Category: Engineering

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Sophomore Spotlight: Lucca Baccari

Whether you are a prospective student looking at Grove City College or you have decided to attend Grove City in the fall, college is a time for people to learn and grow. You may not know what the “college experience” looks like, but that is okay! The best advice you can get is hearing from current students who found ways to adapt to the college environment and succeed socially and academically.

Lucca Baccari, a sophomore mechanical engineer, decided on Grove City College not only because of the baseball team but because of the reputation of having strong academics and a small, tight-knit community surrounding the campus. When asked about adjusting to “college life” he said to schedule out your weeks so you know when assignments are due but also what events or activities are happening so you can go to them. This method works best for Lucca as he is very busy juggling his workload, baseball, and being in the Beta Sigma fraternity. Finding a balance between a sport and academics in college is difficult but he makes it work by planning ahead on the weekends and working ahead on assignments, especially when he is in season. His best piece of advice for student athletes is to “have good time management and not procrastinate on assignments. You don’t want to fall behind in academics or your sport because it can be hard to recover.”

When asked about the impact that Grove City College has had on his faith, Lucca said “It’s grown to a whole new level. You’re surround by people who have come from completely different walks of life who teach you different things to help you in your walk of faith.” Faith is important to campus life, but also to the community that surrounds the college. The community of Grove City focuses on “building each other up and creating a positive experience on campus, whether it be academically or socially.”

The best piece of advice Lucca has for prospective or incoming students is to “participate in campus life as much as possible. Not only does it benefit you by helping you meet people but continues to build the campus community.” Do not be afraid to get out of your comfort zone to meet people. The community at Grove City College creates many opportunities and experiences for people!

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Grove City College Mechanical Engineering Student Spotlight: Josh Eibeck

Video Interview: https://youtu.be/XKTWP2RlcOs

Grove City College offers its students a wide variety of majors to choose from. One of the College’s most reputable majors here is Mechanical Engineering, also known by the acronym MECE. Grove City College ranked 55th nationally for the program and has been listed as a top 100 school in the country for undergraduate engineering programs for several years now. Mechanical Engineering students are driven, dedicated, and challenged by a unique way of thinking and problem solving with hands-on experience through real world application. Grove City College MECE students are passionate about what they do and enjoy the opportunity to “think outside the box” when tasked with assignments and projects. This major is challenging because it consists of mainly math and physics, but completing the work makes for a strong sense of achievement.

Josh Eibeck, a senior Mechanical Engineering major here at Grove City College, sat down and shared some his thoughts and reflections on his decision to study MECE. Josh has found his time at Grove City to be challenging, yet extremely rewarding, as he has been able to put his math science and skills to use on assignments and projects. The aspect of the Mechanical Engineering major that excites Josh the most is doing something different everyday! He enjoys working on new projects and problems daily that allow him to expand his knowledge and teach him lessons that can applied far beyond the classroom.

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Grove City College Mechanical Engineering Student Spotlight: Nate Carver

Video Interview: https://youtu.be/khyt7RiVGl0

Grove City College offers its students a wide variety of majors to choose from. One of the College’s most reputable majors here is Mechanical Engineering, also known by the acronym MECE. Grove City College ranked 55th nationally for the program and has been listed as a top 100 school in the country for undergraduate engineering programs for several years now. Mechanical Engineering students are driven, dedicated, and challenged by a unique way of thinking and problem solving with hands-on experience through real world application. Grove City College MECE students are passionate about what they do and enjoy the opportunity to “think outside the box” when tasked with assignments and projects. This major is challenging because it consists of mainly math and physics, but completing the work makes for a strong sense of achievement.

Nate Carver, senior Mechanical Engineering major here at Grove City College, sat down and talked about the highlights, struggles, and advice for upcoming freshmen based on the experience that he has had with choosing to be a MECE student. Nate loves the college path he has chosen and looks forward to graduation so that he can put the concepts and skills that he has learned to use in the real world.

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Major Spotlight: Mechanical Engineering

mechanical engineering grove city college

Rachel Ault is a junior mechanical engineer at Grove City College who spoke with me to shed some light on the Mechanical Engineering major for those who may be interested. She was interested in the major since high school, where she took some pre-engineering classes that she excelled in and enjoyed. With a strong background in math and science, Rachel knew that engineering would be a great way to apply her skills in a career.

During your first and second years as a Mechanical Engineering student, the classes you take are broad looks into different industries. These classes begin to give you a feel for the kinds of industries you enjoy and may want to focus on as you progress in the program. Rachel spoke highly of the variety of avenues and applications in engineering that you can pursue at Grove City College. She recommends getting internships to experience the industry in a real-life setting, and notes that the professors are very helpful in obtaining internships.

Rachel really likes that the professors all have different specializations that bring new methods and variations to each class. Dr. Bardy has had experience in the heating/cooling field, so his class in thermodynamics is highly detailed (and Rachel’s favorite class). Dr. Clauss is a chemical engineer, which brings a different perspective to the mechanical industry. Finally, Dr. Archibald and Dr. Allison both have experience with design and manufacturing, which rounds out the department with a variety of expertise.

The workload of a Mechanical Engineering student is nothing to sneeze at in Grove City College, which is recognized for having one of the most prestigious mechanical engineering programs in the United States. Rachel noted that the “one hour in class, three hours outside of class” maxim holds true, and you have to be a highly self-motivated individual to excel in the program. When I asked her what her favorite part of the department is, she responded: “I really like that with our labs we have experience in the shop, and that we get that hands on experience with mills, lathes, and various other things like that. I like that since it is a smaller college, you get more one-on-one time with professors, and professors are more willing to spend time with you and help you.”

If you think the Department of Mechanical Engineering may be for you, learn more here!

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BEST Robotics Competition 2018

On Friday, Oct. 26, Grove City College hosted the BEST Robotics competition. Dr. Bright, professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, began Wolverine BEST at Grove City College several years ago. This competition provides middle through high school students in the Western Pennsylvania area exposure to engineering, science, and technology. The Wolverine BEST challenge is one of only two BEST Hubs in the Commonwealth of PA. The event serves as an opportunity for Grove City College to showcase its nationally ranked engineering program.

This year, I participated as a Marketing Judge for the competition. Twenty-three schools participated in this year’s competition and I was to judge four of them on marketing presentations for their robots. The volunteer judges met before the competition to go over the rules and rating system we would be using that evening. The marketing presentations took place in different rooms in the Hall of Arts and Letters. There were four judges per room. The students, either middle or high schoolers, would have roughly 20 minutes to present their robot to the panel of judges. The last 10 minutes were set aside for any questions the judges may have. In my room, I was the only judge that was a student at Grove City College. The rest of the judges were faculty members at the College or local businessmen or women. It felt very much like I was on an episode of Shark Tank. After the students exited the room, the judges would converse about our thoughts on the presentation. Of the four groups of students, there was quite a wide range from students who were beyond prepared to those who were very nervous.

To me, I was very impressed with all of the presentations I had the chance to witness. These students clearly had ambition and drive, and at such a young age. I was thankful to have had this opportunity to meet new faculty members and the determined middle school and high school students.

A question one of the judges in my panel asked every group that presented was, “What would you like to do in the future?”

The answers varied from “I would like to be a mechanical engineer,” to “I want to graduate high school.”

My favorite answer was actually said by five of the students that went through our room that evening, and that was, “I am hoping to get accepted to Grove City College.”

Hearing this from such impressive and inspiring young men and women reminded me of how appreciative and thankful I am to attend an institution like Grove City College.

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Internship Opportunities: Engineer Edition

Are you a Mechanical Engineering major? Electrical Engineering major? Looking for a summer internship? There is hope for you, just talk to Shannon Stovar!

Shannon Stovar is a senior Mechanical Engineering major at Grove City College. She is from Butler, Pa. and the first person in her family to attend Grove City College.

Shannon was one of my three ‘random’ freshmen roommates and has stayed a close friend of mine throughout college. During our sophomore year, Shannon was looking for an engineering summer internship, and I knew just the person she should talk to. I immediately called my dad, Rich Bartek, who at the time was the vice president and COO of the manufacturing company, Oberg Industries. He worked there for about 14 years and loved to hire Grove City College students as interns and employees. Oberg is headquartered in Freeport, Pa., which is only about a 25-minute commute from Shannon’s hometown of Butler. My dad and I both knew Shannon was a hard worker and fast learner and he was more than happy to help her. Shortly after, Shannon applied for Oberg Industries’ mechanical engineering internship and got an offer for the summer!

Shannon excelled that summer at Oberg Industries and outshined the other interns. Oberg ended up offering her another internship for the following summer, after her junior year. She gladly accepted.

“I assisted the design engineers in a variety of tasks along with helping in other areas of the company like die maintenance and quality control. I developed 3D models and drawings for customer parts and tooling. I worked on quite a few independent projects where I was given a problem such as a component in a machine that had broken and had to come up with a solution to fix the issue,” Shannon explained to me when I asked about what she did both summers.

I followed up by asking Shannon if she liked her time with Oberg, “I really enjoyed the experience! I think one of the most important parts about a company is the people that you work with, and everyone I worked with was extremely helpful and kind. I formed close friendships with workers from all different areas of the company. I was able to work with some of the brightest engineers in the company and was really challenged by this. Oberg gave me a wide variety of tasks so that I wouldn’t get bored and they really trusted me to work independently on big projects.”

Shannon received a full-time job offer from the company this past August. Oberg was gracious and gave her roughly six months to decide if she would like to take the offer. She had obviously proven herself very worthy over the course of her two summers there. Shannon is giving herself some time to decide and taking other options into consideration as the halfway mark of her senior year quickly approaches.

Many Mechanical Engineer majors assume internships are only for business majors. “Companies like Oberg Industries are overjoyed when they receive a resume from a student coming from Grove City College,” my dad stated. “When Shannon applied we could not wait to work with her.”

This is just another example of how connections within the Grove City College community can give you great opportunities. Students need to continue to persevere and form relationships during their four years because you never know where they will land you.

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Mechanical Engineering Senior Design Projects

Did you know that mechanical engineering is the most popular major offered at Grove City College? The program has long been recognized by U.S. News and World Report for providing an outstanding education. The Department of Mechanical Engineering prepares students to excel in careers such as engineering research, design, manufacturing, production, sales, and management as well as top graduate and professional programs. One of the practical methods the department uses to cultivate important engineering skills is the design projects that are worked on for the entirety of a student’s senior year.

Dr. Vern Ulrich oversees the senior design projects in addition to his professorial duties. I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with him and discussing the senior design projects happening this year. For the 2017 – 2018 school year, there are 59 mechanical engineering seniors divided among nine projects. The specifics of the projects range from designing an HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) system for the chapel while maintaining the architecture of the building to designing and eventually constructing a small airplane.

Suggestions from students, professors, and outside companies in the industry are welcomed and combined to determine possibilities for design projects. Dr. Ulrich shared with me a list of criteria that he and other collaborating professors use to determine if a senior design project is viable. This list of selection priorities include (in no particular order):

  • Fosters good relationships with industrial employers and supporters
  • Outside money provided for the project
  • Opportunity to participate in intercollegiate competition
  • Benefit to department research interests
  • End product is useful to the mechanical engineering department or to other Grove City College departments
  • Advances the Gospel
  • Serves the greater good humanity
  • Patentable idea
  • Requires a cross-functional team
  • Opportunity to design and build
  • Interest on the part of the students
  • Provides students with a stepping stone toward dream job

Dr. Ulrich shared with me that ideally, he would love for a senior design project to be a stepping stone for someone’s dream career. This shines through as students’ interests are given a lot of consideration when determining senior projects and student teams. Dr. Ulrich reported that two projects were cut this year because there was simply not enough interest.

Although the senior design projects may seem daunting, there is much intentional thought and prayer throughout the process. The collaborating professors work with the students students in order to ensure success and the efficient completion of the project. Many students report that the senior design projects are their favorite component of the program, truly preparing them for a future in the field.

 

 

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Professor Spotlight: Dr. Anderson

The Department of Mechanical Engineering is home to a wide range of personalities and stories. One professor with an interesting background and field of expertise is Dr. Erik Anderson. Graduating from Gordon College with a Bachelor’s degree in Physics and Biology, he went on to pursue a Master’s in Biology and eventually a Ph.D. in Ocean Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Anderson has spent years researching bio-mechanics (or marine organism propulsion), how marine organisms move in the ocean.

This field has many fascinating engineering implications. Dr. Anderson stressed to me that his research is not necessarily focused on searching for answers. Rather, he is studying marine creatures’ movement in order to hopefully lend insight to engineering breakthroughs, similarly to how Velcro was developed. For example, a home ceiling fan was created to mimic the movement of a jellyfish, in order to cool down a room more efficiently. Other applications of bio-mechanics include marine resource management. In studying how much energy a fish needs to survive, the amount of food to keep the animals alive can be calculated. Once this is is discovered, scientists can discover how many fish an ecosystem can effectively sustain.

Dr. Anderson is very passionate about his work. He explained to me that he has always enjoyed fluid mechanics and mathematics, and began fishing at the age of four. Bio-mechanics is the perfect blend of these interests, for he even has the opportunity to fish on the ocean in order to obtain specimens to study. If you have any interest in this field, you should reach out to Dr. Anderson. He often allows students to work alongside him who have demonstrated strong skills, a desire to learn, and an interest in bio-mechanics. Abby Noll, a senior mechanical engineering major, has spent multiple summers working alongside Dr. Anderson at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Perhaps his research may be of interest to you!

 

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Senior Design Project: Designing an Airplane

As a student in the Calderwood School of Arts and Letters, I am unfamiliar with the inner-workings of the Hopeman School of Science and Engineering. So I decided to talk to one of my mechanical engineer friends to find out a little bit more about their senior capstone projects.

Every year, Grove City College mechanical engineering students complete a year-long capstone design project. Students work over two semesters in groups ranging from six to nine people to completely design, and in some cases, build a product. The projects vary depending on the interests of the students, but you can find a few past examples in this blog post. This year the projects include a mobile greenhouse, an underwater robot, a turbulence tank to study oceanographic organisms, and an airplane.

The projects are very different from normal classwork, but are much more hands-on. They require a different kind of work compared to just studying for a test or writing a paper. Some projects are more research based and some have a set of specifications to meet.

My friend is a part of the team designing an airplane. Although they do not have the funds or the time to completely build a plane from the ground up, they are designing every piece of it and hope to build a significant portion of it. This is very time intensive – it requires at least eight to 10 hours of work each week from each team member. The students are not entirely on their own, however. Each team has a faculty adviser who answers questions, provides technical help, and ultimately grades the project.

Obviously, each project is different, but they all reflect topics that the students are interested in. The goal is to provide a very practical, hands-on experience for the students. It is a real-world application of the engineering process, regardless of the specifics of the project. Although the projects are difficult, my friend assured me that they are a fantastic learning experience and a very practical transition out of college and into the real world.

 

 

 

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Independent Research: The Ant Robot

It is no secret that the engineers at Grove City are incredibly talented and innovative. One project that stood out to Dr. Mohr, an engineering professor here, was designed and built by sophomore Theo Stangebye. Instead of reading me go on and on about the complexities, Dr. Mohr thought it best Theo explain the process himself. Theo and his sister, Sophie, were even kind enough to put together a short video showcasing the technology – enjoy!

Hi, my name is Theo Stangebye and I’m a sophomore electrical/computer engineering major at Grove City College. This past semester, I’ve had the privilege of working in the control systems lab with Dr. Mohr through the independent study program. During that time, we’ve been working on developing a robot with the ability to track ants and other small insects as they move across a field in order to study their behavioral patterns.

The development of this robot has been a collaborative effort: the project was suggested by professors in the Biology department, the chassis was designed and 3D printed by a mechanical engineering student, and the robot’s motherboard was designed by Dr. Mohr.

The robot utilizes a tail-dragger design and measures about one foot in length from front to back. We’ve equipped the robot with many instruments and sensors which will eventually help it navigate in the wild, including a movable lidar sensor, an inertial measurement unit, quadrature encoded wheel, and a GPS receiver. Currently, however, the robots computes distance and direction solely based on the movement of its two front wheels. The whole system is controlled with a myRIO by National Instruments and is programmed by LabVIEW.

Working on the project this semester has been a blast. I’ve developed low level control algorithms which allow the robot to be controlled with series of simple, high level commands, such as “drive 30 inches at an angle of 45 degrees.” To enable this form of control, I utilized a PID loop, which constantly checks the direct the wheels to correct for errors in the robot’s heading. PID loops are standard in industry applications, so getting to write my own algorithm was an excellent learning experience.

There were challenges along the way, but getting to see the finished product has been very rewarding. The robot can perform complex maneuvers, like tracing a star pattern, with great amounts of precision. If you’d like to see the robot in action, please check out the video on this page. I’m excited to see we will accomplish in the future, especially as we interface cameras into the robot next semester.