At MIT, the Pappalardo Apprentice program gives selected juniors and seniors an immersive fabrication experience that goes beyond typical classroom labs. The initiative, run through the Pappalardo Undergraduate Teaching Laboratories, pairs advanced fabrication training with peer mentoring, shop leadership, and real project work. Participants gain practical skills in machining, hand tools, materials processing, pattern-making, and casting while supporting younger students in mechanical engineering labs, tells MIT News.
The program was created by professor and senior lecturer Daniel Braunstein to address a need for experienced lab help in a sophomore design course and to satisfy upper-class students’ desire for a deeper shop experience. Apprentices contribute to the lab’s operations while sharpening their own fabrication abilities under the guidance of instructors and through structured seminars. Topics include machine setup, material selection, chip formation, and physical metallurgy—essential foundations for students who plan to work in design, manufacturing, or engineering research.
What sets this apprenticeship apart is its blend of teaching and doing. Students act as both learners and mentors. They help peers in 2.007, an iconic MIT design and fabrication course, with tasks such as machining parts, brainstorming solutions, and ensuring safe, productive shop practices. At the same time, apprentices tackle their own projects, such as casting metal or building mechanical components from scratch.
Beyond technical abilities, the program fosters leadership, collaboration, and self-directed learning. In weekly seminars and practicums, students refine craft techniques and internalize shop best practices. This combination of hands-on work, teaching responsibilities, and structured training aims to produce graduates with both confidence and competence in the physical side of engineering, skills that are increasingly valued in industry and research.