2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Mentoring for NSF ATE Proposals

Presented at NSF Grantees Poster Session I

This project, funded by the National Science Foundation Advanced Technological Education (NSF ATE) program, provides an annual mentoring program for a cohort of community colleges teams submitting NSF ATE proposals. The project aligns with the NSF ATE program objective to provide leadership opportunities for faculty at two-year institutions and supports the national priority of educating the skilled technical workforce for the industries that keep the United States globally competitive. From March to the NSF ATE proposal submission deadline, teams of community college faculty, administrators, and grants staff in activities to better their understanding of the components and requirements of NSF ATE proposals.

Activities of the project include virtual mentoring and webinars as well as a virtual 2.5-day workshop where two-year faculty who are teaching technician education learn the strategies and NSF requirements for writing and submitting competitive proposals. For community colleges awarded NSF ATE grants, this project results in improved student access to education and acquisition of skills needed to enter the workforce as STEM graduates whose contributions will advance the nation’s economic goals for meeting emerging workforce needs. This project also provides a pre-application mentoring option to help protentional cohort participants determine workforce needs in their technology sector and demonstrate their industry partnerships, a keystone for NSF ATE projects. Program participants complete pre-surveys and post-surveys, which show overall confidence in preparing NSF ATE proposals and understanding of the NSF ATE program and proposal requirements. Results are used for impacts of the program as well as continuous improvement of activities.

Authors

Prof. Karen Wosczyna-Birch National Center for Next Generation Manufacturing [biography]

Dr. Karen Wosczyna-Birch has been a champion of engineering and technology education for over 30 years. Since 1995, has served as the State Director of the CT College of Technology (COT) where her leadership has been instrumental in creating nationally recognized seamless pathway programs in engineering and technology between all 12 Connecticut public community colleges (now merged to CT State Community College) with 10 universities and technical and comprehensive high schools. She is also the Executive Director and Principal Investigator of the National Center for Next Generation Manufacturing (NCNGM), a National Science Foundation (NSF) Center of Excellence and a Professor Emeritus in Applied Technology at Connecticut State Community College Tunxis. She has received over $40M in funding from the NSF, including the Computer Science, Mathematics, and Physics Scholarship Program of Central Connecticut S-STEM grant and two grants for international partnership. Karen has implemented strategies resulting in an increase in the enrollment of underrepresented populations in STEM programs at the community colleges.

Karen has received numerous awards for her accomplishments as a professor and for her passion for increasing the diversity of the STEM population including the 2016 Distinguished Service Award from the international honor society Epsilon Pi Tau (EPT), the 2018 CT Women of Innovation Award in the Postsecondary Academic Innovation & Leadership Category, the 2012 New England Board of Higher Education Excellence Award for the State of CT and most recently, the 2020 High Impact Technology Exchange Conference’s Innovative Program of the Year Award and the 2021 International Technology Engineering Educators Association (ITEEA) Special Recognition Award and 2025 ITEEA Prakken Professional Cooperation Award. In 2014, she was invited to the White House College Opportunity Summit recognizing leaders like Karen for their commitment to STEM education. She also serves on numerous local and national boards including the Connecticut Technical Education and Career System, Charter Oak State College Academic Council, and Charter Oak State College Business & Technology Committee, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s TechAMP Advisory Board and Curriculum Committee.
Ms. Wendy Robicheau National Center for Next Generation Manufacturing [biography]

Wendy Robicheau is the Assistant Director for the National Center for Next Generation Manufacturing, funded by the National Science Foundation Advanced Technological Education Program. She began working on NSF ATE grants for the Connecticut State Colleges & Universities System in 2012. Her work on these grants has grown her passion for making students, parents, educators and counselors aware of the educational and career pathways that are possible in STEM fields with an emphasis on advanced manufacturing. She has organized and participated in numerous local, national, and international initiatives over the years where she has both shared and learned about addressing STEM workforce needs and has also published and presented papers for these conferences. Wendy has her M.S. in Student Development in Higher Education from Central Connecticut State University.

Note

The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on June 21, 2026, and to all visitors after the conference ends on July 31, 2026

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