Tag: STEM

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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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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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10 Reasons I am Grateful to be a Grover

1. I have a new home-away-from-home, and it’s beautiful!

Seriously, have you seen this campus? If you have not, you need to! Here are a few pictures to hold you over until you can come visit us.

2. So many amazing people have been Grovers.

All it takes to be impressed by past Grovers is a quick perusal of the alumni achievement award winners. Find them here: alumni.gcc.edu 

These stories just scratch the surface. Countless entrepreneurs, business executives, authors, lawyers, and engineers have used their Grove City degree to make an impact.

3. So many amazing people ARE Grovers!

Did you catch that subtle difference? Hint: I put it in all caps to help you out. 

I could go on for hours about the phenomenal people I have met here, but I will save some time, and let you find out for yourself.

4. As a Grover, I have the privilege to learn from some of the best professors around.

I couldn’t imagine going to college without these professors. The faculty here is more caring and understanding than I expected college professors to be. They really are here to help their students learn and grow as people. Not only are the profs incredibly intelligent, knowledgeable, and helpful, they are also fun and enthusiastic about their respective areas of expertise. Fun story: I once had a professor jump off of a table because he was so excited about Vivaldi. That is the kind of passion you find at Grove City.

If you want to find out more about our outstanding faculty, check out some of the faculty feature blog posts or this link: Faculty Directory

5. Being a Grover means I am challenged everyday.

Grove City College prides itself on rigorous academics, and there is a reason for that. The nature of the curriculum ensures that you will not be able to get away with sleeping in class. But why would you want to do that anyway? You will learn so much (even in the humanities core) that your tuition dollars will be well worth it.

6. It has taught me what it means to live, learn, and worship in community.

Because Grove City is a relatively small school, students have the opportunity to a much larger proportion of the student body than at a larger college or university. I personally know the majority of people in my major, but I have also had the opportunity to meet people outside of my major through core classes that all students are required to take.

Not only do Grovers live and learn in community, we also worship together, both during weekly chapel services and on Thursday night Warriors services. Warriors is a student-led worship service held in the chapel. If you want to read more about it, check out this student blog:

7. I understand things that only Grovers get.

King McNulty. Shoe in the door. The swim test. The scooter gang.

Hierarchy of people at Grove City:   1. Jesus    2. Ronald Reagan    3. C.S. Lewis    4. President McNulty

These might not make a lot of sense to you right now, but Grovers get it.

8. By the time I graduate, I’ll have spent four years in a community that strives to glorify God in all things.

Yes, even sports.

9. I get to learn from the unique successes and failures of Grovers who have gone before me and come back to campus just because they care.

I can’t count the number of alums who have come back to speak on campus. Their stories are always inspiring, informative, and insightful. The best part is that they come back because they love the College and they care about the students.

10. Most of all (as you may have guessed already), I am grateful to be a Grover because of all the wonderful people here.

Considering five of my points have been about people, this should not be a surprise. These ten points can be summed up as follows: You will not find people like those at Grove City College anywhere else!

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STEM Majors Branching out with BEST Robotics Competition

Imagine an arena full of middle school and high school students cheering nonstop for five hours straight on a Saturday morning. What is possibly worth waking up early and yelling for on a weekend? The amazing talent and hard work of students from all over the region battling robots would definitely justify this incessant cheering.

Each year, Grove City College hosts the BEST Robotics Competition through the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics departments. This STEM-based curriculum is a well-loved priority of Grove City College, that highlights the strengths of college, middle school, and high school students interested in engineering based professions through robotic design. With the leadership of Dr. Mike Bright, Mrs. Stephanie Adams, and Mrs. Danielle Bryan, both students and faculty were able to help make this event a success as volunteers and judges at the Wolverine BEST competition on Saturday, Oct. 29.

The BEST Robotics stands for Boosting Engineering, Science, and Technology. These competitions are done on a national level each year to challenge students to create a robot that competes in a game and embodies “boosting” of engineering, science, and technology through their designs. This year’s theme was “Bet the Farm,” so students created a robot with the ability to plant corn seeds, harvest and deliver ripe corn, tomatoes, and lettuce. Robots were also required to corral and secure pigs, as well as feed them, and turn on a water valve. The complexity of this year’s robot was a challenge to all, but equally an amazing learning opportunity for younger and older students to learn teamwork, collaboration, and application of engineering design. 

Not only is this a great opportunity for younger students to learn about practical engineering, but it is also such a gratifying experience for our students and faculty to spread the importance of academic recognition. Dr. Mike Bright explains, “The thing that motivates me is seeing students get the recognition that athletes receive, but for working on technical and academic endeavors.” As this competition takes months to plan, Bright continues, “It can be tense and frustrating in the weeks leading up to the competition, but the energy from the students on Game Day makes it all worthwhile. It is particularly gratifying to walk through the pit area and see students and teachers helping other teams to get their robots ready or patched up so they can run again.”

Students on game day serve as volunteers, judges, and coaches to help teams get their robots prepared. Junior Mechanical Engineering major Matthew Batten has been involved as a coach for the Grove City Homeschoolers “Spartans” Team for the past two years. He explains, “as a Mechanical Engineering major, I thought that helping the team would be a great opportunity to serve the community… I’ve also really enjoyed helping high school students get a taste of real engineering.” According to Batten, the creation and final production of the team’s robots is a rewarding experience that he is proud to experience. Batten continues, “The competition is exciting, and it’s really neat to see six weeks of work come together and watch the guys on the team show what they can do.”

This competition is just one example of how our engineering department involves students of all ages to get excited about engineering design. We are thankful as a campus community to be able to host such an event every year, that emphasizes the importance of the STEM careers on our campus.

To learn more about the competition and how to get involved, visit BEST Robotics Inc.