The Composites Manufacturing Technology Laboratory hosted a tour of local Boy Scouts (Troop 31) working on Bicycling and Composite Materials merit badges on Aug 16, 2011. The tour was hosted by Dr. Charles Bakis, Distinguished Professor in Engineering Science and Mechanics, and Dr. Tom Juska, Research Associate at the Applied Research Laboratory.

Located in State College, Troop 31 is part of the Nittany Mountain District in the BSA's Juniata Valley Council. The tour included a hands-on session where scouts laid up glass/epoxy composite panels, witnessed filament winding, and learned about composite bicycles from Mr. Eric Scott, owner of the The Bicycle Shop in State College.

A new senior level technical elective has been added to the Engineering Science curriculum this fall. Cross-disciplinary teams of four to five students will develop innovative solutions for real-life design-and-build projects proposed by industry, laboratories, and academia.

ESM is the latest Department in the College of Engineering to join the Learning Factory, an award-winning educational program (http://www.lf.psu.edu/) that solicits projects, assigns student teams, and coordinates competition among the various teams. Team members are drawn from Engineering Science and Mechanics, Computer Science and Engineering, Mechanical and Nuclear, Electrical, Aerospace, Energy, Material Science, Industrial and Manufacturing, Agricultural and Biological, and Chemical Engineering.

The scope of a project must be consistent with a semester-long effort by a 4 to 5 member team. Typically, such effort includes: negotiating specifications; design; review; prototype construction; recommendations for further development; marketing; and a final presentation to the sponsor. A minimal donation of $3000 is made by the sponsor to cover materials for the team and to offset administrative expenses. Proprietary information may be accommodated.

If you have design and prototype projects that your company or laboratory has just not been able to staff, you would like to have a new, innovative, cross-disciplinary approach to the solution of an old problem, or you would like to strengthen your contacts with top students in ESM and other Departments in the College of Engineering, than this may be just the solution. Contact Mike Erdman for more details.