Oregon State University, led by Dr. Karl Haapala, received a $1.8 million grant from the National Science Foundation to develop an online production engineering program focused on manufacturing mechatronics. This program will help ensure that current and future workers in the manufacturing sector have access to high-quality engineering education and technical training. Haapala is joined by Andy Fan, Matthew Johnston, David Kim, and Burak Sencer of the College of Engineering, Christopher Sanchez of the OSU College of Liberal Arts, and Michael Mattson of Clackamas Community College in Oregon City, as well as collaborators in OSU Ecampus. 

The team’s goal is to create courses that give manufacturing workers access to the education they need to expand their skill sets and stay valuable, and help manufacturing employers fill openings with highly trained candidates. The project will develop a set of four online courses organized into a series of modules that include in-person and remotely offered labs. The course modules will enable students at two-year and four-year institutions, as well as working professionals, to earn mechatronics certifications. Project results will be made available through training, conference presentations, publications, and an invitational workshop.