Integrative strategy
The NewFoS Education and Broadening Participation (E&BP) program is built around four interconnected activities that integrate education, workforce preparation, and knowledge transfer with research. These activities include the development of an authoritative, context-based Topological Acoustics (TA) textbook and accompanying digital resources to support instruction and establish a foundation for the TA field; a Community College Workshop that provides accessible entry points into TA pathways and introduces students to careers in the TA workforce; the Research Experience and Mentoring (REM) program, which cultivates the next generation of TA researchers by engaging undergraduates in immersive research experiences paired with structured mentoring; and Leadership Programs that prepare participants to become leaders in science and society by strengthening professional skills, mentoring capacity, and leadership abilities—critical components of sustaining a skilled TA workforce. Together, these efforts form a convergence education program that connects researchers, educators, and students, supports knowledge transfer within NewFoS and across the broader scientific community, and sustains a mentoring ecosystem that integrates research with workforce development goals.
Education and Broadening Participation Goals
The Education and Broadening Participation (E&BP) goals of NewFoS are reflected in the activities that are already underway across the center.
Education (Convergence Education) Goal: NewFoS is broadening the impact of its research through a convergence education program that develops pedagogical and Topological Acoustics (TA) resources designed to serve the next 50+ years of acoustic education. A central effort is the creation of an authoritative TA textbook and accompanying digital resources, which will provide the foundation for teaching and learning in the field and support the growth of the TA workforce in both research and industry.
Broadening Participation (Mentoring Ecosystem) Goal: NewFoS is strengthening and sustaining the TA workforce through a mentoring ecosystem that connects research experiences with workforce preparation. This ecosystem creates structured pathways into TA research and professional opportunities, ensuring participants gain the skills, experiences, and guidance necessary to succeed as future leaders in the field.
To establish the executable common scientific and technical language critical to advance TA research and applications through interdisciplinary developments with accompanying curricula that will educate and train a culturally and technically skilled workforce to translate TA innovations and entrepreneurship within the contexts of societal impacts and values. Textbook approach will be to create chapters that are ‘bite-size’ or modular in approach and cover concepts written around simple systems/models. The chapters ramp up in complexity. This could mean 100+ small chapters. Chapters will fall into one of 4 categories: Basic Concepts, Fundamental TA, Methods, and Applications.
Objectives:
Engage researchers in thinking through the writing of the TA textbook for use in teaching TA to undergraduate (UG) and graduate students.
Bring in real-world community needs, concerns, and issues that TA can solve by including examples of societal impacts that benefit society.
Provide examples of cultural relevance in both the language and example resources found in the textbook content.
Output: TA modular textbook with supporting digital resources.
Outcome: NewFoS will produce a new generation of educational materials for the science and societal application of topological acoustics.
To gain a strong sense of belonging in STEM, NewFoS, and higher education, and opportunities for rich careers in STEM-related fields. Community College participants will participate in a 30-35 hour engagement experience that will introduce them to the different research taking place. They will be given real-time tours of labs at other locations as well as participate in local lab experiences.
Objectives:
Engage community college students in NewFoS in a way that is culturally and societally relevant.
Introduce community college students to the research activities of the center.
Output: A 30-35 hour engagement experience will be designed. Video tours will be recorded and posted online.
Outcome: NewFoS will grow a new workforce trained with working knowledge of topological acoustics and its role to address real world problems in information science, telecommunication, and sensing. NewFoS recruits and retains students (UG & grads) and post-docs into TA pathways.
To create an immersive experience to foster undergraduate pathways into TA research opportunities. We do this by introducing students to TA from a societally relevance lens and bringing in their own experiences with sound to the projects and through team mentoring that includes researchers, educators, and staff thus building and strengthening the TA community.
Mentor training: To make us more aware of how we engage with students by recognizing the students’ assets and their lived experiences thus bringing in their sense of belonging in TA.
Objectives:
Engage and mentor UG students in NewFoS topological acoustics research and make it culturally and societally relevant.
Create immersive research experiences that help a student understand TA foundations, methodologies, and applications.
Outputs:
Introductory primers on TA basics and on ‘intro to research’ designed for open-source publication.
56 undergraduate students trained in TA research and professional development.
Primary researcher(s) at each university along with relevant graduate students and postdocs trained in culturally responsive mentoring
Outcome:
NewFoS researchers, staff, and students are a part of a robust team mentorship network to further student academic success through gaining technical and professional skills.
The NewFoS Leadership Programs strengthen the Topological Acoustics (TA) workforce by developing leadership identity, mentoring capacity, and professional skills across all levels of the Center. Through trainings, ambassador opportunities, student governance, and peer-led events, participants practice essential leadership skills that support both individual career success and the sustainability of the TA workforce.
- Student-Centered Leadership Training
In 2024-2025, NewFoS launched a center-wide Student-Centered Leadership (SCL) workshop series that engaged all members including students, staff, and faculty in exploring leadership roles and creating effective research and learning environments. Five modules addressed topics such as leadership in STEM labs, identity and belonging in research teams, cross-cultural mentoring, faculty as mentors and lab leaders, and growth mindset and self-efficacy. Participants developed tangible education products including lab onboarding protocols, mentoring agreements, video SOPs, and professional development tools that were immediately integrated into research and mentoring practice. Future SCL trainings will build on this foundation with a focus on mentoring skills, professional communication, and applied leadership for graduate students and postdocs. - Leadership Ambassador Program
Each year, NewFoS selects two participants from across its partner institutions to take part in the University of Arizona Leadership Ambassador Program. Ambassadors join a cohort of emerging leaders, attend quarterly training sessions, and design professional development activities to share with the Center. This program cultivates leadership skills while expanding NewFoS’s capacity to connect its participants with professional development opportunities. - Student Council
Established in Fall 2024, the Student Council provides formal representation for students and postdocs across partner institutions. The Council created a charter, elected leadership, and organized activities across three tracks: outreach, industry engagement, and faculty collaboration. Members are pursuing initiatives such as improving NewFoS social media and outreach, connecting with industry partners, and shaping faculty-focused content. The Council develops organizational, communication, and governance skills while ensuring student voices contribute to Center decision-making. - Peer Symposium
The Peer Symposium is a student-organized event designed to enhance scientific communication and foster collaboration. Students present research to their peers, receive constructive feedback, and practice skills essential for professional meetings. The symposium strengthens the research community within NewFoS and prepares students for participation in the broader scientific workforce.
These programs ensure that NewFoS participants including students, postdocs, staff, and faculty are advancing as leaders while contributing to the cultivation of a skilled and sustainable TA workforce.