NSF FF: Planning: AI-Enabled Virtual Reality Manufacturing Foundry to Spark High School Manufacturing Workforce Interest

Award ID: 2627659

This FINDERS Foundry award supports high school students exploration of modern manufacturing careers through an AI-enabled virtual reality platform. Most K-12 learners have few safe, accessible, and authentic opportunities to experience modern manufacturing because of safety risks, equipment costs, limited classroom infrastructure, and limited instructional time. This is a virtual reality platform where students learn workflows, practice decisionmaking, and interact with a clear, supportive AI mentor. The platform makes advanced manufacturing careers more visible, accessible, and motivating for high school students before they make postsecondary and career-pathway decisions. It will also help students see AI as a transparent learning support for feedback, reflection, and problem solving rather than as an opaque replacement for human reasoning. This FINDERS Foundry award advances knowledge at the intersection of immersive learning, AI-assisted education, human-centered design, and workforce-oriented STEM learning. The project investigates how a co-designed VR digital-twin environment can support students early understanding of manufacturing systems, safety norms, tool selection, drilling, milling, and basic workflows without requiring access to specialized equipment or prior technical expertise. Planned tasks include identifying student- and educator-informed barriers to manufacturing engagement and career perception; developing VR storyboards and interaction models for age-appropriate machining scenarios; defining AI-mentor behaviors that provide adaptive feedback, reflection prompts, and safety guidance and construct an evaluation framework. The Planning phase will also examine feasibility constraints related to VR hardware, usability, classroom integration, and transferability across school contexts. The resulting design artifacts and measurement framework will inform future research on scalable, technology-enabled STEM learning experiences. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

NSF Program Director: Lindsay Portnoy