News about Transportation & Natural Resources Technologies

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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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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Horticulture students ‘scare up’ clever projects for civic display

'SpongeBob Strawpants," spatula at the ready to flip a Krabby Patty, draws immediate attention from neighborhood children.

More than a dozen scarecrows created by Penn College horticulture/landscape technology students were installed Thursday in Way’s Garden, a well-tended oasis of greenery at West Fourth and Maynard streets, where they will remain from First Friday through Halloween. The Way’s Garden Commission worked with Carl J. Bower Jr., an assistant professor in the college’s School of Transportation & Natural Resources Technologies, who has been developing the idea in his mind since seeing a similar project at Hershey Gardens in 2011. Bower’s students eagerly accepted the challenge, working for the past few weeks to prepare their seasonal creations for what is planned as an annual attraction. An additional scarecrow was prepared for the Williamsport-Lycoming Chamber of Commerce headquarters in downtown Williamsport.

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Last updated October 5, 2018 | Posted in Faculty & Staff, Landscape/Horticulture, Students, Transportation & Natural Resources Technologies | This gallery contains 17 photos. | Tagged as | One Comment

Lycoming Engines’ instructional support lauded at sign dedication

From left, Michael Kraft, senior vice president and general manager for Lycoming Engines; Pennsylvania College of Technology President Davie Jane Gilmour; and aviation technology student Warren K. Bitterman, of Zieglerville, Montgomery County, all spoke at a dedication ceremony honoring Lycoming Engines’ ongoing support for the college.

Lycoming Engines’ longtime support of Pennsylvania College of Technology and its academic programs was celebrated on campus recently with the unveiling of new signage at the college’s Metal Trades Center.

Members of the Penn College community and representatives of Lycoming Engines – including alumni of the college employed by the company – gathered on Oct. 2 to dedicate the Lycoming Engines Metal Trades Center sign on the front lawn of the facility.

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Aviation students visited by Goodyear’s newest blimp

Students get a closer look at an advertising icon: 246 feet long and (even at 10 tons) lighter than air!

A student learns about the new airship's instrument panel, which features a multiscreen display and a steering system controlled by joystick.

Based in Ohio and launched this summer, Wingfoot Three brings the tiremaker's upgraded fleet to full complement.

The latest addition to Goodyear’s fleet of airships stopped by Penn College’s Lumley Aviation Center this past week while traveling through the area to aid television coverage of Saturday’s Penn State/Ohio State football game. Students were allowed into the cockpit of Wingfoot Three in small groups, and pilots and mechanics answered their questions about equipment and operations. Also on hand was a factory representative from Zeppelin, the dirigible’s German manufacturer, who was there to gather test data during the flights.
Photos by Matthew D. Krepps, instructor of aviation maintenance

Forestry students tour lumberyard in heart of Appalachian hardwoods

Bingaman's Nicholas Bisaccia talks with Penn College forestry students outside the Kreamer facility.

Forest technology majors get a comprehensive tour at the hub of a decades-old operation.

Instructor Erich R. Doebler’s Forestry Products class (FOR210) traveled to Bingaman & Son Lumber Inc. in Kreamer on Monday for an industry tour. The group met with Nicholas Bisaccia, an export sales representative, who said the company annually processes 22 million board feet of lumber at that site alone. A similar yard in Clarendon processes more than 10 million board feet each year, noted Doebler, who also provided photos from the trip. Bisaccia spent many years in the pharmaceutical business, but found his true passion for hardwood lumber when he began working for Bingaman a little over three years ago. He explained the process from beginning to end, starting with receiving green lumber from over 100 different sawmills to sorting, grading, stickering, kiln drying and secondary manufacturing. He finished with a tour of a facility that thermally modifies wood to be resistant to natural decay. The process, an emerging technology employed by only a handful of businesses in the U.S., allows Pennsylvania hardwoods to be used in high-performance outdoor applications for which they traditionally have not been selected. Bingaman & Son has over 150 employees at the Kreamer facility, and boasts a number of Penn College forest technology graduates in various roles and positions overall. (Besides the Kreamer and Clarendon yards, the firm operates sawmills in Mill Hall, Nicktown and St. Marys.)

Alexanders Donate Model T to Automotive Restoration Program

Aubrey Alexander (front row, left) and brother Adam (front row, right) deliver a 1926 Ford Model T to students and faculty outside College Avenue Labs, home to Penn College’s automotive restoration and collision repair majors.

A 1926 Ford Model T, traded to Alexander Nissan in 2013 by its Picture Rocks owner, has been passed on to Pennsylvania College of Technology students for use in a variety of automotive labs.

Blaise Alexander Family Dealerships donated the historic vehicle that was recently offloaded onto main campus, accompanied by brothers Adam and Aubrey Alexander.

“We appreciate this gift to our automotive restoration program from the Alexanders. In addition to value for our students in their curricular work, it serves as a way to engage prospective students in the restoration major,” said Elizabeth A. Biddle, the college’s director of corporate relations. “Our goal is to foster the interest in antique cars and the restoration industry among young people.”

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Forestry Students Tour Pallet Company

Don Remmey provides an overview of his pallet-making operation for Penn College forestry students ...

... and takes them on a tour of the manufacturing floor.

Instructor Erich R. Doebler’s Forest Products class visited Remmey, The Pallet Company, in Beaver Springs on Monday, gaining firsthand insight into secondary manufacturing and use of low-grade product. Owner Don Remmey provided a tour of the facility, explained the process, and discussed with the class the tribulations of manufacturing products for domestic and international transport. “It was a great opportunity to see potential employment for the students,” said Doebler (who also provided the photos), “and also a way for students to see where the low-grade lumber is utilized here in Pennsylvania.” Remmey manufactures and produces about 2.2 million pallets each year out of its Beaver Springs and Lehighton plants.

Corvette Club Initiates Another Scholarship Fund at Penn College

Members of the Susquehanna Valley Corvette Club deliver a scholarship check and join the four latest Penn College students to receive awards from the fund. From left are Ray Harmon; students Jordan W. Boop, of Williamsport, and Logan K. VanBlargan, of Bloomsburg; Kim Walker; students Alex H. Romas, of Collegeville, and Brady K. Collins, of Catawissa; Al Clapps, chair of the club’s car show committee; Bill Alsted; Paul Butters; Jim Campbell; Dave Cappa; Ed Moore and Jack McDermott.

Students in a variety of automotive and collision repair majors at Pennsylvania College of Technology will be eligible for financial assistance from a second scholarship fund established by the Susquehanna Valley Corvette Club.

Annual awards from the Susquehanna Valley Corvette Club Foundation Endowed Scholarship Fund will be made to first-year students enrolled full time in the college’s automotive technology, automotive service sales and marketing, collision repair technology, or automotive restoration technology major.

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News Coverage Spotlights Alumni Firefighters

Matthew J. WatersMatthew J. Waters, who graduated from Penn College in May 2016 with an associate degree in forest technology, was among the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources employees dispatched to fight wildfires in western states this summer. The Selinsgrove resident, who spent nearly two weeks on a crew in Tooele, Utah, was featured in a recent front-page article in The (Sunbury) Daily Item. Waters shared the news in an email to Andrew Bartholomay, assistant professor of forestry, saying, “Just thought this is something cool you can mention to the current students about the different opportunities you have with the Penn College forestry degree.” Another forest technology grad Samuel J. Raisch, ’10, one of two alumni profiled in the college magazine for an Alaskan firefight four years ago, was on a Utah crew, as well. His story was shared via the Williamsport Sun-Gazette; The Daily Item article, provided with permission of the newspaper, is available here: The Daily Item

Restoration Students Skillfully Leave Mark on Automotive History

Looking much as it did for its 1947 debut, the "Tin Goose" precursor to the Tucker production model awaits its anniversary ride.

Faculty and students from Pennsylvania College of Technology’s automotive restoration major are traveling with one of America’s most historically significant vehicles on a “dream come true” journey to the Super Bowl of car shows: the prestigious Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in California.

The team preserved the 1947 Tucker prototype, nicknamed the “Tin Goose,” which is on loan from the William E. Swigart Jr. Automobile Museum in Huntingdon and archived at the Library of Congress for its importance in automotive lore.

Five automotive restoration technology students who worked on the car are making the trip for the Aug. 26 event: Adam J. Davis, of Doylestown; Conner W. Desforge, of Martinsburg, West Virginia; Joshua E. Marr, of Shickshinny; Tucker C. Watson, of Skowhegan, Maine; and Erik W. Weigle, of Linden. They will be accompanied by Roy H. Klinger, instructor of collision repair, and Robert K. Vlacich, assistant professor of automotive service.

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Fanciful Signpost Takes Shape Outside CAL

At Penn College, the end of the road is just the beginning!

No detail is spared in the rustic recreation.

Sunlight plays off the silky flow of water.

Fittingly pointing the way to related instructional space – and cleverly mirroring Penn College’s evolution from yesterday to tomorrow – a pondless water feature outside College Avenue Labs affirms that “everything old is new again.” A broken-down truck forms the centerpiece of the tableau, created by several departments within General Services and completed Wednesday. “The idea of the 1949 Dodge came from seeing some old trucks used as landscape markers with seasonal interest in them: flowers in the spring, mums in the fall, evergreen clippings in the winter,” said Andrea L. Mull, horticulturist/grounds and motorpool supervisor. “We wanted to make a landmark that would show where the automotive restoration and collision repair labs are. All we have to do now is tell people to go to the building where the old Dodge truck is located!” A course of 2RC limestone simulates the old road that the vehicle supposedly was traveling as it approached a hill with a load of mountain stone. The engine died … the truck remained … and Mother Nature took possession, evidenced by the tree growing up through the bed. The truck  was purchased from Bill Lee Jr., of Jersey Shore; the aged lettering was done by Todd Moore, student affairs marketing specialist; and the clear coat (to slow the weathering process) was applied by collision repair instructor Roy H. Klinger.

Horticulture Alumnus Testifies Before House Committee

Joseph C. LutherA 2002 graduate of Penn College’s landscape/nursery technology major testified Wednesday morning before the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Education and the Workforce. Joseph C. Luther, a horticulture and landscape instructor at Central Pennsylvania Institute of Science and Technology, was among 23 invited panelists for a bipartisan Innovation Forum and Showcase. During his three-minute testimony at the hearing, the award-winning educator discussed the hands-on success of his students in community projects and the importance of forming professional relationships with industry partners. In follow-up questioning by U.S. Rep. Glenn “G.T.” Thompson, whose 5th District includes CPI’s campus in Pleasant Gap, Luther shared a pair of success stories from career and technical education: a student with Down syndrome who has found full-time employment with a Centre County greenhouse and another who, while not enrolled in horticulture, was mentored by Luther into a lucrative welding job on a Marcellus Shale pipeline.

Automotive Instructors Return to Campus for Conference

A veteran of many NACAT conferences, Dale E. Jaenke (left) – soon to retire after 22 years on the college's automotive faculty – talks with council President Patrick Brown-Harrison.

For the third time in its history, Penn College hosted the annual conference of the North American Council of Automotive Teachers. Returning to the 1998 and 2008 site of their organization’s official get-together, more than 200 NACAT members from across the United States and Canada convened for the July 16-19 event. During their stay, participants had their pick among more than 110 informative and topical sessions; a variety of family activities and evening diversions – including a barbecue, Valve Cover Races and a closing banquet – supplemented each day’s instruction.

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Last updated July 23, 2018 | Posted in Automotive, Events, Faculty & Staff, Transportation & Natural Resources Technologies | This gallery contains 5 photos. | Tagged as | Leave a comment

Automotive Student Awarded $2,500 ‘Garage Gurus’ Scholarship

A Pennsylvania College of Technology student has received one of a dozen $2,500 tuition scholarships awarded by Federal-Mogul Motorparts through its Garage Gurus technical education network.

Among the 2018-19 beneficiaries is Joseph R. Waldeyer, of Manasquan, New Jersey, enrolled in Penn College’s four-year automotive technology management major.

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Penn College is a special mission affiliate of Penn State