Last fall, the first cohort of students arrived on Grounds for the University of Virginia School of Engineering's novel graduate program in cyber-physical systems. The National Science Foundation-funded Research Traineeship program in cyber-physical systems is the first of its kind in the country,  developed by UVA Engineering faculty who conduct research and education in the school'sLink Lab. The program, which includes fellowships for Ph.D. students and a proposal for a new master's degree, is expected to become the national model for graduate level cyber-physical systems education. Link Lab faculty received the$3 million National Science Foundation grantin 2018. John A. Stankovic, BP America Professor of computer science and director of the Link Lab, has been a leading voice for redesigning traditional curriculum to prepare engineers and computer scientists for the onslaught of technologies at the intersection of the physical and cyber worlds. He is the principal investigator on the grant. “Brand new ideas and teaching methods are needed, because today's engineering research requires a multidisciplinary approach and an understanding of how to address social impacts,†said Stankovic. “The Link Lab is a physical space that allows us to demonstrate to our students how cyber-physical systems research is being done in the 21st Century.†The cohort is immersed in theLink Lab's 17,000-square-foot cyber-physical systems research incubatorwhere close to 40 faculty and more than 200 graduate researchers are collaborating toward discoveries in smart cities, smart and connected health and autonomous systems. Curriculum includes public policy, ethics and other social sciences, touching on the need to understand human-computer interactions, societal impacts and human-in-the loop aspects of cyber technologies. Professional development too is woven into the educational track. Stankovic addressed the inaugural cohort as “pioneers†in his orientation presentation. “Cyber-physical systems represent a whole new way of engineering and requires a whole new way of educating future engineers,†he told them. The program's first cohort includes 27 graduate students from six UVA Engineering degree programs. Among those are nine National Science Foundation Ph.D. fellowship recipients. Some of the research fellows shared why they chose UVA Engineering's National Science Foundation Research Traineeship program: