The goal of this certificate is to give students and working professionals an opportunity to broaden their technical knowledge while contributing to regional economic development. Two real-world projects—one for a client and one for the student’s own pursuits—are combined with a series of six short courses to provide both context and substance for gaining knowledge needed to create technical prototypes. The model is based on the method by which most physical science graduate students learn technical domains on a  “just-in-time” basis. It is also a method by which many corporations quickly bring new project team members up to speed on project knowledge. Entry into the certificate program requires prior completion of two semesters of calculus-based physics and two semesters of calculus or permission of the certificate advisor.