Undergraduates, Veterans Learn About Advanced Manufacturing

For nearly two months, Daniel Daugherty immersed himself in research surrounding conductive polymers.

He’s tested various formulations of particular polymers to produce a film on materials that is relatively thin, transparent and sufficiently conductive. Through this work he’s gained a general knowledge of conductive polymers and learned about atomic force microscopy and constructing electrochemical cells.

He’s done all this as an undergraduate student.

Daugherty is one of 10 undergraduate students from across the country spending the summer at Georgia Tech learning about the fundamental principles of advanced manufacturing science and technology.

The Georgia Tech Manufacturing Institute runs the program, which targets veterans and underrepresented minorities. Daugherty, who served in the U.S. Army and is now a student at Georgia Perimeter College, is one of five veterans participating in Research Experience for Student Veterans in Advanced Manufacturing and Entrepreneurship (REVAMP).

Daugherty, 28, hopes to transfer to Georgia Tech and study materials science and engineering. He’s enjoyed conducting research.

“It probably helps that I’ve had a good deal of success, but that’s really just luck,” he said. “Sometimes you're lucky, sometimes you're not. If you're not lucky, that doesn't mean it was bad research or a waste of time, it just means that you've learned something that you maybe didn't expect, even if it is only what not to do."

A three-year grant from the National Science Foundation supports the program, which provides students with a $5,000 stipend, on-campus housing, hands-on manufacturing research, leadership skills and entrepreneurship training.

This is the program’s second year and organizers received about 50 applications for the 10 slots, said John Morehouse, director of Manufacturing Programs and Partnerships at GTMI, and co-principal investigator for REVAMP.

“This allows us to leverage what we’re doing on campus to enhance manufacturing education,” Morehouse said. “Students learn the latest manufacturing techniques and gain hands-on experience to prepare them for the workforce.”

Salah Mousa, a chemical engineering major from the University of Arizona, joined REVAMP to learn about current manufacturing techniques. The 31-year-old served in the airborne infantry and was interested in manufacturing research.

“This is the first time in college where being a veteran has given me an edge over the competition,” he said.  

Some students, like Brittany Robinson, knew little about advanced manufacturing before the program. Robinson, 28, is working toward an associate’s degree from St. Petersburg College in Florida and is interested in orthotics and prosthetics.

“Learning about research here is the best thing to happen to me,” she said.

She aspires to publish her research, work with veterans and maybe even open her own business.

“My dreams have gotten bigger just by being here,” she said.