News about Welding

Pennsylvania College of Technology presented Richard A. Conrad Jr. with a Distinguished Alumni Award at its Summer 2022 Commencement ceremonies, held Aug. 6 at the Community Arts Center.

Conrad, of Selinsgrove, earned an Associate of Applied Science degree from Penn College in welding technology in 2002 and holds a dozen welding certifications. He has 32 years of experience in welding manufacturing and is employed by ITW Welding North America as a field application engineer, providing process technical support for key industrial accounts, including Miller Electric and Hobart Brothers.

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Approximately 100 Pennsylvania College of Technology students per semester will benefit from the generosity of a leading manufacturer of welding equipment and solutions.

Abicor Binzel USA Inc. donated more than $16,000 worth of equipment, including a gas metal arc welding gun, a shielding gas management system and two fume extraction systems for the college’s 55,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art welding lab.

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Pennsylvania College of Technology “manufactured” an enriching educational adventure for students this summer with a 16-day excursion to Germany and an institution renowned for vocational training.

Led by Richard K. Hendricks Jr. and Howard W. Troup, instructors of automated manufacturing and machining, the seven students experienced a mix of classroom, lab and hands-on work with German machining methods. The three-credit course – Precision Machining in Germany – comprised robotics, CNC and PLC programming, quality control specialist training, and tours of leading companies reflecting Industry 4.0, manufacturing’s increasing reliance on smart automation and data exchange.

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An overview of Penn College’s welding program is featured in the July issue of FFJournal, the magazine for today’s metal fabricating and forming technologies. The article – written by the American Welding Society’s Trish Fliss – includes comments from co-department heads Michael R. Allen, instructor, and James N. Colton II, assistant professor. In addition to highlighting the far-reaching capabilities within the 55,000-square-foot lab space, “Well Rounded” details students’ success in attracting financial assistance from the AWS Foundation: Over the past five years, 143 scholarships totaling more than $300,000 were awarded to Penn College enrollees.

FFJournal

A second week of Pre-College Programs, providing an absorbing midmonth bill of fare, winningly delivered eight more options for teenagers looking for purposeful summer diversion. Attracting both the well-traveled and the close-to-home, the latest Penn College sessions covered a range of career-focused opportunity: Automotive Restoration; Design, Build & Grow (landscape and horticulture); Diesel Truck & Heavy Equipment; Fundamentals of Emergency Response; Graphic Design Summer Studio; the first-time offerings of Have Your Cake & Decorate It, Too and Non-Destructive Testing; and Thingamajig Fabricators. This photo gallery provides a sampling of the visitors’ enlightening encounters with their potential futures, with a slightly heavier dose of the inaugural cake-decorating camp … because who doesn’t want an extra helping of cake? (Readers can also relive the first round of Pre-College Programs, published elsewhere on PCToday.)

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Two Pennsylvania College of Technology entrants placed first in their respective categories during last month’s 58th annual SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference in Atlanta.

Bringing home the gold from the event – a showcase of the nation’s top career and technical education students – were Curtiss R. Gay, of Tunkhannock, who took part in the aviation contest, and Michael D. Shoemaker, of Orefield, who competed in welding. Gay graduated in May with a certificate in aviation maintenance technician, and Shoemaker is enrolled in the college’s welding & fabrication engineering technology major.

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Summer 2022 Commencement at Pennsylvania College of Technology will feature a couple of firsts.

The ceremony, scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 6, at the Community Arts Center, will include the awarding of master’s degrees for the first time in the college’s history. It is also the first commencement ceremony for which new Penn College President Michael J. Reed, who began his duties July 1, will preside.

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The Thingamajig Fabricators Pre-College Program, widening high school students’ eyes to in-demand manufacturing skills through wide-open access to campus labs – was featured on Newswatch 16’s Tuesday broadcasts. WNEP reporter Chris Keating made an afternoon visit to Penn College with videographer Tom Durant, talking with students Tanner Green, a Sayre 11th grader, and Sullivan Stilson, a ninth grader from State College; as well as Bradley M. Webb, dean of engineering technologies, about the camp. “It lets you experience it so you know what it’s like,” said Stilson, spending the day in the welding lab, “because you can’t tell if you enjoy something without experiencing it.”

The acting secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development visited campus on Monday to talk with Penn College faculty and high school students participating in the four-day Thingamajig Fabricators Pre-College Program that was partially funded by the Governor’s Office.

“The Wolf Administration is proud to support camps like these and introduce the next generation to different ways they can work in the manufacturing industry,” Neil Weaver said. “It’s exciting to be here to see firsthand the excitement and enthusiasm these students have for manufacturing. From what I’ve seen here today, the future of Pennsylvania manufacturing is in very good hands.”

Gov. Tom Wolf had earmarked nearly $80,000 in grants to Nuts, Bolts & Thingamajigs, a charitable foundation of the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association International, to partner in six Summer Manufacturing Camps this year and another dozen in 2023.

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A sculptural alliance between welding artist Rae Ripple and Penn College students is the subject of July’s “Back Page” feature in The Fabricator, North America’s leading magazine for the metal forming and fabricating industry.

Author Rafael Guerrero chronicles the collaboration, which began when student Skyler R. Graver approached Ripple at an industry expo and ultimately led to the installation of 9-foot-long motorcycle near the entrance to the college’s welding labs.

“It was absolutely incredible to watch,” Ripple told the magazine after visiting campus in March. “The amount of fabrication from these students is insane.”

Pennsylvania College of Technology leads the nation in scholarship recipients from a foundation that promotes skilled manufacturing careers.

Nuts, Bolts & Thingamajigs – the foundation of the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association International – awarded the $1,500-$2,500 scholarships to full-time undergraduate students enrolled in a certificate or degree program leading to a career in manufacturing.

Penn College students received six of the 32 scholarships for the Fall 2022 semester.

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U.S. Rep. Fred Keller, R-12th, met with local elected officials and representatives of Pennsylvania’s oil and gas industry during a District Energy Day that included a roundtable discussion at Penn College. “Right here at Pennsylvania College of Technology, we see the great work they’re doing to educate the future workforce,” said the congressman, who supplemented Monday’s session with tours of plastics, welding and machining labs.

Nearly 140 campers from near and far participated in the past week’s seven Pre-College Programs, giving teens a taste of Penn College through an engrossing variety of academic adventure and social interaction: Architecture Odyssey, Autism Spectrum Post-Secondary Interest Experience, Automotive Technology, Aviation, Engineering, Future Restaurateurs and Health Careers.

A second week of camps, featuring an equally tantalizing menu of opportunities spread among eight more programs, convenes in mid-July.  Registrants for both weeks hail from 14 states – some from as far away as Connecticut, Florida and Virginia – and include a camper from Santiago, Chile!

Don’t think high school students are the only ones in on the fun, however! Pre-College Programs include My Tomorrow, a middle school career exploration day camp sponsored by the Soars family, from June 28 to July 1 and July 12-15.

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A national foundation devoted to manufacturing’s future is teaming with Pennsylvania College of Technology to spark interest among high schoolers in the sector’s rewarding careers.

Nuts, Bolts & Thingamajigs, the charitable foundation of the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association International, provided a $2,000 grant for the college to host the Thingamajig Fabricators Pre-College Program for students entering grades 9-12. The program is also supported by the PMMI Education and Training Foundation and Construction Specialties Inc.

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During the past decade, Pennsylvania College of Technology emerged as a top contender in the prestigious Baja SAE endurance race with several top-10 finishes. During the past month, the Penn College team established itself as the best in the world with two victories.

Penn College topped a 77-car field in Palmyra, New York, on Sunday, June 5, to win the four-hour endurance race at Baja SAE Rochester. Three weeks earlier, the team captured the endurance competition at Baja SAE Tennessee Tech. At both events, Penn College bested the likes of Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Wisconsin, Purdue, Cornell, Rochester Institute of Technology and Virginia Tech.

“I’m overwhelmed by the team’s performance,” said John G. Upcraft, instructor of manufacturing and machining and adviser to Penn College’s Baja SAE club since its inception 17 years ago. “Winning the race once was amazing, but winning twice in three weeks over such outstanding schools is unbelievable. I couldn’t be prouder!”

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