2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

CAREER: Supporting Professional Formation of Robotics Engineers through a Human-Centered Design Approach

Presented at NSF Grantees Poster Session I

Industry is experiencing significant growth in the robotics, manufacturing, and related technical jobs. However, engineering programs traditionally aligned with robotics are not growing to meet this workforce need. Current strategies to attract more students to robotics-aligned engineering majors have not successfully altered these trends. This led us to ask, how can pre-college robotics curricula be reimagined to positively impact students’ perceptions of engineering majors and their belonging in robotics through emotional connection to curricular applications? This CAREER project uses an integrated research and education approach to disrupt traditional robotics education with a science-integrated, human-centered soft robotics curriculum and career resources. Successful pathways for students to robotics-aligned engineering majors are understudied. This project aims to teach applications of engineering that are not currently addressed in traditional pre-college robotics, improving upon the current state-of-the-art. New knowledge in methods to measure human-centered engineering design self-efficacy and opportunities for affective learning with robotics that can be used to improve existing curricula. This integrated research and education project aims to produce a framework by which educators can teach engineering concepts in science to (1) change perceptions of robotics, and (2) empower more students to develop engineering identities and robotics career interest in high school. A rich understanding of the alignment of human-centered design and hands-on robotics projects may promote the development of programs that can disrupt misconceptions of STEM that currently exist for some in high school. This paper details the development of educational resources to support robotics education and early steps toward human-centered design self-efficacy validation. Altogether, this paper shared outcomes from an engineering education CAREER award in supporting robotics workforce development.

Authors

Prof. Holly M Golecki http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3691-0420 University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign [biography]

Dr. Holly Golecki (she/her) is a Teaching Associate Professor in Bioengineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Department of Biomedical and Translational Sciences at the Carle-Illinois College of Medicine. Holly studies biomaterials and soft robotics and their applications in the university classroom, in research and in engaging future engineers in human-centered design. Holly received her BS/MS in Materials Science and Engineering from Drexel University and her PhD in Engineering Sciences (Bioengineering) from Harvard University.
Natalie M Taylor http://orcid.org/https://0009-0008-6017-1991 University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign [biography]

Natalie Taylor (she/her) is a PhD student in Bioengineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Her research interests include soft robotics and inclusive teaching practices, particularly for students with physical disabilities in laboratory environments. Natalie previously earned an M.Eng. in Bioengineering and a B.S. in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Evelyn Ochoa Arias University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign [biography]

Evelyn Ochoa Arias is a Mechanical Engineering PhD student in Mechanical Science and Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Her research focuses on soft robotics, with an emphasis on designing accessible and human-centered technologies such as pressure-redistributing wheelchair cushions. She is particularly interested in rapid prototyping methods, image-driven modeling, and biomedical applications of soft actuators. She previously earned a a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois Chicago.

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 June 24, 2026

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