Makerspace

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Benefactors’ matured charitable trust supports strategic needs

Marshall D. Welch III reminisces during the August 2017 dedication of the makerspace that bears his family's name.

A trust established two decades ago by the late Dr. Marshall D. Welch Jr. and his wife, Mary L. Welch, has matured, and its remaining proceeds are being designated for a variety of efforts campuswide to assist students and bolster instruction.

Twenty years ago, the couple established a charitable remainder unitrust with Pennsylvania College of Technology with the intent of enhancing their endowment and supporting academic programs and students.

The Welch family has always believed in providing long-term support through endowments, but they have also recognized the immediate and critical needs of Penn College. Now, the college is partnering with Marshall D. Welch III, past board chair and current Executive Committee member of the Penn College Foundation, and Mary Welch to designate funds from the trust to meet those strategic needs.

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Gallery artist-in-residence bridges tradition, technology during workshops

Repko interacts with students during a “Bridging the Gaps” workshop, where participants built bridges representing the past, present and future as they relate to the artist’s work.

“Jeff Repko was the ideal choice for our first artist-in-residence in the ‘Material Matters’ series as his work combines traditional materials with digital fabrication methods,” said Penny Griffin Lutz, director of The Gallery at Penn College. In addition to a public reception for his exhibit, “In Proximity,” Repko’s five-day residency (Nov. 5-9) featured workshops in the gallery and The Dr. Welch Workshop: A Makerspace at Penn College. “His artistic vision was a perfect fit for Penn College’s community of makers,” Lutz added. “He took advantage of the equipment in the makerspace to begin a new sculpture, and he enjoyed the one-on-one time he spent with students, educators and the public during hands-on workshops. Jeff felt so welcomed by our campus community!” “In Proximity” is on display through Dec. 11 in The Gallery at Penn College, on the third floor of Madigan Library. Hours are 2 to 7 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays and Fridays, and 1 to 4 p.m. Sundays. The gallery is closed Mondays and Saturdays and will be closed Nov. 27-Dec. 1. The “Material Matters: Past, Present, Future” series will include two additional short-term artist residencies over the next two years and is supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

General Information Makerspace

Makerspace fall training schedule revised

A revised schedule of makerspace drop-in trainings – hourlong introductions to fascinating techniques, with no registration required – has been issued for the remainder of the semester. There will be no session this week; the schedule will resume at 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 24, in The Dr. Welch Workshop (Room 104 of the Carl Building Technologies Center).

Oct. 24: Laser Engraved Woodcut Relief Printmaking
Oct. 31: Introduction to CNC Routing
Nov. 7: CNC Routing, Part 2
Nov. 14: 3D Laser Scanning
Nov. 21: Clothing Repair Workshop (tentative)

An originally scheduled session on Vietnamese hand embroidery was canceled.

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Makerspace: Dream, create and innovate!

Makerspaces are collaborative learning centers with equipment and tools to dream, create and innovate in a community environment. The Dr. Welch Workshop: A Makerspace at Penn College (Room 104 of the Carl Building Technologies Center) represents one such “hotbed for learning” – a combination of design, engineering, fabrication and education, where students can produce multidisciplinary projects in a dynamic learning setting. Three of those students sing the facility’s praises in a video added to the college’s YouTube channel: Nathaniel H. Lyon, a welding and fabrication engineering technology major from Fredericksburg; Anthony F. O’Koren, an applied technology student from Williamsport; and Ryan C. Kuntz, of Slatington, enrolled in manufacturing engineering technology. “Makerspace to me is kinda like when you were in kindergarten and everything was new and exciting, and you were always learning and getting to learn how to share and play with others and make things and practice your skills,” O’Koren says. “I didn’t know I was a maker until I found a whole community. Once you’ve made a friendship with someone, they’ll come and ask for your advice on what you think the best idea with this would be. You get to articulate or work with others to create an idea.”

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Makerspace marks anniversary with forward-looking event

Roberta Schwenk, makerspace assistant, shows first-year students the versatile capabilities of a 3D printer.

On hand to assist guests are (from left) welding instructor Timothy S. Turnbach; Thomas E. Ask, professor of industrial design; and Jeremiah C. Johnson, makerspace attendant.

Students work on personal projects in the collaborative space.

Schwenk and Barbara J. Albert, director of the Children's Learning Center – whose husband, Eric K., is an associate professor of machine tool technology – talk with a student among the evening's attendees. — Schwenk and Barbara J. Albert, director of the Children’s Learning Center – whose husband, Eric K., is an associate professor of machine tool technology – talk with a student among the evening’s attendees.

Students, faculty and staff attended a Tuesday open house at The Dr. Welch Workshop: A Makerspace at Penn College (Room 104 of the Carl Building Technologies Center), enjoying free food and refreshments and learning about all of the great things they can accomplish there. In addition to kicking off the facility’s second year, the event ushers in a full slate of weekly training sessions on a variety of interesting topics. Watch PCToday for weekly announcements of the Fall 2019 training sessions, to be held from 6-7 p.m. Thursdays through Nov. 21.
Photos by Juvy A. Orillaza, student photographer

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From living space to makerspace, summer visitors have their hands full

Learning the skills and craftsmanship required of a builder in the newest pre-college offering: Building Construction.

A dozen residential Pre-College Programs and a daytime Creative Art Camp brought hundreds of young women and men to Penn College’s campuses in mid-June, providing hands-on entry to the myriad career opportunities reflected in the institution’s postsecondary curriculum. Keeping campers (and PCToday photographers) busy in recent days were these fun learning opportunities, some of which involved culminating projects: Architecture Odyssey, Autism Spectrum Post-Secondary Interest Experience (ASPIE), Automotive Restoration, Aviation, Building Construction (new this year), Creative Art Camp, Engineering, Future Restaurateurs, Graphic Design Summer Studio, Grow & Design Horticulture, Health Careers, Information Technology and SMART (Science and Math in Real-world Technologies) Girls.

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Former provost, ‘Master Teacher,’ innovator dies

Veronica M. Muzic, whose dedicated service as a faculty member and administrator is tightly woven through 50 years of college history, died Tuesday, June 18, 2019, at the age of 82.

Muzic joined Williamsport Area Community College as an English instructor in 1968 and was awarded its first “Master Teacher” award in 1982. In recognition of her years of distinguished service to WACC and Pennsylvania College of Technology, the award was renamed in her honor in 2006.

In nearly four decades of teaching and administrative leadership – culminating in her retirement as vice president for academic affairs/provost, part-time service as a special assistant to the president and designation as faculty emerita – she was a tireless and selfless mentor to students, alumni and colleagues.

“Veronica was an essential piece of the fabric of our college, and she will be forever missed,” President Davie Jane Gilmour said.

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Students’ industrial design projects exude creativity

Pennsylvania College of Technology industrial design students are all smiles as they near completion of their senior projects. From left are: Nina M. Hadden, of Murrysville; Abigail M. Meredick, of Danville; and Nicole Bamonte, of Williamsport.

The industrial design major at Pennsylvania College of Technology is intended to elicit students’ creative potential. For three students on the cusp of graduation, that goal has been met, as evidenced by their senior projects.

Nicole Bamonte, of Williamsport; Nina M. Hadden, of Murrysville; and Abigail M. Meredick, of Danville, have spent countless hours during the past several months drawing on their education and practical experiences to develop prototypes of marketable products. The results are three inspired creations: a collapsible dresser, dog training system and surgical instrument.

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Turning imagination into impactful reality

Conversing with students and faculty in the Makerspace

During the Makerspace visit, Brueckner explains her “Embodisuit” that allows its wearer to map signals onto different places on the body to experience meaningful connections.

Paul L. Starkey, vice president for academic affairs/provost, introduces the speaker ... — Paul L. Starkey, vice president for academic affairs/provost, introduces the speaker …

... who closed out a busy Thursday visit as a colloquium keynoter in the ACC Auditorium. — … who closed out a busy Thursday visit as a colloquium keynoter in the ACC Auditorium.

Brueckner describes her prototype for an “Empathy Amulet,” a networked wearable device connecting anonymous people through shared warmth.

“I’m so impressed with what good makers you are!” Sophia Brueckner said at the start of her Technology & Society Colloquia Series talk in the Klump Academic Center Auditorium.

The futurist artist/designer/engineer toured the Pennsylvania College of Technology campus Thursday, addressed a small afternoon gathering of mostly industrial design and graphic design students and faculty in The Dr. Welch Workshop – A Makerspace at Penn College, and delivered her keynote address, “Prototyping Alternative Futures,” to a crowd of college and community attendees in the evening.

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Crowd Delighted by Boundless Makerspace Possibilities

Interest runs high in The Dr. Welch Workshop: A Makerspace at Penn College, where attendant Jeremiah C. Johnson (right) met with students and employees during an Open House.

The hands-on allure of the facility is evident as attendees move among the equipment ... — The hands-on allure of the facility is evident as attendees move among the equipment …

Among the engaged college staff is admissions counselor Lee Dawson, whose duties fittingly include working with prospective students in the School of Industrial, Computing & Engineering Technologies.

Johnson talks with an Open House attendee whose T-shirt indicates he's in the right place. — Johnson talks with an Open House attendee whose T-shirt indicates he’s in the right place.

Wednesday evening’s open house at The Dr. Welch Workshop: A Makerspace at Penn College met with an overwhelming turnout, as curious employees and industrious students crammed into a laboratory that will soon be overflowing with creativity. The makerspace, dedicated last week and featured in a PCToday photo gallery, was designed by students as a springboard to cross-curricular innovation and collaboration. Weekly trainings and demonstrations in a variety of equipment and techniques – from casting to prototyping, cosplay to 3D printing – are scheduled 5 to 6 p.m. Thursdays from Aug. 30 to Nov. 15. (There will be no class on Oct. 18.) Interested Penn College students and faculty/staff can access the full schedule on the myPCT portal; no reservations are required.
Photos by J.J. Boettcher, student photographer

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‘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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PPL Provides Support for Penn College’s Makerspace

Gathered at the The Dr. Welch Workshop: A Makerspace at Penn College (under construction in the Carl Building Technologies Center at the college) are, from left, alumnus James Ryan, distribution technician for PPL; alumna Michelle Bennett-Knouse, journeyman electrician for PPL; Tracie Witter, PPL regional affairs director; Kyle A. Smith, executive director of the Penn College Foundation; and Elizabeth A. Biddle, director of corporate relations for Penn College.

An $8,000 grant from PPL Electric Utilities will help Pennsylvania College of Technology in its effort to open a makerspace on campus.

PPL is offering unrestricted funding in support of The Dr. Welch Workshop: A Makerspace at Penn College. The facility, under construction in the Carl Building Technologies Center at Penn College, will open this fall.

“PPL has been a longtime friend and supporter of Penn College,” said Elizabeth A. Biddle, the college’s director of corporate relations. “This recent gift is no exception. The company demonstrates an ongoing commitment to students, innovation and the community through this grant to the Penn College makerspace. We are appreciative of the support, which takes hands-on technology education to a deeper level.”

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Williams’ Atlantic Sunrise Project Supports Makerspace

Williams’ Atlantic Sunrise Project is providing a $10,000 grant to help Pennsylvania College of Technology launch a makerspace on its main campus.

The company’s Atlantic Sunrise Community Grant Program is offering the unrestricted funding support for The Dr. Welch Workshop: A Makerspace at Penn College, which is expected to be completed for Fall 2018 in the Carl Building Technologies Center.

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Donor Support Launches ‘Makerspace’ Construction at Penn College

A makerspace under development at Pennsylvania College of Technology will provide the environment – and essential tools – for students, faculty and staff to collaborate on innovative projects in a dynamic learning setting.

The college expects to open its makerspace in the Carl Building Technologies Center on the main campus in Fall 2018.

“Makerspaces are an innovative means of supplying students with the resources, training and facilities to invent, experiment and produce unique products for either practical or aesthetic value,” said Tom F. Gregory, associate vice president for instruction. “The space provides the means of implementing creative processes for both academic projects and personal inspiration.”