Magnificent visuals of the Living Chapel, including images provided through Penn College’s partnership in the international project, accompany a story recently posted to the Facebook page of a prominent newscast in Italy. The segment appeared on TG5, broadcast from Rome and airing on Italian TV channel 5 – reported to have the highest ratings on commercial television in Italy.
A multidisciplinary project that began a year ago – fabricating a logo for the Wildcat Den esports room – has borne fruit on the second floor of Penn College’s Madigan Library.
Newswatch 16 reporter Nikki Krize and videographer Tom Durant stopped by the Lycoming Engines Metal Trades Center on Tuesday morning for a story about the expansion of Penn College’s welding laboratories and the campuswide safety protocols (and positive reinforcement of compliance) to maintain hands-on instruction in the face of COVID-19. The improvements, made possible in part by a $2 million grant provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration, increased the size of welding-related instructional space by about 35,000 square feet. Krize interviewed Bradley M. Webb, dean of engineering technologies, and welding instructor Michael R. Allen for the piece, which first ran during WNEP’s 5 p.m. newscast.
A special virtual event Thursday afternoon honored the U.S. Economic Development Administration’s support of expanded welding facilities at Pennsylvania College of Technology.
A $2 million public works grant from the EDA was the acknowledged catalyst for the additional instructional space in the Lycoming Metal Trades Center – “an incredible facility that will truly transform tomorrow,” as characterized by Bradley M. Webb, dean of engineering technologies – that was dedicated in February.
Stunning imagery and stirring music combine in a two-minute video posted to the Facebook page for the Living Chapel, an ode to sustainability and spirituality that gleams with the artistry of Penn College welding faculty and students. Soar via drone amid the beauty of the ages, then glide into the Botanical Garden of Rome for a closer look at this monumental achievement.
The mikeroweWORKS Foundation recognized the potential of nine Pennsylvania College of Technology students to shrink the skills gap by awarding them Work Ethic Scholarships for the 2020-21 academic year.
The foundation, created by skilled-labor advocate Mike Rowe, distributes the scholarships annually to students who “embrace personal responsibility, delayed gratification, a positive attitude and a strong work ethic” in preparing for a career in the skilled trades. Over $1 million was distributed to 223 recipients nationwide. Nearly 1,000 students applied for the scholarships.
Eight students from Pennsylvania College of Technology are among 37 nationwide honored with scholarships from a foundation that promotes skilled manufacturing careers.
The $1,500 scholarships from Nuts, Bolts & Thingamajigs – the foundation of the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association International – are for the Fall 2020 semester. Full-time students enrolled in an engineering or manufacturing-related course of study were eligible.
The eight Penn College recipients represent majors within the School of Engineering Technologies.
“We are very proud to see so many of our students honored with the scholarships,” said Bradley M. Webb, dean of engineering technologies. “Penn College had more students receive the scholarships than any other school. That fact reflects the high quality of not only our students but also our academic programs and dedicated faculty.”
A 2019 welding technology alumna, who returned to Pennsylvania College of Technology to explore automotive restoration technology, was featured in a “Work Ethic Wednesday” post on the mikeroweWORKS Foundation’s Facebook page earlier this month.
Madison O. Russ recently became the first-ever restoration intern at Kindig-It Design, a custom car fabrication shop in Salt Lake City, and her tenacity in landing the position caught the eye of Rowe – a TV personality and longtime advocate for hands-on skills – and his staff.
A pair of YouTube videos adds perspective to the Living Chapel, an international gift that seamlessly melds architecture, botany, theology, sustainability and music – with a vital assist from Penn College welding faculty and students. The first, produced by Gillean Denny, chief architectural designer of the “enormous jigsaw puzzle,” includes footage from the college’s welding labs and on-screen input from James N. Colton II, assistant professor of welding. “The music can be continuously adapted and reimagined,” Denny says, commenting on just one of the project’s stunning features: water-fed instrumentation that accents its natural artistry. “Just like the Living Chapel design itself, it should never be finished,” she says. “The design is alive. And I think that is the most important thing.”
A second video, provided by the Botanical Garden of Rome and presented in Italian, offers an overview of the entire process. Among the principals interviewed is Fabio Attorre, the garden’s director, who talks of the focus required to complete the project contemporaneous to a pandemic. During “a moment so difficult for our country,” he says, “we managed to bring home this beautiful structure.”
The Living Chapel, a global project in which Pennsylvania College of Technology welding faculty and students were integral partners, will be officially unveiled Friday in a 90-minute streaming event. The launch, in conjunction with the United Nations‘ World Environmental Day, will be broadcast live from the Rome Botanical Garden at 11 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (5 p.m. in Italy) and made available through The Living Chapel’s Facebook page. A PCToday article, video and photos chronicle the college’s exhaustive role in the chapel’s creation, a fabrication challenge that amounted to 3,500-plus hours over 10 weeks. Friday’s full agenda – which includes virtual input from Toronto-based designer Gillean Denny, a Penn State alumna whose discussions with a mentor at her alma mater resulted in Penn College’s involvement – follows: The Living Chapel
A massive structure meant to encourage the “ecological awakening of humanity” can trace its foundation across the Atlantic Ocean to the welding expertise and facilities offered at Pennsylvania College of Technology.
Nine instructors and 15 students spent 10 weeks fabricating the structural framework for the Living Chapel, unveiled this week at the Botanical Garden of Rome during Global Catholic Climate Movement activities. Its formal unveiling via streaming video is scheduled for June 5, U.N. World Environment Day.
When social distancing rules permit, the open-air sanctuary – made of aluminum and recyclable and repurposed materials – will be placed at the Vatican before being moved to its permanent home in Assisi, Italy, the birthplace of St. Francis, the patron saint of ecology, whose small church provided the footprint for the Living Chapel.
“I don’t think it’s sunk in yet, what it’s going to mean to everybody,” said James N. Colton II, assistant professor of welding, who led the Penn College fabrication team. “It’s definitely a big deal.”
A three-year National Science Foundation grant is supporting Pennsylvania College of Technology’s development of two certificates and an associate degree to meet the growing need for technicians in non-destructive testing.
The nearly $600,000 grant – A Collaborative Approach to Expanding Nondestructive Testing Education Within a Welding Program – is funded by the NSF’s Advanced Technological Education program, which is geared to the education of technicians for advanced-technology fields that drive the nation’s economy, such as non-destructive testing.
An article and YouTube video about Penn College’s expanded welding lab in the Lycoming Engines Metal Trades Center have been added to the Welding Digest website. The American Welding Society’s premier digital news source, the site is designed to provide thousands of welders and allied professionals with news and information related to the welding/fabrication industry.
The media spotlight on Penn College’s expanded welding lab shone brightly – and nationally – this week, attracting a visit from Philadelphia-based FOX News reporter Katie Byrne. The multimedia journalist spent much of Tuesday morning in the Lycoming Engines Metal Trades Center, talking with students and administration from the School of Industrial, Computing & Engineering Technologies. She also captured considerable video footage of the enhanced instructional space, resulting in online and broadcast versions of her story. The latter was distributed to FOX affiliates throughout the country, airing on Byrne’s home station (FOX29) Friday evening and during weekend newscasts on the FOX News cable network.
Eyewitness News’ Morgan Parrish toured the expanded welding lab in the Lycoming Engines Metal Trades Center on Wednesday, interviewing instructor Michael R. Allen along with welding and fabrication engineering technology students Josiah D. Maenza and Cinnamon A. Digan. For her piece, Parrish donned a safety helmet and embraced just one of the hands-on opportunities that Penn College students regularly experience. “Adds welder to resume,” she tweeted in advance of her report on WBRE/WYOU and pahomepage.com.