2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

As national security threats change and technology evolves, the Department of Defense (DoD) must have an agile, modern workforce with the ability to operate effectively in a knowledge‐based environment and take advantage of emerging technologies. The DoD faces workforce challenges, including identifying new skill requirements and career fields, recruiting, training, and retaining people with the right mix of skills and abilities for the wide range of DoD missions. The dynamic threats and associated significant investments in research and development require more personnel with science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) skills. The DoD has a gap in the STEM workforce needed to develop emerging technologies and conduct research and development [1]. These critical skills are in high demand and often bring higher pay in the private sector than at the DoD. An example of such a skill gap is in the research laboratories supporting the US Navy. There is an urgent need to increase the flow of highly trained research and development engineers into Navy laboratories and supporting organizations. The College of Engineering at Penn State has developed and executed an integrated research and critical skills development pipeline that motivates and connects U.S. students to careers in the technical workforce of the Naval Research and Development Establishment (NR&DE). This paper highlights lessons learned and best practices from reflection and student survey data to improve the educational and research experience of both undergraduate and graduate engineering students participating in Navy related research and work.