GT MENTOR: A High School Education Program in Systems Engineering and Additive Manufacturing

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is sponsoring the MENTOR program as the outreach part of its Adaptive Vehicle Make suite of programs. Georgia Tech has been awarded a contract to involve up to 1000 high schools after 4 years in a series of prize challenges. A web-based collaborative design-manufacturing infrastructure will be developed that integrates CAD, CAE, design-for-manufacturing, and CAM software tools with a network of 3D printers and other manufacturing resources. In distributed teams, students will design, fabricate, and construct electro-mechanical systems (e.g., ground vehicle robots) to perform complex tasks. Many parts they design will be fabricated on 3D printers that are located in high schools or nearby sites. A project objective is to have students learn about collaborative design, advanced manufacturing, and new product development practices and to become excited about pursuing technology-based careers.