2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

CHIPS, Science, & Secondary Engineering Technology Education (Resource Exchange)

Presented at Instructional Showcases

CHIPS, Science, & Secondary Engineering Technology Education (Resource Exchange)

Project Description (100 Words): In 2022, the CHIPS & Science Act was passed, demonstrating
the United States’ commitment to strengthening its capacity to produce semiconductors. However,
substantial investments in the semiconductor industry brings the need to cultivate a skilled
workforce. This requires efforts to integrate semiconductor content/contexts into K-12 classrooms.
Secondary engineering technology classrooms are well-suited to this content given the concepts
covered by, and the flexibility of, the subject area. Accordingly, this resource exchange will provide
an in-depth exploration of two secondary engineering technology instructional units that were codeveloped
by teachers and university faculty/students as part of a multi-state semiconductor K-12
initiative.

Resource: The instructional units presented in the resource exchange are:
• What’s in the Box (Middle School Unit): In collaboration with a local escape room and a new
microelectronics packaging company, this unit engages students in designing a four-level
“escape room box” that demystifies the inner workings of microchips (aka integrated circuits).
Students work in teams to create puzzles that explore microelectronics basics, coding, logic
circuits, and testing for microchip counterfeits. This hands-on unit connects students with
microelectronics while preparing them for future opportunities in the growing semiconductor
field.
• Rolling the Dice (High School Unit): This unit introduces students to microchip fabrication and
packaging through the design and creation of a printed circuit board (PCB) that functions as a
digital dice roller. Students learn to design circuits using electronic design automation tools, mill
circuit pathways using a CNC router, program microchips, and solder components before
presenting their prototypes to a local microelectronics company.

Each of these units are designed to actively engage students with semiconductor-related concepts and
microelectronics materials, creating hands-on learning experiences. Both secondary engineering
technology units will be detailed and provided, free-of-charge, through this resource exchange.

Authors

Dr. Greg J Strimel http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4847-4526 Purdue University at West Lafayette (PPI) [biography]

Greg J. Strimel, Ph.D., is the assistant department head and a associate professor of Technology Leadership & Innovation as well as the program lead for the Design & Innovation Minor at Purdue University. Dr. Strimel conducts research on design pedagogy, cognition, and assessment as well as the pre-service engineering teacher education.
Deana Lucas Purdue University at West Lafayette (COE) [biography]

Deana M. Lucas is a PhD student in the Technology Leadership and Innovation Department at Purdue University. Deana's background in Technology and Engineering Education drives her passion for working in spaces where disciplinary content converges. Her research spans both K-12 and higher education environments.
Tori Constantine Purdue University at West Lafayette [biography]

Tori Constantine is a graduate research assistant pursing her Master's degree in Technology Leadership & Innovation at Purdue University. She currently works with the SCALE K12 research group in exploring microelectronics curriculum.
Yubin Lee Purdue University at West Lafayette (COE) [biography]

Yubin Lee is a PhD student in STEM Education Leadership at Purdue University. Lee has served as a middle school technology teacher in South Korea and has a Master's Degree in Technology Education from Kongju National University.
Prof. Tamara J Moore http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7956-4479 Purdue University at West Lafayette (PWL) (COE) [biography]

Tamara J. Moore, Ph.D., is a Professor of Engineering Education and University Faculty Scholar at Purdue University, as well as the Executive Co-Director of the INSPIRE Research Institute for Precollege Engineering. Dr. Moore's research is focused on the integration of STEM concepts in K-12 and postsecondary classrooms in order to help students make connections among the STEM disciplines and achieve deep understanding. Her work investigates engineering design-based STEM integration, computational thinking, and integration of high-level content in K-14 spaces. She is creating and testing innovative, interdisciplinary curricular approaches that engage students in developing models of real-world problems and their solutions.
Dr. Morgan M Hynes Purdue University at West Lafayette (COE) [biography]

Dr. Morgan Hynes is an Associate Professor in the School of Engineering Education at Purdue University and Director of the FACE Lab research group at Purdue. In his research, Hynes explores the use of engineering to integrate academic subjects in K-12 cla
Siddika Selcen Guzey Purdue University at West Lafayette (PWL) (COE) [biography]

Dr. Guzey is a professor of science education at Purdue University. Her research and teaching focus on integrated STEM Education.
Anne DeLion Purdue Engineering Education
Dr. Molly H Goldstein http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2382-4745 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign [biography]

Dr. Molly H. Goldstein is a Teaching Assistant Professor and Product Design Lab Director in Industrial and Enterprise Systems Engineering at the Grainger College at the University of Illinois. She is also courtesy faculty in Mechanical Science and Engineering, Curriculum & Instruction (College of Education) and Industrial Design (School of Fine and Applied Arts). Dr. Goldstein’s research focuses on student designers through the study of their design actions and thinking.
Dr. Rick Hill University of Detroit Mercy [biography]

Dr. Richard Hill is a Professor and Assistant Dean in the College of Engineering & Science at University of Detroit Mercy. Dr. Hill received a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Southern California in 1998, and an M.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley in 2000. He joined the faculty of Detroit Mercy in 2008 after receiving a Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering and an M.S. degree in Applied Mathematics from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. His research interests lie in the areas of vehicle control, control and diagnosis of discrete-event systems, modular and hierarchical control, and engineering education. Dr. Hill also has a strong interest in diversifying the STEM pipeline and leads the innovating Detroit’s Robotics Agile Workforce (iDRAW) program in partnership with underserved Detroit-area high schools.

Note

The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on June 22, 2025, and to all visitors after the conference ends on June 25, 2025

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