Senior engineering and engineering technology students at Penn State Erie will be front and center on Saturday, April 30, when they present their yearlong senior design projects during this year's Richard J. Fasenmyer Engineering Conference Day. The day's series of half-hour presentations begins at 8 a.m. in the Nick Building and continues until 12:15 p.m. when Kenneth R. Schulz, an engineering manager from Lockheed Martin, will present the keynote address in Roche Hall.
"This is a special day for student teams who have worked all year long on their projects," said David Roth, associate professor of engineering, who oversees the day's activities. "The teams will be making half-hour presentations throughout the morning, and we've encouraged them to invite their parents and siblings, their classmates, their industrial sponsors and anyone interested in engineering to come and see what they've accomplished."
Although each project has a name, it's the presentation that makes the projects clear, students said. A "Ductile Iron Pouring Control System" or a "Lincoln Electric Nozzle Cleaner" doesn't come alive until it's been explained. On the other hand, some projects, like the "Emergency Lightwand Device" and the "Wireless Mouse Glove" offer clues to their operation. One project, the Behrend Atmospheric and Climate Observation Network (BACON), is sure to draw interest from guests and visitors. Many of the senior design projects are industry-sponsored, and representatives of industry will attend to see first-hand the solutions students have developed for their engineering problems.
Visitors to the conference also will see a presentation of the 2005 Penn State Erie SuperMileage Vehicle, an annual entry among the senior design projects. For the past decade, engineering students have participated in the annual SAE SuperMileage competition, each year improving their entry and their competition results.
This is the 10th year that engineering students have presented their work. To recognize that anniversary, Penn State Erie named the conference in honor of the late Richard J. Fasenmyer. In 1992, Fasenmyer became the first Penn State alumnus to contribute $1 million to Penn State Erie, and the campus named its new plastics processing laboratory building in his honor. In 2000 Penn State presented him the Distinguished Alumnus Award, the University's highest award for alumni.
Fasenmyer attended Penn State Erie for two years, then graduated from Penn State University Park in 1969. His support and advice over the years have been instrumental in the success of the college's School of Engineering and Engineering Technology, and his example has inspired other alumni and community leaders to become involved in the life of the college.