News about Automotive

For a decade, Pennsylvania College of Technology’s Baja SAE team has placed among the nation’s elite in grueling endurance races. After Baja SAE Tennessee Tech, the team reigns supreme.

Penn College topped a 72-car field in Cookeville, Tennessee, on Sunday to win the endurance race for the first time, besting the likes of Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue, Cornell, Rochester Institute of Technology, Case Western Reserve, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, Clemson, Auburn and Texas A&M. The four-hour race, consisting of rugged terrain and tight turns, is Baja SAE’s marquee event.

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Sharing the pride and sense of family that come with wearing his soccer team’s uniform, as well as the alluringly tactile focus of his chosen career path, Colton N. Wartman is the latest Penn College student-athlete illuminated by the Wildcat Spotlight. “They call your name, you step out, you’ve got the logo on your chest,” the automotive technology management student from Ellicott City, Maryland, says in a 2½-minute YouTube video. “It’s a cool moment to just stand there, be recognized and … represent your school.”

Lynda Livingston, a member of the Pennsylvania College of Technology Board of Directors, has established an automotive scholarship at the college in memory of her father.

The Pepper-Livingston Memorial Automotive Scholarship honors the memory of Duane F. Pepper, who owned and operated Pepper’s Body Shop in Franklin Township, Bradford County.

The scholarship supports incoming students from Lycoming or Bradford counties who are pursuing their education in automotive majors at Penn College. It is renewable for up to four years and includes support to offset costs for recipients to complete their automotive internships.

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Members of Pennsylvania College of Technology’s Baja SAE team hope their performance at the recent Baja Butler Bash is a preview of what’s to come in full-scale competitions next spring.

The college’s two cars dominated the four-hour endurance race at the one-day event hosted by Grove City College. Its car from last spring’s race in Louisville finished 15 laps ahead of the second-place entry – the college’s reassembled car from 2016-18.

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An engineering manager at TE Connectivity facilitated the donation of electronic components to a number of instructional areas at Pennsylvania College of Technology, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in plastics and polymer engineering technology in May 2004.

William J. “Will” Moyer II, based at the company’s Middletown location, worked with Elizabeth A. Biddle, the college’s director of corporate relations, to put a variety of products into the hands of tomorrow’s industry professionals. Campus beneficiaries include students in electronics, mechatronics, electrical, aviation, automotive, diesel, manufacturing/machining, and at the Dr. Welch Workshop: a Makerspace at Penn College.

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Lycoming Engines, a decades-long partner of Pennsylvania College of Technology, is once again offering financial support to a student organization competing in a prestigious off-road racing venue. The company also served as a sponsor for the Penn College Spring 2021 Car Show.

Students in Penn College’s Baja SAE club have registered 10 top 10 endurance race finishes since 2011 in the Society of Automotive Engineers annual marquee event. The most recent competition represented the best overall performance in the team’s 16-year history.

The college has excelled in the Baja SAE competitions, for which students design and build a single-seat, off-road vehicle to survive a battery of performance tests, including a four-hour endurance race over rough terrain. Approximately 100 colleges and universities from around the world compete.

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Ciocca Dealerships has established a scholarship at Pennsylvania College of Technology for students in two- and four-year automotive programs.

The Ciocca Dealerships Scholarship will provide two $1,000 awards to students in the automotive technology associate degree programs and two $1,000 awards to students in the automotive technology management baccalaureate degree program.

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Considering a career in automotive? You’ve come to the right place! In this YouTube video, you’ll get a snapshot of the power-packed programs at Penn College. Meet automotive instructor Joe Tavani, and take a look inside lab spaces loaded with specialized tools and equipment just like you’ll find in the real world. With small class sizes, intensive hands-on lab experiences, true-to-life internships and the support of dedicated faculty, a degree from Penn College is your ticket to a boundless future. “You can go anywhere in the world – not just in the United States – but anywhere in the world, and have a job,” Tavani says.  “You don’t necessarily speak the language, but you speak the language of the automobile. And if you can fix that, repair that, diagnose that? That, on its own, will get you … wherever you want to go.”

Lockheed Martin Corp. has awarded vocational scholarships of $6,600 each to nine Pennsylvania College of Technology students.

The students are among 150 to receive financial assistance toward their pursuit of associate degrees, credit-bearing certificates or industry-recognized credentials in cutting-edge technology and advanced manufacturing fields. Penn College had the second-highest number of awardees in the Lockheed Martin Vocational Training Scholarship program, a first of its kind within the aerospace and defense industries.

“I was pleased to see Lockheed Martin’s awarding of scholarships to so many Penn College students,” said Bradley M. Webb, dean of engineering technologies. “This recognizes the critical role the college plays in bolstering America’s skilled technical workforce, and the focus our students have on building the future.”

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A new virtual tour allows a look inside the expansive collision repair and automotive restoration training grounds at Penn College. See aspiring technicians in action. Hear from co-department heads Shaun D. Hack and Roy H. Klinger, passionate faculty with real-world experience. And learn how Wildcats are perfecting their craft, one hands-on lesson at a time, thanks to such partners as Nationwide Insurance, Honda and a number of automobile museums. Collision repair is “a rewarding field because you get to experience a lot of different things, a lot of different scenarios,” Hack says. “Never gets boring!” On the other side of the College Avenue Labs instructional space, Klinger notes, restoration “is a unique program that allows a student to be able to take the technologies of today and implement them into a car of significance, which can be preserved for many years to come. You almost can’t put a price on preserving history.” Learn more about the program through the School of Engineering Technologies.

More than a half-dozen Pre-College Programs attracted a knowledge-hungry host of teenagers to Penn College’s campuses in recent days, the season opener for high schoolers’ exposure to next-level academics. Campers were engaged and enlightened among the week’s bountiful offerings: Architecture Odyssey, Automotive, Aviation, Engineering, Future Restaurateurs, Health Careers and Information Technology. A second week – inviting more students to test the waters of collegiate opportunity through hands-on learning – will begin July 18.

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The June 2 appearance by a member of Penn College’s faculty on WITF’s interactive “Smart Talk” radio program has been added to the Harrisburg public broadcasting station’s website. Christopher H. Van Stavoren, assistant professor of automotive technology, spoke with Scott LaMar during the second half of the episode (beginning at about the 26:30 mark) on the topic of “Understanding Electric Vehicle Technology.” He answered questions from the host and listeners about efficiency, infrastructure and cost, closing with confidence that Penn College automotive students leave campus well-equipped to handle all manner of vehicles: conventional, hybrid and electric. Van Stavoren – who teaches such courses as Automotive Electrical Fundamentals, Powertrain Electronics and Engine Electrical Systems – has served on the college faculty since 1999.

After a year’s absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Pennsylvania College of Technology’s Baja SAE team returned to action with a flourish, posting four top-10 results at Baja SAE Louisville.

The recent Society of Automotive Engineers competition – hosted by the University of Louisville – required students to design and build a single-seat, all-terrain sporting vehicle to meet various challenges. Penn College topped several prominent colleges and universities in the 78-car field, including Ohio State, Michigan, Notre Dame, Northwestern, Auburn, Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech.

In dynamic events, Penn College finished first (acceleration), fourth (suspension) and eighth (maneuverability) before capping the competition with a third-place showing in the endurance race, considered Baja SAE’s toughest test.

The overall performance was Penn College’s best in the team’s 16-year history.

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Automotive aficionados reveled among kindred spirits Saturday at Penn College, where a variety of four-wheeled student organizations hosted an expansive Spring Car Show on the Carl Building Technologies Center parking lot. An estimated 130 entrants were on display during the 10-a.m.-to-4-p.m. event, the cooperative brainchild of the Penn College Motorsports Association, PCT 4×4, Penn College Classic Cruisers, Penn College Diesel Performance Club and the Baja SAE team. Lycoming Engines, a longtime supporter of the college – and employer of its graduates – was the “Club’s Choice Award Sponsor” for the day, providing trophies to the winners.

The first of this month’s three Spring Visit Days was held Saturday, giving prospective students a comprehensive peek at Penn College while adhering to pandemic-imposed limitations on attendance. (The Admissions Office will host additional visitation events on Saturday and Sunday, April 24-25.) Attendees began their day with check-in and a presentation in the Klump Academic Center, followed by lab tours in selected academic areas. Optional activities added to participants’ feel for the breadth of life on the vibrant and verdant campus: housing, financial aid, tutoring and other academic support, athletics, placement testing, advisement and scheduling, student organizations, disability services, veterans benefits and dining options. More information about visiting campus is available by contacting Admissions.