A Pennsylvania College of Technology student is among 25 undergrads nationwide honored with a scholarship from a foundation that promotes skilled manufacturing careers.
Ethan S. Rhodes-O’Brien, of Mechanicsburg, earned the $1,500 scholarship for the spring semester from Nuts, Bolts & Thingamajigs, the foundation of the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association International. Students enrolled in a certificate or degree program leading to a manufacturing career are eligible for the scholarship.
A partnership with Sodick, a global EDM manufacturing leader, is supporting Pennsylvania College of Technology’s acquisition of innovative electrical discharge machines for instructional purposes.
Through the collaboration, Sodick, a Japanese company with North American headquarters in Schaumburg, Illinois, is providing four VL400Q High Performance Linear Motor Drive Wire Cut EDM units for use in the college’s Larry A. Ward Machining Technologies Center.
Penn College students and faculty in the machine tool technology, automated manufacturing technology and manufacturing engineering technology majors will benefit from the new high-tech equipment.
The largest alumni gift in the history of Pennsylvania College of Technology has manufactured a new machining lab that will benefit students for generations.
A $1 million-plus donation from alumnus Larry Ward financed the revamping of the 14,299-square-foot facility, one of the oldest instructional spaces on campus. The lab features fresh lighting, flooring, fixtures and, most importantly, new equipment in the recently christened Larry A. Ward Machining Technologies Center.
“I have done very well, so I want to give it back for the next generation,” said Ward, a 1966 graduate. “A lot of people helped me over the years, and I just feel I’m paying it forward.”
Students majoring in one of five manufacturing-related degrees are benefiting from a gift to Pennsylvania College of Technology, featured in a YouTube video. Larry A. Ward, founder of Packaging Progressions Inc., made a donation exceeding $1 million to revamp the college’s machining lab – the largest alumni gift in the college’s history. Ward’s generosity has resulted in fresh paint, lighting, fixtures and 50 new machines for the 14,299-square-foot instructional space. “It’s just completely transformed the entire lab,” says Dakota C. Harrison, a manufacturing engineering technology major from Lewisberry. “And we really couldn’t have done it without Mr. Ward.”
For a few worrisome weeks, three Pennsylvania College of Technology students thought they would join the ranks of countless others whose summer internships were casualties of the COVID-19 pandemic. But the college “engineered” a solution, a favor the students more than returned.
Brian J. Daniels, Lake City; Conner J. Nickerson, Bethlehem; and Levi E. Pomeroy, Dillsburg; spent the summer helping faculty and staff revamp the college’s machining facility and equip a new electronics lab, benefiting their future and the hands-on education of the next generation of “tomorrow makers” at the college.
“I don’t think a lot of work in those labs could have happened without them,” said Stacey C. Hampton, assistant dean of industrial and computer technologies. Hampton devised the internship with Howard W. Troup, instructor of automated manufacturing and machining, and Ken J. Kinley, assistant professor of electronics and computer engineering technology.
With support from the National Science Foundation, Pennsylvania College of Technology recently “manufactured” a weeklong educational experience for 13 high school teachers and school counselors from throughout the state.
The Manufacturing Externship Camp revealed to educators the promising realities of manufacturing careers through several activities, including a robot-building exercise that they can replicate at their home schools. The camp is one of several Penn College initiatives – funded by a grant from the NSF’s Advanced Technological Education program – dedicated to growing the manufacturing workforce.
From the Spring 2020 Penn College Magazine: In a Smithsonian Institution conservation lab, Daniel Ravizza, a 2014 manufacturing engineering technology graduate, combines his hands-on skills, meticulous nature and passion for history. The treasures he helps to preserve range from spacecraft and space food to the boots and helmet of legendary aviator Charles Lindbergh. Read “Lindy’s boots and cosmonaut chicken.”
Eight students from Pennsylvania College of Technology are among 37 nationwide honored with scholarships from a foundation that promotes skilled manufacturing careers.
The $1,500 scholarships from Nuts, Bolts & Thingamajigs – the foundation of the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association International – are for the Fall 2020 semester. Full-time students enrolled in an engineering or manufacturing-related course of study were eligible.
The eight Penn College recipients represent majors within the School of Engineering Technologies.
“We are very proud to see so many of our students honored with the scholarships,” said Bradley M. Webb, dean of engineering technologies. “Penn College had more students receive the scholarships than any other school. That fact reflects the high quality of not only our students but also our academic programs and dedicated faculty.”
Pennsylvania College of Technology students proved their workforce acumen by earning industry certifications related to computer-aided design.
The students – representing three majors from the School of Engineering Technologies – passed exams dedicated to SolidWorks, a prominent 3D CAD software tool. The tests require candidates to meet several hands-on challenges, representing various aspects of the software.
Pennsylvania College of Technology is providing a new pathway for aspiring skilled machinists and computer numerical control operators. The college is accepting applications for its CNC machinist certificate, offered for the first time this fall.
“Industry needs skilled machinists and CNC operators. This program can be completed in nine months, so students can quickly obtain the skills required by industry and get right to work,” said Bradley M. Webb, dean of industrial, computing and engineering technologies.
A trade between educators at Pennsylvania College of Technology and the Central Columbia School District is a “win” for health-care workers and an elderly mother during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Eric K. Albert, an associate professor of automated manufacturing and machining at Penn College, recently traded plastic filament material to Tom Gill, a science teacher at Central Columbia High School, in exchange for a dozen rolls of toilet paper.
A faculty member’s contribution to the COVID-19 fight, using the same 3D printing technology through which he teaches students in his manufacturing labs, was featured on Newswatch 16’s Monday broadcasts. WNEP journalist Nikki Krize remotely interviewed Eric K. Albert, an associate professor of automated manufacturing and machining, about his extracurricular fabrication of face shields and ventilator splitters. “When we’re in a situation like we are now where we need to produce custom parts and maybe lots of different things, additive manufacturing is one of the technologies that helps,” Albert says in the story, which premiered at 5 p.m. “It’s not fast, but it’s very flexible.”
As the developer of Pennsylvania College of Technology’s additive manufacturing curriculum, Eric K. Albert has preached to his students for years about the ingenuity facilitated by 3D printing. A few months from retirement, he’s proving his point by responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The associate professor of automated manufacturing and machining has used his own materials and 3D printer to produce eight non-FDA approved ventilator splitters made of ABS, a widely used engineering resin, that could – in a worst-case scenario – allow a facility to connect more than one patient to a ventilator.
A Pennsylvania College of Technology faculty member is employing his expertise to help protect front-line workers battling the COVID-19 pandemic.
Eric K. Albert, associate professor of automated manufacturing and machining, is producing face shields with the college’s Stratasys 3D printers. Following a “recipe” provided by the company, Albert is manufacturing visors containing three mounting points for the insertion of clear plastic material to serve as the shield.
Pennsylvania College of Technology will expose high schoolers to the rewarding possibilities of manufacturing careers, thanks to a grant-supported initiative.
The college will host the Thingamajig Fabricators Pre-College Program from July 19-23 on its main campus. Students entering grades 9-12 are eligible for the session, featuring hands-on experience with 3D design software, mills and lathes, and welding. Participants will use their new skills to fabricate a toolbox, hammer and nail punch.