ATE Announces 1999 Awards and Activities

During its six years in operation, the Advanced Technological Education (ATE) Program has awarded more than $150 million in grants to strengthen the education of technicians for the high tech fields driving our economy. The ATE Program is managed jointly by the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Division of Undergraduate Education and the Division of Elementary, Secondary, and Informal Education.

The recently released 1999 Awards and Activities for the ATE Program shows the diversity of projects funded in effort to prepare technicians for rewarding careers in strategic technology fields. The program supports the development and dissemination of educational materials and curricula, professional development of college faculty and secondary school teachers, and technical internships for students. In FY1999, 164 projects were funded and 11 Centers of Excellence received continued funding.

ATE-funded projects and centers focus on science-related technologies, engineering and computer technologies, core mathematics and science, and special projects. Two-year colleges are expected to play a role in the projects. Collaboration among secondary schools, two-year colleges, four-year colleges and universities, businesses and industries, and government organizations is encouraged. The Centers of Excellence focus on systematic approaches to technician education usually in a specific discipline.

The 1999 listing includes a brief description of each center of excellence, award amount, its principal investigator, and contact information. The new projects also are listed with the same level of detail as the centers. Other NSF programs co-funded by ATE are described. The document contains notable achievements, maps illustrating the distribution of awards, and awards by field of technology, by state, and by principal investigator.

The full report can be downloaded at http://www.nsf.gov/cgi-bin