News about Welding

Department of Commerce Invests in College’s Welding Expansion

A $2 million federal grant from the Economic Development Administration will help Penn College expand its welding facilities and increase the number of students enrolled in welding majors at the college.

The U.S. Department of Commerce has recognized Pennsylvania College of Technology’s vital contribution to the skilled workforce with a $2 million grant earmarked for expanding the college’s Avco-Lycoming Metal Trades Center.

The Economic Development Administration grant, combined with a $3 million match from the college, will approximately double the size of welding instructional space to more than 40,000 square feet and support an additional 60 students annually. There are currently about 350 welding students at Penn College.

“We are honored to be awarded this grant that will facilitate expansion of one of our most popular programs,” said Paul L. Starkey, vice president for academic affairs/provost. “For generations, our welding department has produced graduates essential to the manufacturing workforce. Today, the need for skilled technical workers is acute. The grant ensures that more students will be given the opportunity to earn rewarding careers and fill that void. I’m thankful for the staff and faculty who worked very hard to make the possibility of expansion a reality.”

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Eight Penn College Students Medal in National Competition

SkillsUSA

Eight students from the widest variety of academic majors ever to represent Pennsylvania College of Technology at the National Leadership and Skills Conference returned home with medals – including first-time successes in three competitive areas.

The contingent took one of three top places in five categories, and this year marked the first time that Penn College entrants medaled in Computer Programming, TeamWorks and Welding Sculpture.

“This really goes to show how well-prepared the students are from their respective fields and how great our instructors are here at the college. This is, by far, the most diverse group of students I’ve had go to the national competition,” said SkillsUSA adviser James N. Colton II, an assistant professor of welding. “The national skills competition gives us a chance to showcase our technical skills and show everyone why we’re a leader in applied technology.”

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Grant for Welding Expansion OK’d Pending Award, Conditions

Pennsylvania College of Technology’s welding program could be in line for expansion, pending award of a $2 million federal grant and the college satisfying various conditions associated with the funding.

The Penn College Board of Directors approved acceptance of the grant – from the Economic Development Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce – provided it is awarded to the college, and all of its conditions are met.

If awarded, the EDA grant would require a cash match of $3 million, allowing the college to expand its welding facility by 22,000 square feet.

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Cross-Campus Collaboration Infuses Hundreds of Visiting Pupils

Horticulture instructor Carl J. Bower Jr. guides Warrior Run fourth-graders in a sensory exploration of the ESC’s plant life.

Roy A. Fletcher, assistant professor of business administration/banking and finance, talks with Stock Market Challenge participants from area high schools about the future of artificial intelligence in accounting. The School of Business & Hospitality hosted the grand finale celebration for the Stock Market Challenge, an annual competition for Lycoming County high schools and middle schools that is sponsored by the Williamsport Sun-Gazette.

Faculty members (and Penn College grads) Michael K. Patterson, welding lecturer, center, and Benjamin K. Myers, welding instructor, right, judge a competition among students enrolled in Penn College NOW welding courses. While their teachers attended professional development with Penn College faculty liaisons – a requirement to ensure that Penn College courses taught at high schools meet the same rigor as those taught on campus – the students showed their skill in shielded metal arc welding. Following the contest, they took part in a hands-on demonstration by Fronius USA, which has entrusted several pieces of equipment to the college.

In the closing weeks of the spring semester, the College Transitions Office and academic schools hosted more than half a dozen events for pupils in area elementary, middle and high schools. From a field trip for Warrior Run fourth-graders that spanned the main campus and Schneebeli Earth Science Center, to days set aside for students to visit the college labs that correspond with their Penn College NOW courses, hundreds of students received hands-on lessons in “degrees that work,” thanks to help from college faculty. Events for Penn College NOW students included a Horticulture Day, engineering design visit, Accounting Day, Web Page Design Day and Welding Day.

Penn College Welding Faculty Member Honored

Timothy S. Turnbach (left), an instructor of welding at Penn College, receives the Howard E. Adkins Memorial Instructor Section Award from Michael S. Sebergandio, American Welding Society District 3 director, during a recent ceremony at the college.

The Central Pennsylvania Section of the American Welding Society has honored a Pennsylvania College of Technology faculty member.

Timothy S. Turnbach, instructor of welding, recently received the Howard E. Adkins Memorial Instructor Section Award during a ceremony at the college. The award recognizes “quality instructional performance devoted to the promotion and expansion of welding skills and knowledge.”

Michael S. Sebergandio, AWS District 3 director and a 2003 welding and fabrication engineering technology graduate of the college, presented Turnbach with the award.

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Penn College Students Bat a Thousand in SkillsUSA Competition

SkillsUSA-Pennsylvania

All 25 members of Pennsylvania College of Technology’s SkillsUSA team, including more than half moving on to national competition June 19-23 in Louisville, Kentucky, were medalists during the Pennsylvania Leadership and Skills Conference held late last month in Hershey.

Fifteen team members advanced to nationals with first-place finishes, seven placed second, and three placed third in their respective categories.

“I feel great about the students’ performance at the state competition. It goes to show how well prepared the students are from their respective fields and how great our instructors are here at the college,” said James N. Colton II, assistant professor of welding and the college’s SkillsUSA adviser. “I’m excited for the students going to the national competition in Louisville. I have every confidence they will put their best performance forward.”

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Last updated May 9, 2017 | Posted in Alumni, Architectural Technology, Art, Web Design & Interactive Media, Automated Manufacturing & Machining, Building Construction, Business & Hospitality, Business & Hospitality Management, Collision Repair & Restoration, Construction & Design Technologies, Electrical, Engineering Design Technology, Faculty & Staff, Heating, Ventilation & Air Conditioning, Industrial, Computing & Engineering Technologies, Information Technology, Students, Transportation & Natural Resources Technologies, Welding | Leave a comment

Senator From York County Tours Penn College Campus

President Davie Jane Gilmour escorts Sen. Wagner through the welding labs with the assistance of welding students Thomas (“TJ”) J. Sneeringer (in red) and Joseph (“Joey”) M. Taylor, both of Hanover.

Wagner discusses his waste-management and trucking businesses with diesel technology students alongside a diesel truck outside College Avenue Labs.

In the automotive restoration lab, the senators listen to insights shared by Vanessa Mathurin, of Philadelphia, and Sean M. Hunter, of Livingston, N.J. The students are automotive restoration technology graduates enrolled in applied management.

Touring the extrusion lab, Elizabeth A. Biddle, director of corporate relations, discusses the specialties of the plastics and polymer engineering technology major and the Plastics Innovation & Resource Center.

Sen. Scott Wagner, who represents the 28th District, comprising most of York County, toured the Pennsylvania College of Technology campus on Thursday as the guest of Sen. Gene Yaw, chairman of the college’s Board of Directors. Wagner, who is president and owner of York-based Penn Waste Inc. and KBS Trucking, Thomasville, is a declared candidate for governor. While on campus, he toured the labs for welding, automotive restoration/collision repair and plastics. Wagner once studied at Penn College’s immediate predecessor institution, Williamsport Area Community College, in the diesel program. In the Senate, Wagner chairs the Local Government Committee and is vice chairman of the Labor & Industry Committee. He also sits on the Appropriations, Transportation and Intergovernmental Operations committees.

Penn College Adding Metal Fabrication Degree

Welding is one of the components of the new metal fabrication technology major set to launch this fall at Penn College.

A manufacturing-related major promoting versatile, recession-proof skills is being added to Pennsylvania College of Technology’s academic portfolio this fall.

The new metal fabrication technology associate degree will furnish students with well-rounded skills in welding, machining and sheet metal fabrication. The result will be graduates possessing a unique technical skill set attractive to industry.

“There is a huge deficit of young people working in welding and machining,” said David R. Cotner, dean of industrial, computing and engineering technologies. “In the past couple months alone, I’ve had at least a half dozen companies contact me looking for students who have such a skill set. There are going to be great employment opportunities for graduates.”

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Hypertherm Entrusts Equipment to Penn College Welding Program

Hypertherm is entrusting equipment to Penn College for instructional use in its welding program. From left are Elizabeth A. Biddle, director of corporate relations at Penn College; Brent Malik, regional sales manager for Hypertherm; Max Williams, district sales manager for Hypertherm; and Dave Cotner, dean of industrial, computing and engineering technologies at Penn College.

Hypertherm, a Hanover, New Hampshire-based manufacturer of plasma, laser and waterjet cutting systems used in industries such as shipbuilding, manufacturing and automotive repair, is entrusting equipment to Pennsylvania College of Technology for instructional use in its welding program.

Penn College and Hypertherm have entered into a two-year agreement for two Hypertherm Powermax105® plasma system units and three Hypertherm Powermax65® plasma system units. The company, which was founded in 1968 and has 1,300 associates worldwide, previously provided educational software to the college in 2015.

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National Publication Tours College’s Career-Making Labs

The visiting journalist observes manufacturing engineering technology majors - and SAE Baja teammates - Logan B. Goodhart (left), of Chambersburg, and Jonathan R. Sutcliffe, of Orangeville.

Students learn under the banner of Fronius USA, which has generously entrusted Penn College with equipment to benefit hundreds of welding majors this academic year.

Faculty member Roy H. Klinger gives Carlson a tour of the college's automotive restoration labs.

Elsewhere in College Avenue Labs, the guest gets faculty feedback from J.D. Mather, assistant professor of engineering design technology ...

... and Richard K. Hendricks Jr., instructor of automated manufacturing and machining.

Amanda Carlson, associate editor of Practical Welding Today magazine, visited campus on Wednesday for an upcoming story focusing on how colleges are preparing students for modern manufacturing careers. Carlson toured several college labs, including machining, advanced manufacturing, rapid prototyping and welding.  She also spent time talking with faculty and staff and members of the college’s SAE Baja team. It’s anticipated that Carlson’s story incorporating her Penn College experience will appear in the May/June issue of the publication.

Longtime Industry Partner Entrusts Welding Equipment to College

Representatives from Penn College’s welding department and Miller Electric Manufacturing Co. mark the company’s equipment loan to the program. From left are Matt W. Nolan, welding instructor; Michael C. Schelb, welding lecturer; Rick Conrad, field application engineer at Miller; Rick Scharenbroch, industrial district manager at Miller; and Timothy S. Turnbach, welding instructor.

A leading welding company is augmenting its strong relationship with Pennsylvania College of Technology by entrusting nearly $250,000 worth of equipment to the school.

Miller Electric Manufacturing Co. made the two-year equipment loan to benefit approximately 350 welding students at the college. Students seeking a bachelor’s degree in welding and fabrication engineering technology, an associate degree in welding technology, or a certificate in welding will use the entrusted arc welding equipment.

“We greatly appreciate Miller Electric’s generosity and commitment to welding’s future,” said David R. Cotner, dean of industrial, computing and engineering technologies. “Their continued support of our current students, not to mention many of our graduates, is a testament to the quality of our welding department at Penn College.”

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Penn College Contingent Participates in Conferences

J.D. Mather, assistant professor of engineering design technology at Penn College, holds his Autodesk Expert Elite Award, which was presented to him for his outstanding contribution to Autodesk community forums.

Pennsylvania College of Technology students and faculty were big winners recently in Las Vegas. The contingent attended two major industry conferences during the same week.

Representatives from the School of Industrial, Computing & Engineering Technologies participated in FABTECH 2016 and the Autodesk University conference. FABTECH is the largest metal forming, fabricating, welding and finishing event in North America; the Autodesk event is geared to those who utilize the company’s computer-aided design software.

J.D. Mather, assistant professor of engineering design technology, received special recognition at the Autodesk conference. He completed the Inventor 2017 certified professional exam and was presented with the Autodesk Expert Elite Award for his outstanding contribution to Autodesk community forums.

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Penn College Welding Students Receive Scholarships

From left, Nicholas Mercado, recruiter/talent acquisition for Air Products, is shown with Penn College welding scholarship recipients Gavin P. Bachman, of Slatington; Katya E. Pechacek, of Fayetteville, New York; and Stephanie M. Puckly, of Spartansburg. Bachman and Puckly received $2,500 Air Product Welding Scholarships. Earlier, Pechacek received a $2,500 Air Products Women of Gases & Welding Scholarship.

Two Pennsylvania College of Technology welding students are recipients of a national industry scholarship.

Stephanie M. Puckly, a welding and fabrication engineering technology major from Spartansburg, and Gavin P. Bachman, a welding technology major from Slatington, each received a $2,500 Air Products Welding Scholarship, provided by the Air Products Foundation.

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Penn College Welding Student Honored With National Scholarship

Katya E. Pechacek

A Pennsylvania College of Technology welding student has sparked national recognition by receiving a prominent industry scholarship.

Katya E. Pechacek, a welding and fabrication engineering technology major from Fayetteville, New York, recently received the Air Products Women of Gases & Welding Scholarship. The $2,500 award is given to a female pursuing a welding or engineering discipline who has proven to be an exceptional student and is eager to start her career.

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Agreements Clear Path for Students to Pursue Additional Degrees

Pennsylvania College of Technology recently approved articulation agreements with several other institutions to ease students’ pathways to further education.

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