Drake State receives $1.2 million for STEM workforce development

The college is one of only six institutions to receive the INCLUDES award.

Drake State Frontiers student intern Joseph Green and the entire Frontiers team visited NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston during a recent training trip.

Drake State Community & Technical College is one of six colleges and universities to win a $1.2 million NASA’s Inclusion Across the Nation of Learners of Underrepresented Discoverers in Engineering and Science (INCLUDES) award.

INCLUDES awards are funded through NASA’s Minority University Research and Education Project and provide up to $1.2 million for a three-year period.

The college’s winning proposal builds on the college’s Frontiers Research Program, established in 2020 that supports research in additive manufacturing and 3D printing for NASA’s Moon to Mars Planetary Autonomous Construction Technology Project (MMPACT).

“With the significant funding provided by the INCLUDES award Drake State will be able to rapidly grow our research program, the related curriculum development and STEM outreach to middle and high school students,” said Dr. Patricia Sims, Drake State president.

The work being performed by the Frontiers Research team is expected to lead to innovation and curriculum development that will benefit construction and advanced manufacturing industries in North Alabama and beyond. The Frontiers team consists of faculty and student interns from the college’s Engineering Design program.

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For more on Drake State’s 3D printing research, visit here.

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