William A. Rutkowski, a junior at Pennsylvania College of Technology, was named the first recipient of the Brian E. Liles Memorial Scholarship. Rutkowski is pursuing a bachelor's degree in plastics and polymer engineering technology.
The Liles Scholarship was established in memory of a 1998 graduate of the plastics and polymer engineering technology major at Penn College who died from a rare form of cancer in 2003.
The scholarship is open to second-year or greater students in the plastics and polymer technology associate-degree program or plastics and polymer engineering technology bachelor-degree major.
Rutkowski is a graduate of Mid Valley School District. At Penn College, he carries a 3.55 grade-point average and is treasurer of the college's student chapter of the Society of Plastics Engineers. He serves on both the allocations committee and the student-of-the-month nominating committee for Penn College's Student Government Association.
Additionally, he works for the Plastics Manufacturing Center on campus, which is one of the top plastics technology centers in the nation and helps companies with new product development, material selection and testing, and workforce training.
During the summer, Rutkowski worked in the engineering department for Gentex Corp. in Carbondale, where he helped to design and implement helmet straps for U.S. Air Force pilots. Gentex Corp. is the world's largest supplier of aircrew and tank crew helmets.
After graduating from Penn College, Rutkowski hopes to continue his education in plastics at a graduate school and eventually work for NASA.
For more information about the academic programs offered by the School of Industrial and Engineering Technologies at Penn College, call (570) 327-4520, e-mail industrial@pct.edu or visit http://www.pct/edu/schools/iet/ online.