Wabtec Corporation has asked first-year engineering students at Penn State to design a regional lightweight locomotive system that can be sold across multiple regions in order to expand the company’s global reach.
As part of a larger series of events focused on increasing female and minority student engagement with the Learning Factory at Penn State, 'Build Night' establishes and strengthens engineering skills by presenting attendees with hands-on making activities.
To help address the damage caused by agricultural discharge, first-year engineering students at Penn State have been tasked with designing an agricultural drainage system to filter out contaminants from storm water runoff before it travels to a waterway. The project is supported by Imerys, a world leader in mineral-based specialties for industry.
At Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, students in the honors sections of Charlotte de Vries’ EDGSN 100: Introduction to Engineering Design course have become more engaged in the classroom thanks to the ability to make Arduino prototypes. De Vries, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, started this project in the fall as a solution to lack of student engagement and interest in classes where students were unable to build actual prototypes.
To combat Pennsylvania’s opioid epidemic, Christopher McComb, assistant professor of engineering design and mechanical engineering, challenged his EDSGN 100 students to design and prototype a user-centered product or service aimed at smarter control of opioids. The product or service would ensure prescriptions are consumed at the right time, at the right dosage and by the right person.
To combat design creation and execution limitations placed on students by traditional quizzes, Christopher McComb, assistant professor in engineering design and mechanical engineering, presented his EDSGN 100H: Introduction to Engineering Design students with a unique challenge – a design practicum.
Researchers at Penn State have been awarded a three-year, $300,000 National Science Foundation grant to study the impacts that industry-sponsored projects have on students’ design performance, and their engagement with the projects and in cornerstone courses. Researchers will use that information to develop an assessment tool to use in project-based learning settings.
To introduce first-year engineering students to the importance of designing in the most cost-effective and environmentally conscious manner, GE Transportation has challenged students enrolled in spring 2017 sections of EDSGN 100 – Introduction to Engineering Design to develop a strategy on how to best extract Rare Earth Elements from a fictitious ore deposit located in the Pocono Mountain region of northeast Pennsylvania.
To introduce Penn State’s first-year engineering students to the importance of sustainability and environmental protection, relating to fossil fuel extraction and consumption, Chevron has asked students enrolled in fall 2016 sections of EDSGN 100: Introduction to Engineering Design to improve upon some common industry practices.
To expose future engineers to this global challenge, student teams in seven sections of EDSGN 100 – Introduction to Engineering Design were tasked with investigating locations at risk for natural disasters and conflicts and designing a shelter for a location.
Engineering and architecture students were tasked with designing a monument that would meet a $300,000 budget, be engaging and iconic, serve as a landmark that increases tourism to the University Park campus and increase public appreciation of the scientific principles driving weather.
