News about Welding

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 the session with tours of the college’s 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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For a decade, Pennsylvania College of Technology’s Baja SAE team has placed among the nation’s elite in grueling endurance races. After Baja SAE Tennessee Tech, the team reigns supreme.

Penn College topped a 72-car field in Cookeville, Tennessee, on Sunday to win the endurance race for the first time, besting the likes of Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue, Cornell, Rochester Institute of Technology, Case Western Reserve, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, Clemson, Auburn and Texas A&M. The four-hour race, consisting of rugged terrain and tight turns, is Baja SAE’s marquee event.

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Members of the American Society of Non-Destructive Testing, Susquehanna Valley Section, got a closeup look at Penn College’s expansive welding labs when they recently held a dinner meeting in the Lycoming Engines Metal Trades Center. The visit heralds this fall’s start of an associate degree in non-destructive testing through the college’s School of Engineering Technologies – part of a revised curriculum developed by instructor Michael J. Nau and James N. Colton II, assistant professor of welding. The Susquehanna Valley Section, chartered in 1988, covers a 90-mile radius around State College.
Photos by Frank T. Kocsis, student photographer

The “ripple” effect of Skyler R. Graver’s gumption will enhance Pennsylvania College of Technology’s landscape for generations to come.

A 200-pound, 9-foot-long motorcycle sculpture accentuates the north end of the campus mall, thanks to Graver and other talented members of the college’s American Welding Society club. Graver’s interaction with famed metal artist Rae Ripple last fall led to the fabrication of the chopper-style motorcycle, a permanent campus feature enriched by Ripple’s creative flair.

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Pennsylvania College of Technology’s “Women’s Wednesday” series continued this week with Stacey C. Hampton, assistant dean of industrial and computer technologies, engaging students during a late-afternoon social in College Avenue Labs.

With a background in elementary and early childhood education, as well as experience in 4-H and literacy programs, Hampton joined the college staff in 2006 as a matriculation and retention coordinator. Among the acknowledged keys to her success, both in personal development and institutional outreach, are the connections that she’s made.

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Students in Drew R. Potts’ Steel Design course (CET 321) traveled to High Steel Structures LLC on Tuesday to learn about bridge girder fabrication. “The concepts students learn in my class are seen up close and very personal at High Steel Structures,” said Potts, assistant professor of civil engineering technology (who also provided photos of the class visit). The tour was facilitated and led by Adam J. Steppe, who holds three degrees from Penn College: welding (1999), welding technology (2011) and welding and fabrication engineering technology (2013), assisted by Christopher L. Verbeski. Located west of main campus, High Steel is one of the nation’s leading fabricators of structural steel and a longtime supporter of the college – most recently donating nearly $100,000 worth of scrap metal to the School of Engineering Technologies for use by welding students.

The “Women’s Wednesday” program, an Office of Student Engagement-sponsored forum for inspiration from those excelling in traditionally male-dominated fields, kicked off this week with a presentation by the assistant dean of architectural and construction technologies.

Ellyn A. Lester provided the Penn’s Inn audience – which included colleagues from the Clean Energy Center, The Madigan Library and architecture faculty, as well as students  – with a summary of her considerable experience and success.

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International welding artist Rae Ripple, encouraged by a Pennsylvania College of Technology student last fall to drop by campus, honored that invitation Friday with an inspiring daylong visit.

“I absolutely love this school!” she said during a “Live With Rae” morning presentation in the Klump Academic Center, coolly and confidently striding the auditorium stage in an animated and unabashed Q&A.

That session was preceded by a tour and followed by a demonstration in the welding lab, where Ripple put her renowned stamp on a student project – aptly mirroring her enthusiasm for motorcycles – that will be installed outside the Lycoming Engines Metal Trades Center for public display.

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Johnson Controls and its York-based Navy Systems business has bolstered welding education at Pennsylvania College of Technology by donating $30,000 worth of materials in the past year and a half.

Recently, the company, a Corporate Tomorrow Maker partner of the college, boosted its support with a $10,000 gift toward curriculum enhancements and additional equipment and materials procurement. It is also providing personal protective equipment/hand tool packages to be awarded to students for exemplary work in Penn College’s welding program.

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Welding alumna Erin M. Beaver, an intermediate manufacturing engineer for the Harley-Davidson Motor Co. in York, has been chosen as an “Emerging Leader” among the 130 recipients of this year’s STEP Ahead Awards from The Manufacturing Institute.

This is the 10th year for the peer-nominated awards, which honor women for their contributions and impact in both manufacturing and their communities. The Emerging Leader designation represents young women who are the future of the industry and who have demonstrated exceptional accomplishments at the beginning of their careers.

“I am passionate about manufacturing because it’s always evolving and that, in turn, creates opportunity for personal growth – whether it be through gaining different experiences or learning a new technology,” said Beaver, who earned a bachelor’s degree in welding and fabrication engineering technology in 2019. “Continuing to grow is important to me, and a career in manufacturing supports that.”

While at Penn College, Beaver and two classmates formed an all-female team that competed at the SkillsUSA National Championships in Louisville, Kentucky.

She and the other honorees will formally receive their awards at an April 28 gala in Washington, D.C.

Mark N. Hurd found himself perched about 140 feet above the Hudson River on a cold January day. A steel basket attached to the multijointed arm of a snooper truck stationed on the massive bridge above provided both workspace and sanctuary for the Pennsylvania College of Technology instructor.

For hours, Hurd meticulously employed an ultrasonic testing unit to reveal the quality of butt welds on 10 flanges strengthening the bridge’s steel beams. Those girders would soon support about 140,000 vehicles daily, traveling the 3.1 miles connecting South Nyack and Tarrytown, New York, just north of Manhattan.

“It’s like being an industrial doctor because many of the testing processes, such as ultrasound and radiography, were originally used in the medical field,” Hurd said in describing his work as a quality control inspector at the Tappan Zee Bridge (Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge). “I’ve been in this business for over 30 years, and there’s not a week that goes by when I don’t learn something new or face a new challenge. That’s what keeps it exciting.”

Penn College is providing a career pathway to that excitement with an associate degree in non-destructive testing. Offered for the first time this fall, the two-year program will combine hands-on welding experience in the college’s 55,000-square-foot lab with exposure to several NDT processes, including ultrasonic and radiographic testing.

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High Steel Structures’ recent donation of nearly $100,000 worth of scrap metal to Penn College prompted a Thursday afternoon visit by WNEP-TV’s Chris Keating to the welding lab. Keating taped a segment that aired during evening newscasts and featured welding and fabrication engineering technology students Michael D. Shoemaker, of Orefield, and Kevin D. Scharba, of Kane; Elizabeth A. Biddle, director of corporate relations; and James N. Colton II, assistant professor of welding.