Connect With Us!
We’ve relaunched our Instagram page — now teaming up with some influencers to help get MNT-EC in front of more students. Of course, you can find our very active LinkedIn, our email newsletter goes out monthly, and yes — we even have a Facebook page, if that’s your jam. See all our channels — Connect with Us page.
Mentor-Connect: Want a Mentor Who Can Help You Land an NSF ATE Grant?
Learn how mentoring works at the September 23 orientation webinar — REGISTER HERE — then apply for 2027 cohort mentoring by November 6. There’s a great story from Brad Chinn on LinkedIn where he explains why its important to “Avoid the “trials and tribulations” of writing an ATE grant proposal alone.“
For Instructors: Two New Resources
Cornell NanoScale Facility’s VR cleanroom training gives students hands-on cleanroom exposure without needing lab access — a great fit if you’re short on facility time. Explore VR Training.
Pair it with NNCI’s educator resource hub, which offers ready-to-use curriculum and lesson plans for K–16 classrooms. Browse Educator Resources.
Academic Partners Section Refreshed
Our Academic Partners is about to get an update: welcoming Roy Ingram and Greg Mlynar into the network. Take a look at who’s part of the MNT-EC ecosystem on the Educators page, jump “below the fold” (as in scroll down the page).
Caltech Connection Applications Open Sept 14–28
Caltech Connection is a near-peer mentorship program pairing LA-area community college STEM students with Caltech grad student or postdoc mentors for 1:1 meetings throughout the academic year, built for students without formal research/lab experience, culminating in a poster presentation at Caltech.
The official application window is September 14–28, 2026. Apply here — see the FAQs for common questions.
Free Semiconductor Training + Scholarships (RIT Certified)
RIT Certified’s Semiconductor Career Accelerator is a series of four, eight-week, fully online courses building practical, industry-relevant skills in semiconductor technology and manufacturing — suitable for learners at different levels, including current community college students and alumni.
Through NNME support, a limited number of full scholarships are available to cover the entire cost of training. Learn more and apply.
SICK$10K Challenge — 2026-2027 Season Now Open
The 8th annual SICK$10K Challenge, hosted by SICK, Inc., is open for the 2026–2027 academic year. SICK will select fifteen student teams and provide each with a picoScan compact 2D LiDAR unit — yours to keep after the contest wraps in April 2027. Teams compete to build a new application for the scanner in any industry, with up to $10,000 cash on the line. It’s also a natural fit for a capstone or senior design project.
Register your team here. Past entries and winners are on YouTube.
NNME Southwest: Free Workforce Training Modules This Fall
Through NNME Southwest, the Engineering Pathway Program and the Southern California Semiconductor Manufacturing Education (SoCal SME) Network are offering hands-on Intro to Microfabrication modules — in-person lectures plus afternoon lab training — at five sites this fall: UCLA, UCI, UCR, UCSD, and USC, running four Friday sessions each between October and December 2026.
Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, so apply early via cnsi.ucla.edu/nnme-socal.
J-ATE Authors & Editors: Join Us on Capitol Hill
Congratulations to our J-ATE published authors! We’re inviting J-ATE authors and editors to join a Capitol Hill visit on Wednesday, October 21 (morning, ahead of the NSF ATE PI Conference) to share your project’s impact directly with your Senator or Representative’s office — one of the most effective ways to help policymakers understand the real-world value of ATE-funded work.
A prep webinar, “Sharing the Impact of ATE on Capitol Hill,” runs Wednesday, September 30, 2–3pm EDT. REGISTER HERE. Hard copies of the Journal of Advanced Technological Education are available to hand-deliver during your meetings.
RSVP by October 1 by email to Peter Kazarinoff, Editor-in-Chief, J-ATE.
TechConnect World 2027: Horizons Workforce Development Program
TechConnect is launching the Horizons Workforce Development Program at TechConnect World Innovation Conference, March 23–25, 2027, in Boston, MA — focused on artificial intelligence, quantum science and engineering, and advanced manufacturing. Open to anyone from community college through graduate school, the program includes student-industry speed networking, a career awareness fair, career panels, technical tutorials, and student poster sessions.
Travel grants for students and educators and the industry participation questionnaire are both due November 6, 2026. Learn more.
Here’s the PDF to view or download (for sharing, hint hint!!!):
Talking Technicians: Meet Ed
In this episode, you’ll meet Ed. Ed is a Clean Room Production Technician at New York Creates in Albany, NY, who went from Level 1 operator to production tech in just two years. Listen Now
