Illuminating Hidden Information Using the Variability in Simple Repeated Tasks By Dr. Joseph M. Mahoney, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering Imagine shooting a free-throw in basketball. You can throw it with a high-arcing lob or a more direct throw and both can land in the basket. In fact, for this task, there are an in infinite number of combinations of the speed and angle with which you can release the ball and have it go through the hoop. Now imagine repeatedly shooting free … [Read more...]
Bridging the Gap
Connecting Industry and Higher Education By Lisa R. Baldi Elizabeth Wiggins-Lopez wears many hats. She is the founder and coordinator of the Berks Learning Factory, a Lecturer in Engineering Technology at Penn State Berks, faculty adviser for the Penn State Berks Chapter of the Society of Women Engineers, and leader of her daughters’ Girl Scout troops. Her passion is helping others through education. In the fall of 2010, after benchmarking the Learning Factory at Penn State University … [Read more...]
Field of Dreams
Students Conduct Research for BCIDA on Proposed Industrial Park By Walter F. Fullam, Director of Continuing Education A “FIELD OF DREAMS” IS UNDER DEVELOPMENT in Bern Township near the Reading Regional Airport. The field in question won’t yield a baseball diamond and won’t involve any Hollywood bright lights or movie stars. But thanks in part to the work of a group of Penn State students, it will however provide something more important: a key to the economic future of Berks County. The … [Read more...]
Deciphering Motivation
Course Seeks to Identify Zodiac Killer By Lisa R. Baldi DR. MICHAEL R. BARTOLACCI, Associate Professor of Information Sciences and Technology at Penn State Berks, was looking for a fresh, new idea for the Senior Capstone course that included both Information Science and Technology (IST) and Security and Risk Analysis (SRA) majors. Then he came across an article about the infamous Zodiac Killer, which stated that in certain jurisdictions, it is still considered an open case. (It is … [Read more...]
Print Material
Building the Future through 3-D Printing By Walter F. Fullam, Director of Continuing Education and Outreach THE “ARITHMETIC” OF MANUFACTURING IS changing. In the future, manufacturers will rely less on subtraction and more on addition to create products. Manufacturing is the process of transforming raw materials into finished goods. To accomplish this process, manufacturers use a variety of techniques such as casting, machining, molding, and grinding to create finished goods. In these types … [Read more...]
Taking Flight
Professor and Students Create Bird Flight Simulator By: Rungun Nathan, Associate Professor of Engineering It is Spring, and you are sitting by your window watching the birds pecking away at worms and seeds on the ground, and then suddenly they perform a squat-like motion, pull their wings out, flap hard, and fly away. Even raptors and other bigger, heavier birds do this with so much ease. They do not need a long runway nor do they need to run, accelerate, or gain high speed to take off. … [Read more...]
B.S. in Mechanical Engineering Joins College’s Degree Programs
By: Lisa R. Weidman Penn State Berks, the leading engineering college in Berks County, has recently received approval from the University to offer the Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering, beginning in the fall semester of 2013. Penn State Berks is one of only four Penn State campuses to offer the B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. The college will seek accreditation for this degree from ABET, the global leader in accreditation of engineering, engineering technology, computing, … [Read more...]
College and Industry Collaborate to Make Microgrid Network a Reality
By: Elizabeth Wiggins-Lopez, Instructor in Engineering, and Dr. Dale Litwhiler, Associate Professor of Engineering An emerging technology in building power distribution involves the use of a room ceiling tile support grid to create a low-voltage “microgrid” network. With this network, 24-volt DC power is routed throughout the room via conductors embedded in the drop-ceiling support structure. Users can then tap into the low-voltage supply from any location in the room. The microgrid … [Read more...]
Industry Peer Networks
IPNs Give Small Businesses a Competitive Edge By: Lara C. Hartman Economic growth and job creation remain the primary issues on the nation’s agenda, although it is small businesses—not large corporations—that are playing an increasingly important role in economic recovery. In order to compete against corporate CEOs, small business owners must be aware of industry trends and maintain an agenda that promotes collaboration. Working with external groups, such as mentors, advisory boards, and … [Read more...]
Direct Impact
Results of Paff's Economic Impact Study for the Sovereign Center and SPAC Confirms Centers have Generated over a Quarter of a Billion Dollars By: Lisa R. Weidman When the Berks County Convention Center Authority (BCCCA) approached Dr. Lolita Paff about conducting an economic impact study for the Sovereign Center and Sovereign Performing Arts Center (SPAC), the project turned out to be beneficial and enlightening for both the sponsor and the researcher: the BCCCA received crucial information … [Read more...]
The Future of Energy
Faculty and Students Work Together to Shape Future of Energy Use By: Walter F. Fullam, Director of Continuing Education A group of faculty and students at Penn State Berks, with the assistance of industry partners, is shaping the future of energy use in the United States. A hint of the evolving research program is provided by the recently installed ground-mounted solar array behind the Gaige Technology and Business Innovation Building. But solar energy generation is just one part of an … [Read more...]
“Half-Free”–The Currency Universe
By: Dr. Jui-Chi Huang, Assistant Professor of Economics I am a fan of stand-up comedian Kathleen Madigan. She and I have at least two things in common: one is playing basketball and the other is that we have a true understanding of the concept of currency exchange. She describes her foreign currency exchange experience in her stand-up routine. Once while visiting Canada, when the money there was worth half the value of ours, Kathleen bought a pair of shoes, which were 50 percent off. She … [Read more...]
Paff’s Research Takes Her from the Capitol to the Classroom
By: Lisa R. Weidman How do businesses choose which state to set up shop? According to Penn State Berks Associate Professor of Business and Economics Lolita Paff, state-level research and development tax credits affect this monumental decision, which in turn greatly affects each state’s economic condition. Paff is so well respected for her research on state-level R&D tax credits that in 2004, she was invited to give testimony to the Pennsylvania Senate Finance Committee. The committee … [Read more...]
A Home for the Future
Gaige Technology & Business Innovation Building at Penn State Berks By: Lisa R. Weidman The new Gaige Technology and Business Innovation Building is the academic home to the college's Engineering, Business, and Computing division, and as such, it will empower the programs housed in the facility–and our student's and faculty–to fulfill their potential for success and service. … [Read more...]
Collaborate & Innovate
Campus Collaboration Lead to Business Innovation By: Jennifer Hammaker, Director of Business Development, Innovation Transfer Network Berks County is an integral part of a pioneering academic model to connect faculty expertise with private sector companies in an effort to drive innovation and engage students in real-world business issues. The stage was set for accelerating collaboration in late 2010, when the Greater Reading Keystone Innovation Zone (GRKIZ) and the Innovation Transfer … [Read more...]
Artificial Immune Systems Increase Efficiency
By: Lisa R. Weidman It sounds like something from a science fiction movie: Researchers are studying immune systems–more specifically clonal selection algorithms–and using the technology to increase efficiency in facilities like hospital emergency rooms, manufacturing plants, and grocery stores. At Penn State Berks, Dr. Sadan Kulturel-Konak, Associate Professor of Management Information Systems, and Dr. Berna Ulutas, a post-doc fellow who visited the college from May 2009 to May 2010, … [Read more...]
Hit the Ground Running
Integrating Research into First-Year Engineering Seminars By: Lisa R. Weidman When students enroll in engineering and engineering technology at Penn State Berks, they are typically anxious to get to work in their field; however, they must spend the first two years completing fundamental courses in math and science before taking courses that provide opportunities to work on substantial engineering projects. Barbara Mizdail, Program Coordinator for the Mechanical Engineering Technology degree … [Read more...]
Digital Power Controls: Applications
By: Dr. Shiyoung Lee, Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering When I was in middle school, I was a devoted experimenter who liked to disassemble and assemble any electrical and/or electronic apparatus. One ambitious experiment that makes me smile, even today, was the control of light intensity of an incandescent light bulb with a potentiometer (instrument for volume or brightness control) from an old radio set. Despite the smoke emitted from the poor device, there was a short “wow” … [Read more...]
From Streets to Schools
Reintegration Strategies for Street Children in Kenya By Dr. Janelle B. Larson, Associate Professor of Agricultural Economics and Division Head for Engineering, Business, and Computing When my former classmate Paul Maina came to me seeking the University’s expertise to help address a variety of issues with the innovative school he established for former street-dwelling children, I was eager to be a part of what turned into a University-wide project. The Children and Youth Empowerment … [Read more...]
How Global Companies Maintain Shared Corporate Values
By Dr. Malika Richards, Associate Professor of Business and Management As firms expand their operations globally, one of their main challenges is maintaining shared corporate values–the principles used to make judgments about what is important in the way they conduct business–with their subsidiaries. While geographic and cultural distances create barriers for the transmission of shared corporate values, the importance of engendering these values, and of making them explicit, grows as … [Read more...]
Powered Partnership
Industrial Research Office Partners with Local Industry By: Lisa R. Weidman It began with a conversation between the Penn State Industrial Research Office (IRO) and the Penn State Berks Office of Continuing Education and Outreach about how the two could work together on collaborative research. The IRO assists companies in identifying and accessing Penn State faculty expertise and research centers, and works to foster University-industry research partnerships. Staff members have both an … [Read more...]
Building on 50 Years of Excellence
By: Dr. Paul Esqueda, Professor of Engineering and Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Mary Lou D'Allegro, Senior Director of Planning, Research, and Assessment As with many private and corporate areas, the public is demanding better accountability of higher education. Complicit with the advent of the U.S. Department of Education’s Commission on the Future of Higher Education, recent changes to accreditation of higher education institutions, and increased public demand for higher education … [Read more...]
Litwhiler Rides the Energy Harvesting Wave
By: Lisa R. Weidman As the country's interest grows in finding sources of alternative energy, Dr. Dale Litwhiler is looking at the energy that already exists and how it can be put to work. In his research on energy harvesting, Litwhiler is examining processes by which small amounts of waste energy can be captured and stored. Litwhiler, an Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering, was awarded a research development grant from Penn State Berks for his work on capturing wind energy from … [Read more...]
Economic Crisis of the Century: Now What?
By: Dr. Khaled K. Abdou, Assistant Professor of Financial Services Anywhere you go, you will find people talking about the economy, the drop in the stock market, the increasing prices of durable goods, and the cost of living. People are intently watching financial news channels, reading newspapers, and listening to broadcasts in an attempt to comprehend and stay current with the economic changes that are taking place at rocket speed. This intense interest stems from the uncertainty about the … [Read more...]