Foreign Exchange Students through Participation in MEMS and Micro-Robotic Research Projects

Abstract- Foreign student and faculty exchanges are an excellent vehicle for training a global engineering workforce. The high degree of technical specialization of engineering laboratories, however, often leads to inability to attract a large cohort of foreign students due to their diverse technical interests, and therefore, limits the impact of the exchange program. This paper describes an innovative use of micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) and micro-robotics research as an educational vehicle attracting students from all engineering disciplines. Several recently developed projects and courses developed at the University of Arizona and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH-Zurich) are described. These include design and fabrication of a pressure and force sensors, development of micro-robots with a bio-compatible coating, and optical cantilever-based gas sensor. The broad spectrum of these projects provided ample opportunities for involvement of students and faculty of almost any technical background. Recent examples include 13 Japanese students from Toyota Technological University attending a summer hands-on course at the University of Arizona, a French student applying diffusion-reaction models to a micro-robot coating process, and a visiting professor from Tuffs University participating in the development of software for control of the micro-robots at the ETH – Zurich. Opportunities to engage students with traditional engineering interests such as solid mechanics and fluid dynamics are also described in the context of the three projects via evaluation of the typical mechanical engineering curriculum in US