Automotive Instructors Return to Campus for Conference
Published 07.23.2018
– Photos by Cindy Davis Meixel, writer/photo editor, and Larry D. Kauffman, digital publishing specialist/photographer
Penn College President Davie Jane Gilmour welcomes NACAT members to their organization's 45th annual conference, again held at the home of one of America's longest continuous automotive programs.
A veteran of many NACAT conferences, Dale E. Jaenke (left) – soon to retire after 22 years on the college's automotive faculty – talks with council President Patrick Brown-Harrison.
More than 200 NACAT members, assembling in Penn's Inn for the opening business meeting, hear from Walter V. Gower, assistant dean of transportation and natural resources technologies.
Keynoter Sean Brennan, a professor in Penn State's College of Engineering, discusses several interlocking developments regarding autonomous vehicles – "any one of which would be the most profound change in the automotive field in the last century."
Chris Van Batenburg, CEO and founder of the Automotive Career Development Center, greets a full house for a seminar on "Tesla ... what we know technically so far."
Collision repair instructor Loren R. Bruckhart (right) oversees a hands-on exercise by University of Hawai‘i Maui College faculty members Thomas K. Hussey (foreground) and Lawrence K. Martinson in the "Automotive Adhesives Repair" workship in College Avenue Labs.
Walter V. Gower (left), assistant dean of transportation and natural resources technologies, and Daniels test the two-lane track ... which has sensors and lights at the finish line to indicate the winner of each heat.
James W. Daniels, automotive toolroom attendant and two-time Penn College alumnus, carefully puts a distinctive finishing touches on the track for July 24's Valve Cover Races. The track was built by Barney A. Kahn IV, building construction technology instructor, with crucial help from Marc E. Bridgens, associate professor of HVAC technology, and Allan M. Meck, electronics service specialist.
More than two dozen exhibitors fill the Field House floor to share their wares and wherefores.
Juliet Marshall, of Specialty Equipment Market Association, engages a visitor.
Kevin Boden, president of ConsuLab, discusses the company's repertoire of training aids.
Among Megatech Corp.'s instructional equipment is a diagnostic trainer complete with institutional logo.
An array of products is displayed by Nouri Dassi, president of NADA Scientific Ltd.
... whose booth included a display of makeshift racers.
Attendees learn about Electude's e-learning offerings.
Conference participants talk with Ethan Shipp, of ATech Training Inc. ...
The college's impressive Honda PACT lab provides the setting for a session on "Replacement and Calibration of Honda and Acura Advanced Driver Assistance Systems."