News about Transportation & Natural Resources Technologies

Plants nurtured throughout the pandemic by the horticultural hands at Penn College’s Schneebeli Earth Science Center brought a burst of National Nurses Week sunshine to UPMC Susquehanna campuses Thursday. About 850 potted flowers and hanging baskets, originally cultivated for a plant sale, were delivered to Williamsport, Divine Providence, Muncy, Lock Haven, Cole (Coudersport) and Wellsboro hospitals for distribution to nurses – among the tireless health care workers on the front line of a global health crisis. A troupe of ESC faculty and staff,  General Services employees and a college alumnus/retiree loaded and unloaded the colorful cargo at hospital campuses in Lycoming and Clinton counties; UPMC handled transport to the Northern Tier locations. Helping to keep the greenhouse stock thriving in students’ absence were horticulture faculty; Wyatt C. Forest, laboratory assistant for horticulture; and Sean C. Golden, a landscape/horticulture technology: plant production emphasis student and work study employee.

Read more

Michael A. Dincher, assistant professor of horticulture, and Wyatt C. Forest, laboratory assistant for horticulture, planted two sugar maples and a sawtooth oak at the Schneebeli Earth Science Center pond for Arbor Day. The tree planting was part of an online instructional video for Dincher’s Arboriculture class. Observed in the United States on the last Friday of April, the holiday encourages the planting, nurturing and celebrating of trees. Penn College has repeatedly been honored by the Arbor Day Foundation’s “Tree Campus USA” program for establishing and sustaining healthy community forests.
Photo provided

A landscape/horticulture technology student has been awarded $1,000 from the National Association of Landscape Professionals, which canceled its National Collegiate Landscape Competition that was scheduled March 18-21 at Michigan State University.

Drew J. Marsh, of Marble, enrolled in the major’s plant production emphasis, received the R.M. Landscape and Lemcke Family Scholarship by mail after the COVID-19 outbreak prohibited him from accepting it in person.

Marsh recently accepted an offer from The Walt Disney Co. in Florida as a plant science intern in its agricultural sciences department.

Read more

Pennsylvania College of Technology is aiding the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic by donating personal protection equipment to area health care facilities.

Various departments have spent the past week collecting supplies – originally intended for on-campus student and staff use – to be distributed within the next few days to the college’s nursing home partners.

Read more

Levi Schappel, who holds two degrees from Penn College – aviation technology (2012) and aviation maintenance technology (2014) – is among the Lycoming Engines employees interviewed for an eight-page article in the April edition of AOPA Pilot. Schappel supervises production of the high-performance Thunderbolt aircraft engine at Lycoming’s Williamsport plant, a custom manufacturing job that puts into daily practice his hands-on education at the college’s Lumley Aviation Center. “When you go to a race or an airshow and you see how much is demanded of these engines, it’s humbling,” Schappell said. “It makes you focus on doing everything you can to make sure they’re as good as they can possibly be.” The article, shared with permission of the publisher, is provided here: “Made to Order”

Christopher M. Gayman, a graduate of Pennsylvania College of Technology and OEM sales manager for Lycoming Engines, received an Alumni of the Year Award at Thursday’s 19th annual Education Celebration hosted by the Williamsport/Lycoming Chamber of Commerce.

The award – part of an event that recognizes the essential collaboration among school districts, colleges, and business and industry – is given to a graduate who has made a significant contribution to the quality of life in Lycoming County, has excelled in his or her own profession, and is active in the community.

Read more

As a child, Shane V. McDonnell became fascinated with cars. Now he’s following his longtime love by training for a career in collision repair technology. Working in hands-on labs with tools and equipment just like the pros use, McDonnell is building real-world experience. And when he’s done, he’ll walk away with structural, suspension, body, electrical and paint skills along with certifications from two industry leaders. “The big thing that drove me to Penn College in this major was the amount of time we spend working in the lab compared to the time we spend in the classroom,” the Dresher resident says in a video added to the college’s YouTube channel. “We take in either students’ or teachers’ cars. We write estimates. We order parts. We map out a repair plan. We do all the paint work, detail work, and it runs like an actual collision repair shop.”

A December graduate of Pennsylvania College of Technology, whose family’s tree care business in suburban Philadelphia fueled his choice of both college and career, recently arranged for the donation of a newly reconditioned chipper to his alma mater’s forestry program.

Thanks to the resourcefulness of Michael S. Shreiner, now employed full time at Shreiner Tree Care in southeastern Pennsylvania, forest technology students at Penn College’s Schneebeli Earth Science Center will have access to a 150XP Bandit Tree Chipper that the 2019 alumnus solicited from the manufacturer.

Read more

An expanded and enhanced welding lab – at 55,000-plus square feet, believed to be the largest such facility in higher education nationwide – was dedicated on Feb. 6 at Pennsylvania College of Technology.

The Welding Expansion Project, funded in part by a $2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration, added 35,000 square feet of instructional space to the lab in the college’s Lycoming Engines Metal Trades Center, allowing for enrollment of up to 60 more welding students annually – more than 300 in total.

Read more

The Horticulture Club will hold a Valentine’s Day sale from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Feb. 13-14 in front of CC Commons (Bush Campus Center, first floor). Members will be selling succulents and various interior plants, roses, and roses in bud vases. Vases can be pre-ordered, with pickup and payment during the sale. Everything else is “cash and carry” on sale days. Cash or checks (payable to Penn College) will be accepted. Individual roses are $5; bud vases with one rose, a fern and baby’s breath are $8; and bud vases with two roses, a fern and baby’s breath are $12. Prices vary for succulents and other plants. To pre-order a bud vase with one or two roses, email Alexis Witherite by Friday, Feb. 7.

The link between Penn College students and the companies that eventually employ them was in direct evidence this past week, as a technical support manager for a leading Mid-Atlantic distributor of heavy construction equipment visited classes at the Schneebeli Earth Science Center. Dan Hensley, of the Baltimore-based McClung-Logan Equipment Co., spent Monday through Thursday in the diesel lab with tomorrow’s technicians – whom he termed “the building blocks of the company” for keeping its extensive fleet in safe, efficient operation. Hensley’s schedule was tailored to the topics taught in each of the 10 groups, from powertrains and hydraulics to emissions and air conditioning. McClung-Logan, representatives of which frequently attend Penn College’s biannual Career Fairs, operates nine full-service locations throughout Delaware, Maryland and Virginia.

Penn College’s inspiring majors made their customary splash throughout the Pennsylvania Farm Show in Harrisburg (Jan. 4-11), as a rotating regiment of subject experts satisfied each day’s crowds – intellectually and nutritionally – at the nation’s largest indoor agricultural expo. In addition to the photo gallery below, the college’s involvement was covered by the Pennsylvania Cable Network and the Williamsport Sun-Gazette, which featured the schools of Nursing & Health Sciences and Business & Hospitality in its editions.

Read more

A New Year’s tradition – Pennsylvania College of Technology’s eye-opening participation in the nation’s largest indoor agricultural attraction – is about to be renewed.

Knowledgeable students and employees will busily represent the college at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo Center, 2300 N. Cameron St., Harrisburg, and personify the event’s 2019 theme of “Imagine the Opportunities.”

“We always look forward to showcasing the excitement of our academic programs. This is a great opportunity to introduce Farm Show visitors to the opportunities a Penn College degree provides,” said Carolyn R. Strickland, vice president for enrollment management/associate provost. “With so many visitors from across the commonwealth, we also enjoy connecting with our alumni attending the event.”

Read more

On Tuesday evening, in a cooperative effort between the School of Industrial, Computing & Engineering Technologies and the School of Transportation & Natural Resources Technologies, students enrolled in Ergonomics and Kinesiology (BIX220) explored several aircraft at the Lumley Aviation Center. Jason P. Zielewicz teaches the course, which is a study of human factors as they relate to design. The industrial design students sat on the flight deck of Penn College’s Boeing 727 to delve into the complexity of its controls and how they correspond to the pilot’s seating position. The students also got a look at the flight deck of the school’s Dassault Falcon 20 business jet, and viewed several smaller airplanes and helicopters. They will use the knowledge gained at the aviation center to refine their design-concept assignments. At the end of the course, the students will build a full-scale design of an automobile, aircraft or spacecraft, and test it using anthropometric people.
Information and photo by Thomas D. Inman, associate professor of aviation

Students in Pennsylvania College of Technology’s diesel equipment technology program have invaluable laboratory access to a time-tested road warrior: a 2006 Volvo VNL single-axle tractor, donated after its retirement from UPS Freight fleet service.

“UPS is a valued partner of Penn College and our students. This gift will provide our diesel students an opportunity for experience on the real-life wear and tear they will find in industry,” said Elizabeth A. Biddle, the college’s director of corporate relations. “This is a mutually beneficial opportunity because the signature brown on the truck resonates with our students, reminding them that UPS is a partner in their education and a potential employer for their career.”

Read more