Behrend

Engineering design conference blends academia, industry

On Saturday, May 2, senior engineering students at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, will fulfill one major requirement before graduation: presenting their senior design projects to professors, fellow students and industry representatives at Penn State Behrend's 14th annual Richard J. Fasenmyer Engineering Design Conference.

Hosted by the School of Engineering, the conference will be held from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the college's Research and Economic Development Center (REDC). It is free and open to the public. Parking is available in the REDC deck on Technology Drive or the Junker Center parking lot.

The school requires a yearlong, capstone applied design experience for each of its degree programs. The conference provides an opportunity for students to showcase the results of these projects, most of which are sponsored by industry partners, professional engineering societies and nonprofit organizations. This year, 168 students will give 61 technical presentations; 26 regional and national companies sponsored more than half of the projects.

"Penn State Behrend is committed to merging academic and industry experiences in order to prepare students to hit the ground running upon graduation, and having industry-sponsored projects is part of that mission," Ralph Ford, director of the School of Engineering, said. "Businesses pose current problems to our engineering students that they may not have the time or technology to address otherwise."

This year's sponsors include LORD Corporation, GE Transportation, Eriez Magnetics, Nuvo Surgical, Corry Rubber, Dr. Gertrude A. Barber National Institute, Volt Vision, DNS Software, Impact Technology, Spectrum Control, Process and Data Automation, Inc., Penn State Behrend’s RFID Center of Excellence, Northrop Grumman, Dresser-Rand, Corning, and Respironics.

Eriez Magnetics VP will deliver keynote

The 2009 keynote speaker will be Michael J. Mankosa, vice president of operations at Eriez Magnetics. His 30-minute address will begin at 11:45 a.m. in the Samuel P. "Pat" Black III Conference Center, located on the first floor of the REDC. His talk is also free and open to the public.

Mankosa has served in his current position since 2003 and is responsible for research and development, engineering, information systems, and manufacturing operations. He first joined Eriez Magnetics in 1997 as the company’s technical director.

Previously, Mankosa served as director of research and development for Carpco, Inc. in Jacksonville, Fla. During his tenure, he was responsible for research and development efforts that led to several new process and equipment patents.

Mankosa earned his doctorate in mining and minerals engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) in Blacksburg. His graduate work focused on the design, instrumentation and control of process equipment.

The late Richard J. Fasenmyer '69, for whom the design conference is named, was a longtime supporter of the Penn State Behrend School of Engineering. The college renamed the annual event in 2005 to honor the entrepreneur. Fasenmyer founded RJF International Corp., a world leader in the manufacture and distribution of interior wall coverings, industrial matting products and specialty films. Fasenmyer was Penn State Behrend's 1991 Alumni Fellow, was named a Penn State Distinguished Alumnus in 2000, and was the first individual to donate $1 million to the college.

Visit www.behrend.psu.edu/academic/engineering/Fasenmyer/PDFS/FasenmyerProgram08-09.pdf for a full program of this year's conference.

The School of Engineering at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, offers three associate and seven bachelor’s degree programs, as well as one minor. Each program is accredited by either the Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAC) or the Technology Accreditation Commission (TAC) of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET). Students have access to 11 student chapters of honorary and professional organizations, such as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE), Society of Women Engineers (SWE) and National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE). The School of Engineering and the Sam and Irene Black School of Business are co-located in the college’s $30 million, 160,000-square-foot Research and Economic Development Center, making Penn State Behrend one of the first institutions of higher education in the country to house its engineering and business schools together in the same facility.

For more information, visit behrend.psu.edu.

Last Updated April 10, 2009

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