City Tech in New York recently announced that its mechanic engineering and industrial design department has received $1.3 million in grants from the National Science Foundation and National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The money will support medical device fabrication projects, as well as projects related to additive manufacturing and electron beam freeform fabrication.
The Department of Mechanical Engineering & Industrial Design Technology at City Tech is one of the fastest growing departments in the College. It is also the only department in New York City that offers a baccalaureate degree in mechanical engineering technology with a manufacturing concentration.
“These grants provide a wonderful opportunity for City Tech students and faculty to collaborate with other leaders in STEM education and research. They will be the seed for our Center of Additive Manufacturing and Medical Devices, which will promote design and fabrication of medical devices as well as partnerships between academia, industry, and community organizations,” said Gaffar Gailani, Department of Mechanical Engineering & Industrial Design Technology, principal investigator of both grants.
Advanced design and fabrication of prosthetic and medical devices
In this 3-year National Science Foundation-funded project students will gain hands-on experience in the design and fabrication of prosthetic and medical devices, which will expose them to career opportunities in the flourishing medical device industry. City Tech’s commitment to STEM education ensures that the heightened research emphasis opens up the scientific/engineering enterprise to students at a very early point in their academic careers, and draws upon the urban infrastructure available in New York City to expand opportunities for students and faculty research and collaboration with the STEM community.
Project partners include Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS), Device Development Division; SUNY Downstate Medical Center, Musculoskeletal Research; and nonprofit organizations such as E-Nable the Future Program (ENFP), an online global community of volunteers who are using technology to create free 3D-printed prosthetic hands for those in need. City Tech students have already worked on many of the existing designs produced by ENFP such as the Cyborg Beast, Talon Hand, and Odysseus Hand, among others. Collaboration will be extended to work with neighboring hospitals and healthcare facilities in New York City.
New Horizons in space additive manufacturing and STEM Education
Through the 3-year NASA-funded New Horizons program, City Tech will improve the preparation of its growing population of underrepresented students in the engineering program through partnerships with NASA Langley Research Center, North Carolina State University (NCSU), and Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) Office of Education New York City Research Initiative program.
Students in the New Horizons program will enhance their skills through hands-on research experiences in space additive manufacturing. Through the use of NASA-relevant research in the curriculum, undergraduate students will be introduced to AM and electron beam freeform fabrication, as they progress toward designation as a NASA Student Scholar. The program encompasses hands-on research activities, summer internships, and participation in developing an educational portal for AM.
City Tech (New York City College of Technology) is part of The City University of New York. It touts itself as the largest 4-year public college of technology in the Northeast. Located in downtown Brooklyn, City Tech has an enrollment of more than 17,000 students in 29 baccalaureate and 27 associate degree programs.
New York City College of Technology: City Tech
www.citytech.cuny.edu