Engineering Ambassador Brad Wile makes adjustments to an interactional robotic system that can be controlled by students.

By Sabriana Pimental and Vanessa Cardy

The Engineering Ambassadors for the Penn State College of Engineering are educating State College youth on engineering and science through their senior design project — an interactional robotic system that can be controlled by students.

The goal of Engineering Ambassadors is to inspire middle and high school students to challenge conventional ideas about science and engineering through leadership.

The Ambassadors have been focused on creating more interactive projects that resonate better with younger students.

The robotic system was developed as part of a senior design class in mechanical engineering.

“Working with middle and high school students is one of the most enjoyable things about being an Engineering Ambassador, as most students of a young age do not have much exposure to aspects of engineering,” said Mike Coia, one of the Ambassadors. “This allows us the opportunity to show them what engineers can do and what their careers consist of.”

The project originates from enrollment in ME 440W: Mechanical Engineering Senior Design class. Students of the class are partnered with the Learning Factory, an organization dedicated to providing engineering students with practical hands-on experience through industry-sponsored design projects.

“Using the Learning Factory has helped us expand our array of activities and demos to more complicated mechanisms,” said Coia. “Being able to assemble and fabricate parts and systems in the Learning Factory allows us the convenience to continue these types of projects.”

The robotic arms are an idea developed by the Engineering Ambassadors and an activity that can be used in a middle or high school science fair environment. The purpose of the robotic arms is to capitalize on children’s interest in robots and show their use in today’s society.

The robotic arms will use six standard servo motors to allow a person to move the arm to an exact point in 3-D space. The servo motor will be connected to an Arduino motor controller. The arms will have six degrees of ample range of motion and freedom for the given workspace. They will be constructed out of acrylic to provide low-cost manufacturing ease and durability.

“Having access to the Learning Factory helps us make a more robust design,” said Ambassador Brad Wile. “They have tools, such as the laser cutter, that help make our robots easier to manufacture.”

The Ambassadors will utilize the arms to allow students play games and compete with each other. The students will use a PlayStation 2 controller that can be interfaced with the Arduino microcontroller to move each of the servos on the robot.

They will be presenting their project at the College of Engineering Design Showcase on May 1 in the Bryce Jordan Center.

Pimental and Cardy are students in Penn State’s College of Communications and account associates with the student-run Happy Valley Communications.

The Engineering Ambassadors is an organization dedicated to promoting science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

By Adrienne Crivaro

You too can be a Penn State Engineering Ambassador! Applications are due Monday, March 24.

The Engineering Ambassadors is a professional development program with an outreach mission.  Ambassadors represent the college through tours, presentations, and outreach activities to middle and high schools.

Much of the Engineering Ambassadors’ work involved visiting middle and high schools to demonstrate the possibilities of the engineering field.

It is the goal of the Engineering Ambassadors to communicate the awesome possibilities in the engineering field to everyone that we meet.   Ambassadors receive advanced communications and leadership training and an exceptional variety of experiences that are both fun and rewarding.

Importantly, being an Engineering Ambassador is a fabulous professional development opportunity that will have a positive impact on your future at Penn State.  Learn more about us on our website: www.engr.psu.edu/ambassadors.

The Engineering Ambassador program has several excellent industry partners including United Technologies Corporation, Rockwell Automation, Phillips 66, John Deere, Volvo and Chevrolet. These companies are looking to recruit students just like you from the Engineering Ambassadors program, so you can receive great networking and career opportunities through involvement in the Engineering Ambassadors.

Applying to be an Engineering Ambassador is a competitive application process. Application details can be found here: http://www.engr.psu.edu/ambassadors/apply.html. To apply, you must complete CAS100 (any version) by the start of the fall 2014 semester and have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above.

Any questions can be directed to Melissa Marshall, director of the Penn State Engineering Ambassadors at mmarshall@psu.edu.

Adrienne Crivaro (’12 ME) is a member of the Engineering Ambassadors and a mechanical engineering graduate student.

Girls from two area middle schools teamed with Penn State engineering students to program robotic dance routines as part of their field trip to campus. One project had a Blue Band theme with a robotic drum major. (Photo credit: Curtis Chan)

Two dozen girls from two area middle schools got some first-hand exposure to engineering at the “Engineer Your Future” field trip event today (Nov. 21) on campus.

The girls, from Philipsburg-Osceola Junior High School and Park Forest Middle School, spent the day at the College of Engineering.

The event, hosted by the Women in Engineering Program (WEP), provides the girls with hands-on engineering activities and the opportunity to work with current Penn State engineering students.

The field trip included collaborating with first-year students from ME 102 LEGO Robotics to program robots with a choreographed dance routine, a tour of the Department of Architectural Engineering’s Immersive Construction Laboratory, a pizza lunch with engineering students, a presentation by the Engineering Ambassadors and an amusement park design project.

Cheryl Knobloch, WEP director and coordinator of the program, said the field trips is meant to encourage 7th and 8th grade girls to consider pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.