Central Arizona College Receives $225,000 Grant Award from National Science Foundation

By Angela Askey, Executive Director of Public Relations & Marketing

Central Arizona College has been awarded a $225,000 Advanced Technological Education (ATE) award from the National Science Foundation to assist in the development of curriculum for an advanced fabrication and joining program to prepare Advanced Welding Process Technicians.

The goal of this project is to encourage students from minority backgrounds in Pinal County to pursue a career field focusing on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The advanced fabrication and joining program will offer students training in welding inspection, welding metallurgy, rotary and track welding, high deposition welding, and orbit and precision GTAW, among other specialist areas.

CAC’s proposed advanced welding and fabrication program will be a “third-year” certificate program designed to increase the skills of both welders/incumbent workers and students who have completed a certificate in traditional structural or pipe welding at a community college.

The success of this grant award is an outcome of working collaboratively with Science Foundation Arizona through the KickStarter Process, under National Science Foundation Grant No. HRD-1450661.

For additional information about the advanced fabrication and joining program, please contact Hugo Steincamp at 520-494-5044.