STEAM Engine
Recap for Senior Personnel Jeff Burke
UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television December 1, 2022
UCLA Challenge | National Gap
Limited resources for students and faculty to meaningfully engage with emerging technologies’ impact on the creative fields. National gap in federal investment in pre-commercial research and equitable workforce development for the creative sector, despite its rapidly increasing dependence on advanced technology.
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NSF Regional Innovation Engines
New federal funding program providing
up to $160M/10 years to develop local ecosystems.
Los Angeles is uniquely positioned to pursue an equitable vision for the future of creative work.
Opportunity to create a leadership position for UCLA and its regional partners.
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https://beta.nsf.gov/funding/initiatives/regional-innovation-engines
Our Proposal: STEAM Engine
NSF should invest using similar strategies to advanced manufacturing.
• Creative work is becoming inseparable from complex software and systems.
• Gulf between users vs. creators of technology is immense and growing.
• Need hands-on, pre-commercial innovation that trains a diverse, competitive workforce.
STEAM Engine
UCLA-led center of excellence in research, production, and training at the intersection of technology and creativity.
• Three LA-area research studios produce creative work for public audiences driving research, training, curriculum.
• Four lablets work on fundamental challenges with the research studios as customers.
• Membership consortium for industry and non-profits, with access to talent and results, input on direction.
• Curricular integration at participating universities and community colleges.
• Extensions across the Southwest region.
Proposed Academic Team
Focus Areas
Activities focused on three “key technology focus areas” for NSF Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships in the CHIPS+ Act of 2022: • Immersive technology (e.g., Extended Reality) • Artificial intelligence • Advanced computer software (e.g., creative coding)
Existing Ecosystem 7 STEM TRAINING CREATIVE SECTOR TECH SECTOR PRODUCTS & SERVICES COMMERCIAL PRODUCTION Joint Innovation Dominated by Near-Term Market Opps. AME TRAINING EDUCATION SECTOR STEM RESEARCH Existing NSF Investments No National Connective Strategy > 9% GDP Limited federal investment in AME Research & Training Future Workforce (STEM Interest) > 4% GDP STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math AME: Arts, Media, Engertainment
Enhanced Ecosystem 8 STEM TRAINING CREATIVE SECTOR TECH SECTOR PRODUCTS & SERVICES COMMERCIAL PRODUCTION AME TRAINING EDUCATION SECTOR STEAM RESEARCH + TRAINING TRANSLATIONAL INNOVATION STEM RESEARCH > 9% GDP > 4% GDP Southwest STEAM Engine Future Workforce (STEM Interest) Future Workforce (AME Interest) STEAM: Science, technology, engineering, arts, and math
Societal, National and Geostrategic Challenges*
US national security.
US manufacturing and industrial productivity.
STEAM Engine North Star Objectives
Innovation Responsibility Openness
Incorporate information security advances into Engine projects.
Consider audience and worker privacy protections.
US workforce development and skills gaps.
Create what can't be made elsewhere, but can someday be made anywhere in the nation.
Drive activity to societal needs within the region.
Build national capacity and regional expertise via new communities of practice.
Inequitable access to education, opportunity, or other services
Build teams based on project need rather than existing structures.
Do projects that inspire a diverse workforce.
Create room for learning from failure.
Climate change and environmental sustainability.
Provide multiple pathways into Engine projects and outcomes.
Share curriculum foundations for adaptation across the region.
Focus on work where the Engine can share processes and results.
Identify sustainability best practices for Engine developments.
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Balance impacts across shortand long-term.
Evaluate impact of Engine advances.
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CHIPS+ Act,
Studio Project Model
Studios • AI as Human Expression (AI-X) • Experience Design and Immersive Technology (EDIT) • Creative Coding for Complex Systems (C3S) Annual Engine federal direct cost budget by Year 3 of $2M+/ea. Names may evolve but scope will stay consistent. 11 Lablets • Audience Modeling • Future System Paradigms • Real-time Completeness (Y3+) • Trust & Transactions (Y3+) $200k+ ea/yr. by Year 3.
12 CEO / PD CCO (50%) CTO (50%) COO Governance Board CIO / CISO (50%) CPO (50%) Advisory Board Finance / Fund Manager Director, NetOps and Admin IT Director, DevOps and Production IT Head of Application Engineering Purchasing / Accounting Analyst Director, Human Resources Counsel (via UCLA) Director, Residencies and Professional Development Director, K-12 Pathways (50%) Director, PostTraditional Pathways (50%) IT and AV Support Director, Evaluation (50%) Site Director(s), Facilities and Operations (25%) Head of Studio Operations Site Production Manager(s) Director, Events and Marketing (50%) Lablet Director (25%) Lablet Manager (50%) Director, Development (UCLA EA) Site Director, Production IT Director, IP and Partnership Agreements (50%) Director, Engine Community Project Leads Project Teams Head of Studio Project Manager(s) Application Engineering Team Y3+ Y3+ Y3+ Y3+ Y3+ Y3+ Y3+ Studio R&D and Site Leads (Co-PIs) Director, Technology Transfer (50%) Director, STEAM Cloud / Open Source CommunitiesY3+ Lablet Team Evaluation Team Y3+ Per Studio Per Lablet
Jeff Burke Associate Dean, Research & Technology UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television jburke@ucla.edu
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Thank you!