Penn State Behrend’s Youth Education Outreach program welcomed more than 150 female high school students for the fourteenth annual Women in Engineering Day.
Women in Engineering Day 2019
This past November, Penn State Behrend’s Youth Education Outreach program welcomed more than 150 female high school students for the fourteenth annual Women in Engineering Day. Attendees enjoyed a variety of hands-on engineering workshops, such as “Design, Build, Race,” “Pipeline Challenge,” and “Polymorph Keychain Building.”
Students team up for Plastcar competition
Every fall for the past fourteen years, students enrolled in the PLET 468: Rapid Commercialization course have had the opportunity to work with clients to convert hand-drawn sketches into actual products.
While it’s not unusual for engineering students to work on real-world projects at Behrend, the clients in this case are an uncommon demographic. They’re fifth- and sixth-grade students from nearby elementary schools who provide designs for miniature racecars to the Behrend students, who then work closely with them to turn their concepts into reality.
The PLET students use 3D CAD software to design cars that closely replicate their clients’ sketches while meeting size and weight specifications. The cars are then 3D printed by a sponsor company before the students—young and not-so-young—team up to race their creations down a 30-meter-long sloped track at the PLASTCar Competition, held at the end of the semester.
From left, Conference Chair Dr. Ihab Ragai, associate professor of engineering; 2014 SME President Michael Molnar; SME Executive Director and CEO Sandra Bouckley; ASME President Said Jahanmir; and SME’s Senior Director of Communications Christopher Barger.
Manufacturing research conference a success
Last June, more than 600 researchers from twenty-six countries gathered in Erie for the co-located 47th NAMRI I SME North American Manufacturing Research Conference (NAMRC) and ASME International Manufacturing Science and Engineering Conference (MSEC) 2019.
It was the first time Penn State Behrend hosted NAMRC and the college’s second time hosting MSEC. Chaired by Behrend’s Ihab Ragai, associate professor of engineering, the four-day conference was held at Erie’s Bayfront Convention Center, where attendees—representing academia, industry, and government—shared more than 420 technical papers and sixty posters, spanning more than 130 technical sessions.
In addition to workshops, special events, and keynote speakers, attendees took industry tours offered by Erie-area companies, including Eriez, Modern Industries, McInnes Rolled Rings, and Berry Global, as well as the research laboratory of Hero BX.
"The conference showcased applied manufacturing-oriented research," Ragai said. "We had an event at the Advanced Manufacturing and Innovation Center that included tours of the facility and labs."
Behrend’s collaborative relationship with regional manufacturers was evidenced by nearly thirty conference sponsors.
Thanks go out to Acutec Aerospace Manufacturing USA; the National Science Foundation; GE Transportation (a Wabtec Company); Lightweight Innovations For Tomorrow (LIFT); Erie’s Bayfront Convention Center; Essentra; LORD Corporation; Hero BX; Penn State Behrend; Modern Industries; National Fuel; PNC Bank; Truck-Lite; Erie Promotions & Expos Inc.; NAMRI/SME; Penelec (FirstEnergy Company); Lascar Electronics; Kistler; Cummins; Penn State Behrend MMM Program; Translogistics; Springer; ASME; Advanced Finishing USA; Archi-Texture Finishing; Elwood National Forge; and the Erie Community Foundation.
Engineering student marshal named
Daniel Kovalevich, a Computer Science graduate from Erie, was the student marshal for the School of Engineering at spring commencement. Kovalevich is a recipient of the Christine Grzelak Engineering Leadership Award and has received the Behrend Chancellor Scholarship and Merwin Trustee Matching Scholarship. He has accepted a position as a software engineer at Microsoft.
Faculty News
New Faculty
The school welcomed eight new faculty members: Dr. Chen Cao, assistant professor of computer science and software engineering; Dr. Myung Cho, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering; Dr. Greg Dillon, professor of engineering in plastics engineering technology; Dr. Hussin Ketout, assistant teaching professor of engineering in electrical and computer engineering technology; Jonathan (Teck Meng) Liaw, lecturer in engineering in computer science and software engineering; Susan Daigle, lecturer in engineering in mechanical engineering technology; Dr. Lokesh Saharan, assistant teaching professor of mechanical engineering; Adam Wielobob, lecturer in engineering in mechanical engineering technology; and Dr. Xiawa (Eva) Wu, assistant professor of mechanical engineering.
Promotions
Dr. Jun Zhou was promoted to professor of mechanical engineering. Dr. Faisal Aqlan, industrial engineering; Dr. Adam Hollinger, mechanical engineering; and Dr. Ihab Ragai, mechanical engineering technology, were promoted to associate professor and granted tenure. Phil Jones was promoted to assistant teaching professor of engineering in mechanical engineering technology. Dr. Nancy Study was promoted to associate teaching professor of engineering in mechanical engineering technology.
Award Recipients
Five faculty members were recognized with School of Engineering awards for the 2019-20 academic year: Dr. Paul Lynch, assistant professor of industrial engineering, Excellence in Research Award; Jason Williams, assistant teaching professor of engineering in plastics engineering technology, Excellence in Outreach Award; Phil Jones, assistant teaching professor of engineering in mechanical engineering technology, Excellence in Service Award; Dr. Steven Nozaki, assistant teaching professor of engineering in mechanical engineering technology, Excellence in Teaching Award; and Dean Lewis, assistant teaching professor of mechanical engineering, Excellence in Advising Award. Jill Johnson, lecturer in mechanical engineering, won the Penn State Behrend Council of Fellows Excellence in Outreach Award.
The club earned its second consecutive first-place finish last June.
Supermileage team wins again!
Penn State Behrend’s Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) club ended the 2019 Supermileage Challenge the same way it finished the 2018 challenge: in the winner’s circle. The club earned its second consecutive first-place finish last June at Eaton Corp.’s Marshall Proving Grounds test track in Michigan. The Supermileage competition challenges teams to create vehicles that squeeze the most mileage out of a single tank of high-octane gasoline. Behrend’s vehicle circled the track with a fuel efficiency equivalent to 2,420 miles per gallon.
Alumnus named emerging leader by national academy of medicine
Dr. Ehsan Hoque ‘04, a University of Rochester assistant professor and expert in human-computer interaction, was named one of the 2020 Emerging Leaders in Health and Medicine Scholars by the National Academy of Medicine (NAM). Those chosen are from a wide range of health-related fields, from emergency medicine and health economics to biomedical engineering and research and public health policy.
The scholars are part of the Emerging Leaders in Health and Medicine Program, a NAM initiative that provides a platform for new leaders to collaborate with the academy and its members to advance science, combat challenges in health and medicine, and spark change to improve health for all. Hoque and the other members of the 2020 Scholars class will engage in a variety of activities over a three-year term beginning this summer.