MWRI Erie was launched in the fall of 2019 with funding by a number of organizations, represented here at the summer lab opening event by (from left): Charles “Boo” Hagerty, chief development officer, Hamot Health Foundation; Michael Batchelor, then president, Erie Community Foundation; Dr. Ralph Ford, chancellor, Behrend; Dr. Ivor Knight, associate dean for research and graduate studies, Behrend; Dr. Halina Zyczynski, medical director, MWRI Erie; Dr. Robert Edwards, chair, obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive sciences, UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital; David Gibbons, president, UPMC Hamot; and Michael Annichine, chief executive officer, Magee-Womens Research Institute and Foundation.
Jeremy O'Mard, a managing consultant at IBM Global Business Services, is serving as an executive in residence at Penn State Behrend's Black School of Business.
Jeff Stempka, senior associate marketing manager at the Campbell Soup company, is serving as an executive in residence at Penn State Behrend's Black School of Business. He leads product innovation across the Campbell Condensed Soup and Swanson Broth & Stock portfolios.
Ann Scott, community outreach manager at Erie Insurance Group, is serving as an executive in residence at Penn State Behrend's Black School of Business. She oversees Erie Insurance Group's charitable giving and community outreach.
Jeremy O'Mard, a managing consultant at IBM Global Business Services, is serving as an executive in residence at Penn State Behrend's Black School of Business. He is responsible for the installation, maintenance and security of IBM's Commissary Advance Resale Transaction System.
Eugene Natali, the CEO and founder of Troutwood, is serving as an executive in residence at Penn State Behrend's Black School of Business. He co-authored "The Missing Semester," an investment guide that provides practical financial advice to high school and college students.
Matthew MacBeth, chief innovation officer of the Brookfield Group, is serving as an executive in residence at Penn State Behrend's Black School of Business. He has founded several start-up ventures and mentors entrepreneurs through his Guidant Venture Studio.
Steven D. Bugajski, the chief information officer at U.S. Steel, is serving as an executive in residence at Penn State Behrend's Black School of Business. He leads U.S. Steel's global IT operations, including delivery of the company's overall digital strategy and cybersecurity.
Using a computer vision algorithm, students at Penn State Behrend programmed the mower to recognize objects in its path -- a ball, for example, or a dog -- and automatically steer away from them.
This lawn mower, built by students at Penn State Behrend, can be operated with an Xbox controller. The left joystick steers it, and the right trigger spins the cutting blade.
