Jackson College awarded two Advanced Technological Education grants from National Science Foundation

Jackson College has been awarded two Advanced Technological Education grants from the National Science Foundation. One of the three-year grants, totaling $349,846, will fund the development of a curriculum and program for blockchain technology, and the other three-year grant, totaling $503,646, is for the development of a new interdisciplinary manufacturing program.

According to an article on Jackson College’s website, the college’s president and CEO, Daniel J. Phelan, shared his excitement at receiving the school’s first-ever National Science Foundation grant for the blockchain technology program. He is quoted as saying, “We are so excited to receive Jackson College’s first National Science Foundation grant. Few community colleges receive NSF awards; this is a history-making moment. Developing a blockchain program on campus will ultimately help our students in this expanding, decentralized network industry. We look forward to being at the forefront of this emerging field.”

Blockchain technology is a type of database that was first developed for usage with Bitcoin, though the technology has many other applications. One of its main draws is that it is very secure and therefore useful for storing health records and payment information. Professors Angel Fonseca and Dianne Hill of Jackson College’s Computer and Information Services department became blockchain certified through Cornell University as they began researching their grant proposal. 

Of blockchain technology, Fonseca said, “We are at the very beginning stages of blockchain in this country and world. Adoption of blockchain is rivaling the growth of the Internet. It's a disruptive technology, just like the way the Internet changed how we do business, blockchain is having a similar impact.”

Jackson College will have developed the curriculum for its new blockchain technology program at the end of the three-year grant in 2027. When its program launches, it will be one of the first schools in the region to offer such a program. 

Fonseca said, “There is much work to be done to develop a curriculum to support our area. We’ll be looking for industry partners who are interested in implementing blockchain, and we will design curriculum to best support them. Then we can provide them with technicians who can help with implementation and ongoing blockchain management.”

In another article on Jackson College’s website, Phelan shared his continued excitement when the school earned yet another National Science Foundation grant. He said, “We at Jackson College are honored and grateful to receive this NSF grant, which is also the second in the history of our college, and which will be used to significantly enhance our instructional efforts in Manufacturing 4.0. This funding strengthens our ongoing commitment to providing cutting-edge education in advanced manufacturing, equipping learners with the skills needed to thrive in a rapidly evolving industry.”

This grant will help the school establish a new interdisciplinary manufacturing certificate program that combines fabrication technology with automation technology, and along with it, skills that will be useful to fill in the gaps of the region’s manufacturing workforce. It is planned that the certificate program can lead to an Associate of Applied Science in Advanced Manufacturing degree.

Phelan explained the benefits this program will have for students and the community at large, saying, “Our interdisciplinary approach, combining automation, robotics, and fabrication, strengthens our standing as a leader in Science, Technology, Engineering & Math (STEM) education, as well as workforce development and employee retraining. We are excited to continue expanding opportunities for our learners and fostering strong community partnerships, ensuring that our graduates are prepared to lead in the future of manufacturing.”

The development of the new program will be a combined effort between several individuals: Eddie Burkhead, who serves as the department chair for the Professional Trades Pathway, Albert Rossner, a member of the manufacturing faculty, and Jamie Vandenburgh, who serves as the Dean of Workforce, Technical, and Professional Education.

“This program’s success is a direct result of the leadership and expertise of our faculty in the Professional Trades Pathway. Their commitment to designing innovative curriculum and engaging with local industry partners ensures that our graduates are not only job-ready but also prepared to lead in the rapidly evolving field of manufacturing,” Vandenburgh shared.

Jackson College will be seeking to engage members of typically underrepresented communities in the training for this program, leading to a boom of opportunity for people from rural, low-income, or other disadvantaged backgrounds in the interdisciplinary manufacturing field.

For more information about Jackson College, visit the school’s website.