom laboratory on the MTSU campus in Murfreesboro, Tenn., earlier this year. Columbia State and MTSU received a nearly $350,000 National Science Foundation grant to assist the Midstate region in certifying future technicians and engineers in robotics and automation systems for the next three years. (MTSU photo by Andy Heidt)

When asked how much growth is anticipated in the use of robotics in industry — auto (General Motors) and automation companies like UPS, FedEx, UPS, Amazon and others — Vargas said, “That’s a tough question. For sure, it will have a major impact in industry in our state. We’ll have more people certified in robotics and everything is moving to automated.”

Vargas said the MTSU-Columbia State collaboration will benefit these companies because their future employees can get certified without going out of state and promoting it to people in the field.

To learn more about the potential for certification at MTSU, email Vargas at Jorge.Vargas@mtsu.edu or call 615-494-7615. At Columbia State, email Mostajir at mmostajir@ColumbiaState.edu or call 931-540-2670.

Engineering Technology is one of 11 College of Basic and Applied Sciences departments.

— Randy Weiler (Randy.Weiler@mtsu.edu)


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