Welding – PCToday

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Penn College welding faculty, students build ‘Living Chapel’

The Living Chapel measures about 45 feet long by 30 feet wide, with heights ranging between 10 and 15 feet. The structure will remain at the Botanical Garden of Rome until social distancing rules permit a stay at the Vatican before being moved to its permanent location in Assisi, Italy.

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.”

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NSF supporting program development at Penn College

Pennsylvania College of Technology is developing two certificates and an associate degree focusing on non-destructive testing. The certificate programs are scheduled to be offered for the 2021-22 Academic Year, followed a year later by the associate degree.

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.

General Information Industrial, Computing & Engineering Technologies Welding

Welding Digest spotlights college’s enhanced lab

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.

Faculty & Staff General Information Industrial, Computing & Engineering Technologies Students Welding

Welding lab gets cross-country exposure through FOX News

The journalist tells viewers that Penn College welding students have to complete a minimum of 144 hours of hands-on lab experience.

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.

Faculty & Staff Industrial, Computing & Engineering Technologies Students Welding

Eyewitness News reporter goes ‘under the mask’ for welding story

Maenza, of Sayre, by one of the college's new robotic welders. — Maenza, of Sayre, by one of the college’s new robotic welders.

Allen, co-department head for welding, gets the on-air treatment.

Parrish talks with Digan, of Mifflinburg.

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.

Faculty & Staff Industrial, Computing & Engineering Technologies Students Welding

Welding expansion attracts Newswatch 16 coverage

Backed by an impressive commemoration of the donors who made the facility possible, Keating talks with Rhoades.

Recording some welding in "Pipe Alley" — Recording some welding in “Pipe Alley”

Allen adds faculty insight to the interviews.

A WNEP reporter visited Penn College’s Lycoming Engines Metal Trades Center this week, preparing a piece about the expanded (and recently dedicated) welding lab. Chris Keating interviewed welding and fabrication engineering technology majors Natalie J. Rhoades, of Weedville, and Sara D. Stafford, of West Chester, as well as instructor Michael R. Allen. The story premiered during Wednesday’s evening newscasts.

Alumni Faculty & Staff Industrial, Computing & Engineering Technologies STEM Students Welding

Penn College welding expansion sparks opportunities

Penn College’s expanded and enhanced welding lab, unveiled in dedication ceremonies on Feb. 6, is featured in a new video on the college’s YouTube channel. At 55,000-plus square feet, it is believed to be the largest such facility in higher education nationwide. Thanks, in part, to $2.5 million in corporate support, the lab includes an electron beam welder, CNC plasma cutters, laser welding, automation and robotics, and 124 individual welding booths. “It’s really important for us to take this opportunity to come alongside a school like Penn College in a way that enables the educators to do what they do best, and that’s to really teach and inspire these kids,” said Miller Electric’s Dave Lambert. “And when you feel and see that kind of commitment and dedication to the future of the industry and the future of trades, it’s easy to want to be involved.” The college enrolls about 300 welding students, and graduates of the program have nearly a 100% placement rate.

Alumni Collision Repair & Restoration Corporate Relations Events Faculty & Staff Industrial, Computing & Engineering Technologies President STEM Students Transportation & Natural Resources Technologies Welding

College celebrates expanded welding lab, industry partners

Pennsylvania College of Technology President Davie Jane Gilmour deftly wields a plasma cutter to sever a metal ribbon during a dedication ceremony for a greatly expanded welding facility at the college.

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.

Automated Manufacturing & Machining Electrical Industrial, Computing & Engineering Technologies Scholarships STEM Students Welding

Penn College manufacturing students earn scholarships

Four Pennsylvania College of Technology students received scholarships from Nuts, Bolts & Thingamajigs, the foundation of the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association International: Tyler J. Bandle, of Slatington, and John A. Provenza Jr., of Marysville, automated manufacturing technology; Sean A. Bush, of Williamsport, electrical technology; and Cinnamon A. Digan, of Mifflinburg, welding and fabrication engineering technology.

Four Pennsylvania College of Technology students are among 14 nationwide to receive scholarships from a foundation dedicated to promoting skilled manufacturing careers.

The $1,500 to $2,500 scholarships from Nuts, Bolts & Thingamajigs, the foundation of the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association International, are for full-time students enrolled in an engineering or manufacturing-related course of study.

Faculty & Staff Industrial, Computing & Engineering Technologies Welding

Emeritus status approved for longtime faculty member

Robert M. Vaughn, in an archival photo from November 2002

Pennsylvania College of Technology’s Board of Directors has approved faculty emeritus status for Robert M. Vaughn, who taught welding at the institution for nearly four decades.

Vaughn retired in August after 39 years of service to Penn College and its immediate predecessor, Williamsport Area Community College.

Vaughn’s nominating documentation noted the many roles he played in addition to serving with distinction on faculty, including “advisor and mentor to the students, as well as other faculty members, in and out of the classroom.”

Automated Manufacturing & Machining Faculty & Staff General Information Plastics & Polymer Welding Workforce Development

State House speaker, colleagues tour campus labs

The group intently listens to President Gilmour in the college's welding addition. From left are Reed; Turzai; Borowicz; Owlett's wife, Lauren; and Owlett. — The group intently listens to President Gilmour in the college’s welding addition. From left are Reed; Turzai; Borowicz; Owlett’s wife, Lauren; and Owlett.

David R. Cotner (second from right), dean of industrial, computing and engineering technologies, takes the group by the expanded facility's impressive new plasma equipment. — David R. Cotner (second from right), dean of industrial, computing and engineering technologies, takes the group by the expanded facility’s impressive new plasma equipment.

John M. Good III, instructor of automation and computer integrated manufacturing, leads a tour in College Avenue Labs.

The group pauses in front of a ProtoTrak lathe, among equipment purchased with a National Science Foundation grant to combat the skills gap in advanced manufacturing. From left are Owlett, Wheeland, Turzai, Yaw and Borowicz.

Shannon M. Munro (in light blue), vice president for workforce development, discusses production activities in the Shell Polymers Rotational Molding Center of Excellence.

The speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives was among state legislators who visited Penn College on Thursday afternoon, touring several academic laboratories in the School of Industrial, Computing & Engineering Technologies. Comprising the group were Speaker Michael C. Turzai (R-McCandless), Rep. Stephanie Borowicz (R-Lock Haven), Rep. Clinton D. Owlett (R-Wellsboro), Rep. Jeff C. Wheeland (R-Williamsport) and Neil R. Lesher, Rep. Turzai’s chief of staff. During the lawmakers’ 90-minute stay, school administration and faculty – along with Workforce Development personnel – introduced them to welding and metal fabrication technologies, advanced manufacturing, and plastics and polymer engineering technologies. Facilitating the visit were President Davie Jane Gilmour; Michael J. Reed, vice president for academic affairs/provost; Patrick Marty, chief of staff and assistant to the president for college relations; and state Sen. Gene Yaw, chair of the college’s board of directors. Others on the tour included Lycoming County Commissioner-elect Scott L. Metzger and Fisher Mining Co.’s John A. Blaschak, one of the college’s corporate partners and a member of its Visionary Society.

Alumni Architecture & Sustainable Design Automated Manufacturing & Machining Building Construction Civil Engineering & Surveying Construction & Design Technologies Construction Management Events Faculty & Staff Heating, Ventilation & Air Conditioning Industrial, Computing & Engineering Technologies Landscape/Horticulture STEM Students Transportation & Natural Resources Technologies Welding

‘PA Build My Future’ extends its reach in Year Two

About 75 current Penn College students, eager cheerleaders all, sacrificed part of Fall Break to advocate for their chosen career paths.

Penn College’s second annual PA Build My Future event, an interactive academic and industry showcase on Thursday, provided more than 900 high-school students with an opportunity to experience the full range of possibilities in the construction and design field. Scores of current students in the School of Construction & Design Technologies joined faculty and administrators, along with many of the college’s commercial benefactors, in guiding visitors toward their potential careers.

Architecture & Sustainable Design Building Construction Civil Engineering & Surveying Construction & Design Technologies Construction Management Events Faculty & Staff Heating, Ventilation & Air Conditioning Industrial, Computing & Engineering Technologies Landscape/Horticulture Students Transportation & Natural Resources Technologies Welding

Newswatch 16 visits ‘PA Build My Future’

WNEP’s Chris Keating visited campus for Thursday’s PA Build My Future, filing a report on the second annual introduction of secondary students to the wide-open world of construction and design careers. Keating visited indoor and outdoor exhibits facilitated by industry sponsors, Penn College faculty and current students (who gave up a day of Fall Break to excitedly represent their respective majors). Included in the broadcast were Carol A. Lugg, dean of construction and design technologies; building construction technology instructor Levon A. Whitmyer; Christine A. Limbert, of Curwensville, enrolled in architectural technology; and Lucas Vandergrift, a sophomore at Wellsboro High School who was among the day’s 929 students from nearly 30 high schools and career and technical centers.
(“PA Build My Future photo gallery)

Faculty & Staff General Information Industrial, Computing & Engineering Technologies Nursing Nursing & Health Sciences Plastics & Polymer Welding

College part of Chamber’s industry tour for educators

Melissa Turlip, program manager with Commonwealth Charitable Management, invites attendees to explore the six Mobile Oilfield Learning Unit stations (at right), offering 24 hands-on activities on energy and the technologies and sciences involved with the oil and gas industry. The traveling exhibit, from the Oilfield Energy Center, is available for secondary school visits.

Visitors move from their luncheon site into other areas of the welding addition, as well as to the current instructional space.

A long line of secondary educators and counselors make their way down the campus mall on a beautiful autumn day, led by Bradley M. Webb (far left), assistant dean of industrial, computing and engineering technologies.

The college’s modern nursing labs, complete with high-tech “patients” of varying ages, are shown off by Valerie A. Myers, assistant dean of nursing.

Webb shares the industry-sized equipment and processes housed in the plastics and polymer engineering technology labs.

School counselors, along with career and technical educators, included Penn College on a Monday tour of the area’s industrial assets. The guests began their afternoon with lunch in the new welding addition before exploring new and existing welding labs in the Lycoming Engines Metal Trades Center, then moved to the Breuder Advanced Technology & Health Sciences Center for stopovers in nursing and plastics. The groups visited several businesses in the region prior to arriving on main campus, including Lycoming Engines, Halliburton and Savoy Contract Furniture. Eyewitness News’ Morgan Parrish was along for the tours, which were facilitated by the Williamsport/Lycoming Chamber of Commerce.

General Information Industrial, Computing & Engineering Technologies Students Welding

Students to perform during Williamsport’s ‘First Friday’

Three students who have performed together as a CRU worship team will provide musical entertainment during this week’s First Friday in downtown Williamsport. The trio – Graham E. Burnett (percussion), industrial design, Pompton Lakes, New Jersey; Nathaniel H. Lyon (saxophone/percussion), welding and fabrication engineering technology, Fredericksburg; and Elias D. Ritter (keyboard), graphic design, Willow Grove – will play on the BB&T stage (between the Community Arts Center and Williamsport Sun-Gazette building) from 5-7 p.m.

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