News about Automated Manufacturing & Machining

More than 40 Pennsylvania College of Technology students obtained valuable industry certifications related to engineering design in 2021-22, including one student who became the first in school history to earn certified SolidWorks expert status.

Benson P. Weaver, an engineering design technology major from Lititz, passed four advanced topic tests (sheet metal, drawing tools, surfacing and weldments) before successfully completing the most challenging SolidWorks exam: Certified SolidWorks Expert in Mechanical Design.

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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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Pennsylvania College of Technology has presented a Distinguished Alumni Award to Larry A. Ward, a retired business owner whose philanthropic efforts helped the college undertake a complete renovation of its expansive machining lab.

The alumni honor was presented to Ward at a Spring 2022 Commencement ceremony at the Community Arts Center.

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Pennsylvania College of Technology’s “Women’s Wednesday” series continued this week with Stacey C. Hampton, assistant dean of industrial and computer technologies, engaging students during a late-afternoon social in College Avenue Labs.

With a background in elementary and early childhood education, as well as experience in 4-H and literacy programs, Hampton joined the college staff in 2006 as a matriculation and retention coordinator. Among the acknowledged keys to her success, both in personal development and institutional outreach, are the connections that she’s made.

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A Pennsylvania College of Technology manufacturing student is one of four undergraduates nationwide to be awarded a “trades” scholarship.

Alec D. Rees, of Centerport, New York, received a $2,500 scholarship from Rock the Trades, a workforce development initiative that raises awareness of careers in the skilled trades by celebrating the American industrial worker.

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A new video on Penn College’s YouTube channel offers a fair exchange: four minutes of your day for a rewarding lifetime in manufacturing. Join Richard K. Hendricks Jr., instructor of machine tool technology/automated manufacturing technology, for an in-depth tour of the college’s hands-on facilities – instructional labs that reflect the desirability of our graduates to the industries that provide the state-of-the-art equipment housed within. Discover the benefits of immersive learning across all of the program’s majors, from a one-year CNC machinist certificate to associate degrees in machine tool technology and automated manufacturing technology to a four-year degree in manufacturing engineering technology. “Manufacturing is thriving in this country, as well as other parts of the world, and our students are in constant demand,” the 25-year faculty member says. “There’s a shortage of people going into the trades, so we’re very confident that our students are going to have multiple career opportunities. Job placement is almost guaranteed.”

The business agent for Boilermakers Local 154, who earned a Williamsport Area Community College welding degree in 1987, came back Thursday for a visit arranged by state Sen. Gene Yaw. Shawn M. Steffee, greatly impressed by the changes at his alma mater during the intervening years, was greeted by a variety of college administrators before touring instructional labs in the School of Engineering Technologies. The Indiana County resident also met members of the Baja SAE team, delivered a boxful of giveaways to be distributed to students and was met by President Davie Jane Gilmour during lunch at Le Jeune Chef Restaurant.

Students in manufacturing-related majors and those competing in Baja SAE racing competitions at Pennsylvania College of Technology will benefit from a $15,000 grant award from the Gene Haas Foundation.

The foundation, established in 1999 by the owner of Haas Automation Inc., offers scholarship grants to institutions that provide education and training in CNC (computer numerical control) machining.

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Jay Patel wants to inspire the Deaf community to pursue hands-on education at Pennsylvania College of Technology. He believes working individually with one’s hands is a better way for people who are deaf or hard of hearing to learn than sitting in a large classroom lecture.

The young Michigan man knows a thing or two about navigating the world with the inability to hear, but that has not held him back from pursuing his dreams. Self-described as “motivated,” Patel holds an Associate of Science degree in precision manufacturing technology from Rochester Institute of Technology and is pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree at Penn College in manufacturing engineering technology.

For his bachelor’s degree, he desired a more hands-on approach, found Penn College via a Google search and drove the eight hours from his Ann Arbor-area home to campus for a tour.

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Pennsylvania College of Technology students earned the most scholarships in the country from a foundation that promotes skilled manufacturing careers.

Four students from Penn College’s School of Engineering Technologies were among the 23 nationwide recipients of $1,500-$2,500 scholarships from Nuts, Bolts & Thingamajigs, the charitable foundation of the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association International. Full-time students enrolled in manufacturing-related majors were eligible for the Spring 2022 semester scholarships.

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Cross-campus collaboration has put Pennsylvania College of Technology’s Baja SAE team in the driver’s seat for this spring’s competitions, featuring top schools from throughout the nation.

A student-driven partnership between the Baja team and the heavy construction equipment technology program resulted in the creation of a quarter-mile test track through the woods at the college’s operations training site near Allenwood. The track replicates conditions the team will face at Baja competitions conducted by SAE International, an organization for engineering professionals.

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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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U.S. Rep. Fred Keller (R-12) returned to Penn College’s main campus on Wednesday, touring a number of instructional areas and moderating a roundtable discussion of workforce development. The congressman was accompanied by state Rep. Clinton D. Owlett (R-68), among others, for a tour of the impressively equipped Carl Building Technologies, Electrical Technologies, Lycoming Engines Metal Trades and Larry A. Ward Machining Technologies centers – all facilities that help prepare today’s college students for tomorrow’s careers.

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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Gemini KB Systems has established an annual scholarship at Pennsylvania College of Technology for students enrolled in a range of manufacturing-related programs.

The Philadelphia-based company is a Corporate Tomorrow Maker partner of Penn College.

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