UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- In the early 1990s, the model for engineering education in the College of Engineering at Penn State was designed such that only a small percentage of students were afforded opportunities to apply what they learned in the classroom before graduating and starting their careers. That model would change drastically following the inception of the Learning Factory in 1995.
The Learning Factory helps bring the real-world into the classroom by providing engineering students with practical hands-on experience through industry-sponsored and client-based capstone design projects. The projects are displayed and judged during the College of Engineering Design Showcase, held at the end of the fall and spring semesters.
Over the past 20 years, more than 1,800 projects have been completed involving more than 8,600 students.
To celebrate its milestone anniversary, faculty, students and industry representatives recently reflected on two decades of award-winning, world-class engineering education at the Learning Factory.
John Lamancusa: Building a strong foundation
Though the Learning Factory was established in 1995, the concept for the program really started taking shape in the early 1990s. John Lamancusa, a mechanical engineering professor at the time, recalled that engineering education was essentially going through a sort of renaissance. "We were asking ourselves, 'Is our curriculum too theoretical? Is it too divorced from reality?'"
Lamancusa said one thing engineering educators all agreed on was that students needed more hands-on, applied education to complement what they were learning in the classroom.
An opportunity for the College of Engineering to get much-needed funding for such an initiative came along in 1993 when the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA, which is now known as DARPA) put out a request for proposals for their Technology Achievement Program. Lamancusa said, "The program aimed to get more industry involvement in education. A group of college faculty and administrators thought it would be a good idea to apply."
The proposal was successful and the College of Engineering received $2.75 million from ARPA and the National Science Foundation, which was used to create the Manufacturing Engineering Education Partnership with the University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez and the University of Washington.
Lamancusa explained, "Each partner developed curriculum materials, tested and deployed them and subsequently shared the information with the other universities. Penn State's piece included starting a minor in product realization, which offered new innovative courses in concurrent engineering education and entrepreneurship, as well as the industry-based capstone course."
Of course, space would need to be allocated for students to work on their projects. Lamancusa recalled, "The Learning Factory was temporarily located in Engineering Unit C while its permanent home was being built in the Engineering Services Building on the west side of the University Park campus."
Meanwhile, Allen Soyster, who was head of Penn State's industrial and manufacturing engineering department, was assembling the Learning Factory's faculty and staff and establishing an Industry Advisory Board (IAB) to help oversee development of the Learning Factory's facilities and curricula.
At the end of his first semester as director, Lamancusa held the inaugural design showcase, which included a total of six projects, at the Days Inn in downtown State College.
When the funding from the ARPA grant was exhausted, the three-way partnership dissolved however Penn State's Learning Factory would continue to thrive.
Lamancusa noted that as more faculty members got excited about the Learning Factory more aspiring engineers came through its doors. "Professors would tell their students 'Go build this and test that. Then, tell me what you learned from it.'"
Just three years after the Learning Factory was established, Boeing selected a team of Penn State engineering educators that included Lamancusa to receive its 1998 Outstanding Educator Award, which recognizes exceptional contributions to improving undergraduate engineering education.
Throughout his 12-year tenure as Learning Factory director, Lamancusa worked tirelessly to implement his vision for the facility. "I wanted the space to serve students similarly to the way a library functions: as a general purpose resource where students can show up when they want and leave when they want."
He compared the Learning Factory's space to a sandbox, where students worked together and learned by using each other as a resource.
Lamancusa was one of five engineering educators chosen by the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) to share the 2006 Bernard M. Gordon Prize. The $500,000 award, named after award-winning inventor and philanthropist Bernard M. "Bernie" Gordon, recognizes innovation in engineering and technology education. Soyster, who by then was dean of the College of Engineering at Northeastern University, was also recognized for his efforts during the Learning Factory's early years.
In the spring of 2007 the college received a $750,000 gift from Bernie Gordon to expand and name the facility the Bernard M. Gordon Learning Factory. The additions, which covered more than 3,000 square feet, included a collaborative design studio, a conference room, a project area, an innovation and improvisation laboratory and a team networking area.
Lamancusa stepped down as Learning Factory director to resume his role with the faculty after the spring 2007 design showcase, but not before he had given the facility the strong foundation it needed to continue to expand and serve as a resource for industry, students and the college.
Tim Simpson: Expanding the Learning Factory's reach
When Lamancusa announced his decision to retire as Learning Factory director, Tim Simpson, a mechanical engineering and industrial engineering professor, recognized it as an opportunity to work more closely with the current industry partners, recruit new corporate sponsors, make a more resounding impact in engineering that was "beyond just writing another paper" and increase the number of students involved in the program.
Simpson officially took over as director of the Learning Factory in the fall of 2007. He recalled, "When John stepped down, the Learning Factory was practically handed over to me on the proverbial silver platter. The facility was doubling its footprint, thanks to the gift from Bernie Gordon; John and his team had just won the NAE award; and there was lots of interest from other departments about getting involved."
But Simpson also saw a new challenge ahead. "When I became director, the Learning Factory facility was mostly being used by mechanical engineering students, manufacturing engineering students from the IE department and very few electrical engineering students. Since we wanted all the departments to participate, we had to figure out a new model that went beyond the facility that provided value to all of our engineering students."
He said initially there was skepticism because of all the unknowns. "Faculty weren't sure how the design course would fit into their curriculum or what it would mean for their lab space. They also didn't know where the Learning Factory's resources were coming from or where they were going, so we had to be a lot more open and transparent."
Simpson knew once there were more good stories and successes to illustrate, more faculty would be willing to take the risk and get involved with the program. "Once they saw the benefits for students and later, the financial return to their departments, it became a no brainer for them."
Simpson said he spent his first three years working to obtain the other departments' trust and buy-in. "In year one I talked to all of the departments to see what they wanted from the program. In year two we developed, implemented and refined a new model and promoted the program as a college-wide program, not just a facility, so that by my third year as director we had become a program departments could not, not be involved with."
The American Society of Engineering Education recognized Simpson for his efforts with its 2011 Fred Merryfield Design Award, which honors an engineering educator for excellence in teaching engineering design and significant contributions to engineering design education.
In May 2012, the Learning Factory was lauded for leading the way in experience-led engineering education in a report titled Achieving Excellence in Engineering Education: The Ingredients of Successful Change, published by the Royal Academy of Engineering and MIT. That year it was also recognized by the NAE as one of 29 programs in the U.S. that excelled in "infusing real-world experiences into engineering education."
By the time Simpson announced his intention to step down as director after the fall of 2012, the Learning Factory had become the largest program of its kind -- doubling the number of students involved, tripling the industry support and gifts the program received, and quadrupling the number of departments involved.
To recognize his success, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers awarded him the 2014 Ben C. Sparks Medal for providing "unparalleled student access to innovative and authentic practice-based design/build experiences by creating the largest college-wide and industry-sponsored capstone design program in the United States."
Mary Frecker: Carrying the torch
Mary Frecker was a professor in the mechanical engineering department when the Learning Factory director position became available. She recalled, "I had been involved with the facility in a limited capacity, through the capstone design courses I taught. I enjoyed teaching them because there were new projects every semester."
With those experiences under her belt, Frecker expressed her interest in overseeing the Learning Factory. "Essentially it would provide me with an opportunity to see what was going on across the college, not just from the vantage point of the mechanical engineering department."
Frecker spent the fall 2012 semester shadowing Simpson as he eased back into teaching, and she took over as the director full time at the beginning of the spring 2013 semester.
During Frecker's two-year tenure, the Learning Factory has expanded its 3D printing opportunities. She said, "Students, faculty and industry alike take an interest in 3D printing. Students often use it for prototyping but now we're getting more projects that require this technology."
The expansion was made possible in part by Andrew "Andy" Kartalis ('54 C E) and his wife Katherine, who gave the college a generous contribution in 2013 to name the laboratory space in the Learning Factory.
Andy Kartalis explained, "When we were given the opportunity to name the space it made so much sense to us. When students leave after their senior year, they leave a learning environment and are suddenly thrust into an industrial or other commercial environment where they have to learn and acquire new procedures, consider cost and profit and work with engineers from other disciplines and with non-engineers. The Learning Factory helps them get accustomed to those experiences because they work with an industry sponsor and often they are on cross-disciplinary teams."
He added that when students from various engineering majors work together to solve a challenge, they "think differently."
Frecker is also thinking differently about the best ways to promote the Learning Factory in order to recruit additional sponsors to keep up with demand. "Thirteen departments now participate in the Learning Factory, and the number of engineering students has been increasing every year. That means we need more projects."
She added that IAB members have done an excellent job promoting all the innovative projects and ideas engineering students come up with over the years.
"It's amazing to think back to that first showcase, which was six projects on display at the Days Inn. Then we outgrew that space and moved to the HUB. Since 2012 we've held the showcase, which will include almost 130 projects this spring, in the Bryce Jordan Center," enthused Frecker.
"I'm really excited to see what's next for the Learning Factory."
Reflections: Alumni and industry share their Learning Factory experiences
Indeed, the Learning Factory's continued success hinges on the support of its alumni, IAB members and industry sponsors. Throughout the past 20 years, a total of 554 individuals and companies have partnered with faculty, staff and students at the Learning Factory. Here are a few of their stories.
Mike Marino ('94 I E; '96 MS), one of the first teaching assistants at the Learning Factory, fondly recalled Carson Baird, an ex-NASCAR crew chief who was hired as the first Learning Factory supervisor. "He brought a lot of knowledge and experience to all the students, especially the Penn State Formula SAE team."
Since he graduated, Marino has remained involved with the Learning Factory, first as a recruiter for Ingersoll Rand and then as a project sponsor for SpeeCo, a global manufacturer of farm equipment, and most recently Well Master Corporation, a manufacturer of patented plunger lift systems used to maximize oil and gas well production.
He said, "The students on the Learning Factory team worked on our project with students from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, one of the top engineering universities in China. The Penn State students even traveled to China and spent 10 days touring plants, experiencing the culture and interacting with the students, including taking part in their design showcase."
Today, Marino is president and CEO of Well Master. He continues to sponsor global projects because it's a valuable experience for students. "They learn the basics of doing business internationally, including the time, cultural and language differences and how to address these differences while working together on a solution to one posed problem."
In addition to an increase in global projects, Tom Kapelewski (1982 industrial engineering graduate) EHS Manager at SEKISUI SPI and past IAB president, said he's noticed more service projects coming out of the Learning Factory. "For the first handful of years, Learning Factory projects were manufacturing focused. In recent years, we've seen a steady rise in the number of service projects students are being asked to complete."
Kapelewski said these types of projects are important because students can see their part in the larger community and learn why it is important to help others. "They are making a positive impact."
Adrienne Crivaro (2012 mechanical engineering, 2014 master of science) of project sponsor Flowserve recalled that the Learning Factory gave her access to technology she had never used before, such as lathes and mills. She laughed, "My parents thought I was going to cut my hand off."
Students spend their early engineering classes drawing solutions using computer programs, Crivaro explained, and sometimes they "take for granted that everything will work out perfectly." The Learning Factory, she said, gives students the chance to see that it might not work out and what they need to do to fix it.
In 2009 Tom Petrini, founder and president of Evive Station, tapped Learning Factory students to improve upon a product idea he was kicking around. He reached out to Simpson, who invited him to the design showcase. Petrini recalled, "I saw what a sharp group of cross-disciplinary students could do over one semester, so I sponsored a project, named Revive, that fall."
The team that worked on Petrini's project came in first place at the design showcase. "That was pretty amazing to me, considering they were up against projects from larger companies like Black and Decker and Boeing," he said.
Petrini sponsored another project the following semester to continue to improve upon the Revive idea. "That time I got a prototype. I made a few slight revisions and showed investors the prototype, along with the validation that the students had won the showcase, and was able to raise the first round of funding for my company."
Today, Evive water stations, where consumers can clean and fill water bottles, are found around the country.
Paul Mittan ('04 E E), hardware engineering manager at Lockheed Martin, added that some Learning Factory projects are making an impact within the college as well. "For example a few years ago we asked students to work on an electronic scoring system for the design showcase. It's still being used today."
Partnering with the Learning Factory has also enhanced Lockheed's K-12 outreach initiatives, said Mittan. "The projects serve as great examples for students interested in STEM. We tell them these are the types of problems engineers can solve."
Crivaro noted that those who have been through the Learning Factory can be its biggest advocates. "Alumni, especially those in management or supervisory roles, should look into the feasibility of doing a project at the Learning Factory. It's beneficial for students and the company."
Learning Factory IAB member Perry Morrissette, senior manager, Airplane Level Engineering Integration at longtime industry sponsor Boeing, said he looks forward to returning to campus year after year to attend the showcase. "I always come away reenergized by the students' passion and enthusiasm for what they have accomplished over the course of the semester."
He summed up the Learning Factory by noting, "The College gets to provide real-world projects for students. Students have an opportunity to work on complex problems that are similar to the technical challenges they will face after they graduate. Small and large businesses benefit from their involvement with the Learning Factory projects because they get assistance with solving their most pressing challenges. It's a win-win-win situation for the students, companies and the University. A win for the students because they are provided opportunities to apply their engineering knowledge to solve complex real-world technical problems; a win for companies as they get to evaluate engineering talent; and finally a win for the University by providing an environment that enables placement of their students into industry."
A slideshow and video celebrating the Learning Factory's 20th anniversary are available at The Learning Factory's 20th anniversary webpage.
Photos from the spring 2015 Engineering Design Showcase are available on the College of Engineering's Flickr site.