News about Construction & Design Technologies

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Tape measure at the ready, Andrew R. Hurd, a building construction technology student from Spring Mills, assesses a visitor's block-laying performance.

Luse shares pointers with Julia R. Straub, a Penn State student well-acquainted with construction through her family's experience in the field. "I've been playing with plumbing since I was 8," she said, "but they never let me do the dirty work." Until now, that is!

Highly visible in neon T-shirts, building construction technology majors Ian R. Myers (left), of Morrisdale, and James G. Vile Jr., of Sheffield, supervise several courses of brickwork.

Keith C. Long, of Pitman, leads Penn State students through a longstanding crowd-pleaser: archway construction. Long is enrolled in building construction technology: masonry emphasis.

More than 30 landscape architecture students of David Goldberg and Marc Miller, assistant professors in Penn State’s Stuckeman School, visited the Construction Masonry Building on Thursday. The day’s guests received hands-on instruction in a variety of technique and materials, circulating among work stations and mentored by adept Penn College construction students. Instructors Robert P. Gresko and Glenn R. Luse rotated along with them, sharing encouragement and expertise, and industry supporters aided the cause – including Spec Mix, which is also supplying mortar for the nearby expansion of welding labs. Architecture majors from University Park visit the college’s School of Construction & Design Technologies twice a year, getting practical exposure to the craft involved in bringing their visionary plans into focus.

Penn College helps high schoolers build their future

With a skilled worker shortage presenting a tremendous opportunity for rewarding careers in the construction and design industry, Penn College’s inaugural “PA Build Your Future” event introduced those varied vocational possibilities to hundreds of high school students from throughout the state. Industry exhibitors – as well as college faculty, staff and students – offered participants “hands-on” experiences as a way to explore an exciting future. “If I’m running a company and I’m hiring and I need someone that’s an electrical assembler, I need to hire that person and have him or her start immediately and be as efficient as possible and get up to speed,” says Jeffrey C. Comitz, an applications engineer for Thermal Product Solutions (and a 2016 graduate in heating, ventilation and air conditioning design technology). “The days of, ‘Oh, OK, we’ll teach ’em, they’ll get it eventually’ … they’re over.”

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Future-seekers meet their match at Fall Open House

Savoring an autumn outing and academic exploration

Fall Open House visitors had unfettered access to Penn College’s vibrant campuses Sunday, as today’s faculty/staff, alumni and students provided them with a tantalizing view of a very real and credible tomorrow. All six academic schools put out the welcome mat through information sessions, tours and laboratory demonstrations, and guests were encouraged to explore the institution’s myriad complementary services and activities.

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BE Scholars visit Larson Design Group

Built Environment Scholars tour LDG's Williamsport headquarters ...

... getting a real-world feel for their eventual careers.

The School of Construction & Design Technologies’ second-year cohort of Built Environment Scholars visited Larson Design Group on Tuesday. The 14 students – accompanied by Carol A. Lugg, dean, and Naim N. Jabbour, assistant dean – toured LDG’s newly renovated state-of-the-art office space in Water Tower Square, and had a discussion with project designer (and 2006 architectural technology alumna) Kara Demmien and Vice President Robert Gehr. Topics included the state of architectural practice today, as well as possible future trends, the importance of creating collaborative open environments, and the significance of an interdisciplinary team approach within the construction and design industry. The first-year students have been awarded scholarships through a $1 million National Science Foundation grant that aims to increase retention, graduation and career readiness for enrollees in Penn College’s STEM-focused majors. The 2018-19 class represents architectural technology; building construction technology; civil engineering technology; heating, ventilation and air conditioning technology; and surveying technology.
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Morgan Foundation grant pushes scholarship fund past $1 million

A second gift of $500,000 from the Tamaqua-based John E. Morgan Foundation has boosted an endowed scholarship fund at Pennsylvania College of Technology to more than $1 million.

The John E. Morgan Scholarship gives first preference to graduates of Tamaqua Area High School who are pursuing “a degree that is not readily available from other institutions, at a comparable price, within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.”

Examples of such programs offered at Penn College include, but are not limited to, culinary arts and systems, web and interactive media, building science and sustainable design, health information management, industrial design, plastics and polymer engineering technology, emergency management technology, and aviation maintenance technology.

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Hundreds of secondary students attend PA Build My Future

Drilling five wood screws into a board, a student from Northern Tier Career Center attempts to “beat the clock” in a timed Pennsylvania Builder Association contest.

​PA Build My Future – coordinated by Penn College’s Building Construction Technology Department, College Transitions, and the School of Construction & Design Technologies – hosted approximately 800 secondary students and their chaperones on campus Thursday. The day was designed to allow scores of businesses to engage the students through hands-on activities that display the breadth of opportunities in the construction and design industry, from skilled trades to management. Indoor exhibits were in the Carl Building Technologies Center, Hager Lifelong Education Center and Lycoming Engines Metal Trades Center; outdoor exhibits were offered on campus parking lots. WNEP’s Kristina Papa visited campus for the event, which is an outgrowth of a Homebuilding Education Leadership Program grant through the National Housing Endowment. Her report aired during Thursday evening newscasts, beginning at 5:30 p.m.

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Start building a Penn College future at Oct. 28 Open House

The Madigan Library (left) and Bush Campus Center are two of the facilities that visitors to Pennsylvania College of Technology may tour during Fall Open House on Sunday, Oct. 28.

Students looking for a bold next step in their educational journey are encouraged to attend an Oct. 28 Open House at Pennsylvania College of Technology, where “future made by hand” is a template for success.

“Visiting a college campus should be an experience. At Open House, students are able to touch, see and explore their future,” said Claire Z. Biggs, assistant director of admissions. “From the state-of-the-art labs to the knowledgeable faculty and staff, Penn College is the place to be if you want to be a tomorrow maker.”

The college will be open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. for prospective students and their families to explore more than 100 bachelor’s, associate and certificate programs. Free bus service will be available on the main campus in Williamsport, and shuttles will transport guests to and from the nearby Lumley Aviation and Schneebeli Earth Science centers throughout the day.

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The third time’s a charmer!

Enjoying the autumnal alumni evening (from left): Timothy D. Haldeman, ’11, manufacturing engineering technology; Michael D. Ferraiolo, ’10, aviation technology, and ‘11, aviation maintenance technology, and guest, Melyssa McHale; and Whitnie-rae (Mays) Haldeman, ’12, advertising art, and ’14, applied technology studies.

The disparate threads of Homecoming and Parent & Family Weekend were woven together again this fall, producing another seamless tapestry of fun and reconnection for graduates, current students and families. The third annual combined celebration kicked off with a Friday bonfire, tent party and Hall of Fame Banquet; continued Saturday with a presidential breakfast, Williamsport bus and trolley excursions, lab tours, a golf outing and on-campus sporting events, arts and crafts, and an alumni reunion at downtown nightspots; and concluded Sunday with more athletics and a fond farewell (until next year)!

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Setting the stage

Penn College graduates (from left) Jeffrey T. Feeman, Eric T. Metzler and Franklin N. Carr have found a calling at Sight & Sound Theatres, where audiences are awed by the on-stage results of their behind-the-scenes work.

Three alumni use their skills to craft scenery and on-stage technology for the panoramic stage at Sight & Sound Theatres in Lancaster.

From the Fall 2018 Penn College Magazine: Three graduates’ craftsmanship wows audiences of more than a million a year at Sight & Sound Theatres. Read “Setting the Stage.”

 

Concrete students stay on task, rain or shine

As Hintz and some of his students provide shelter from the storm, trowel-wielding construction majors smooth the freshly poured and leveled concrete.

Reber (in plaid shirt at left) supervises students running a screed board across the new sidewalk.

Sticking to the game plan in spite of earlier-than-expected showers, Concrete Construction students made “teamwork” their byword on Wednesday morning. With Centre Concrete’s conveyor truck in place south of the Bush Campus Center – and typical hands-on assistance from instructors Franklin H. Reber and Harry W. Hintz Jr. – the classes employed curricular know-how, common sense and a number of tarps to shield the new sidewalks from the elements during and after the pour. Providing opportunities to sharpen classroom skills in practical laboratory settings is a decades-old tradition across Penn College’s many disciplines, and this semester’s addition of a two-year degree in concrete science has only made that institutional hallmark more enduring.

Hard Work, Volunteer Spirit Fuel CMA’s Record-Setting Effort

CMA members celebrate their volunteer service with pictorial evidence of their record-setting accomplishment. (Courtesy of Rick Mason Photography)

More than a dozen Penn College construction management students returned to the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank this week, helping to pack boxes for the agency’s Military Share program. “A big shout-out to the Construction Management Association for joining in. They all had great attitudes and superb energy that motivated the rest of the group to keep going,” said Jenelle Longacre, the Food Bank’s volunteer project coordinator. “In fact, they helped this group to the point of breaking their own record of boxes packed during an event!” The old record was 950 boxes in 2½ hours; Tuesday’s group packed 970 boxes in an hour and 50 minutes. “Our volunteers are truly the heart of our mission,” added Longacre, who noted that the Food Bank delivers to seven sites in the Northern Tier. Penn College has a history of service to the nonprofit, with frequent visits from student organizations, fraternities and employees.

Child’s Dream Matches Penn College’s Mission

A school assignment required 9-year-old Trevin Allen to write about his dream. Rather than being a famous athlete, musician or movie star, the youngster expressed a desire to work as a computer designer in the plastics industry for SEKISUI SPI, which employs his father, Lucas L., a 2001 Penn College graduate in building construction technology. Trevin’s “essay” sparked a visit to main campus, where he experienced CAD, the new makerspace and various plastics labs. Trevin’s wish for applied technology education – offered by the likes of Penn College – matches the needs of the workforce, which is grappling with a shortage of skilled professionals. Many Penn College students, especially plastics majors, have jobs lined up well before graduation. The college has a 96 percent graduate placement rate. Trevin’s word to describe his visit? “Cool!”

Newscast Features Students’ Work on Veterans Memorial

Papa tells the story in front of a group of Penn College students who just completed their work for the morning.

Luse displays plans for the project for WNEP photographer Tom Durant.

WNEP-TV reporter Kristina Papa spent Friday morning with a group of Penn College students whose class project honors the ultimate sacrifice. Approximately 25 masonry, site preparation and concrete students are working three days a week in helping to construct a wall of monuments at Veterans Memorial Park in Williamsport. The memorial will honor those who served in wars prior to World War I. Papa’s story includes interviews with building construction technology students Ian R. Myers, of Morrisdale, and Kurtis J. Klodnicki, of Danville, as well as instructors Harry W. Hintz and Glenn R. Luse.
Photos by Tom Speicher, writer/video editor

‘Makerspace’ Formally Dedicated at Penn College

Marshall D. Welch III, his mother Mary and other family members enjoy the evening honoring the Welch patriarch.

Designed by students and funded by a forward-thinking group of individual and industry benefactors, a space designed to inspire interdisciplinary innovation and collaboration has opened its doors at Pennsylvania College of Technology.

Dedication ceremonies were held Aug. 14 for The Dr. Welch Workshop: A Makerspace at Penn College, a facility constructed in the Carl Building Technologies Center on the main campus.

Donors – as well as members of the college’s Board of Directors, Corporate Advisory Board, the Penn College Foundation Board and the campus community – gathered in the makerspace to hear about its genesis and to view, in makerspace parlance, its spaces for “clean” (computers, 3D printers, sewing machines and vinyl cutters, etc.) and “dirty” (saws, drill presses, routers, lathes and CNC mills) activities to take place within.

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Make Way for Tomorrow

Commemorating a man whose home workshop – "a place where wisdom and camaraderie were dispensed in equal measure" – was decades ahead of the "makerspace" concept

A makerspace, providing a fertile environment for innovation and imagination – and the tools with which students can turn visions into reality – was dedicated in Penn College’s Carl Building Technologies Center on Tuesday. The student-designed Dr. Welch Workshop memorializes Dr. Marshall Welch Jr., a local orthodontist and longtime philanthropist, who died in 2012. The Welch family, including son Marshall III, is the principal donor for the facility; George E. “Herman” Logue Jr. supported the so-called “dirty space” (the Logue Fabritorium) and Frederick T. Gilmour, faculty emeritus, made a commitment for the “clean space” (the Gilmour Tinkertorium). The ceremony spotlighted the students and faculty members who brainstormed the idea into existence, and included representative comments from Rob A. Wozniak, associate professor of architectural technology: “With the many students from various majors that will use this makerspace, it is hoped that they take the opportunity to collaborate with others. To create. To explore. To learn about the tools that they may otherwise never have been able to have access to. To try another way of doing something. To invent (and maybe even patent) something new! And, as a result, Penn College, the community and the world will all benefit … from this amazing collaborative effort.”

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Last updated August 15, 2018 | Posted in Alumni, Architectural Technology, Construction & Design Technologies, Faculty & Staff, Industrial Design, Industrial, Computing & Engineering Technologies, Institutional Advancement, President, Students | This gallery contains 22 photos. | Tagged as | One Comment

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