Cyber-physical systems (CPS), are smart networked systems that have cyber technologies, both hardware and software, deeply embedded in, and interacting with, physical components. CPS represent a core opportunity area and source of competitive advantage for the U.S. innovation economy in the 21st century. A highly skilled science and engineering workforce is needed to design and build CPS, in which cyber and physical components must be tightly integrated into complex, networked systems that must respond in real (physical) time and interoperate safely and securely. This NSF award supports a study, conducted by the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board under the auspices of the National Research Council of the National Academies, that will examine current and future needs in education for Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS).
Two workshops are being convened to gather input and foster dialogue, yielding a brief interim report prepared to highlight emerging themes. The committee's final report will articulate a vision for a 2l-st century CPS-capable U.S. workforce. It will explore the corresponding educational requirements, examine efforts already under way, and propose strategies and programs to develop faculty and teachers, materials, and curricula. It would consider core, cross-domain, and domain-specific knowledge. It would consider the multiple disciplines that are relevant to CPS and how to foster multidisciplinary study and work. In conducting the study, the committee would focus on undergraduate education and also consider implications for graduate education, workforce training and certification, community colleges, the K-12 pipeline, and informal education. It would emphasize the skills needed for the CPS scientific, engineering, and technical workforce but would also consider broader needs for CPS fluency.
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National Academy of Sciences
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National Science Foundation