by Casey A. Moore, P.E. (CE ‘89)

Calling all Penn State engineering students, faculty, staff and alums: Let’s celebrate our profession, our accomplishments, and our contributions to society! Engineers in all fields of study play a significant role in our world and truly make a difference in people’s lives. We make the impossible, probable through innovation, creativity and problem solving.

National Engineers Week in the United States was founded by the National Society of Professional Engineers in 1951 and is celebrated annually the third full week of February – this year from February 16 – 22, 2014. The week, dedicated to all types of engineers, encompasses George Washington’s birthday, because he is often considered the nation’s first engineer and known for his work as a surveyor.

When Engineers Week, sometimes called Eweek, was formulated, its mission was to increase the understanding of, and interest in, engineering and technology careers and how they shape the world; helping students and adults alike discover engineering is its core theme. This week is a time for all engineers to call attention to, and demonstrate, the positive impact we have on the daily lives of most people. As engineers, specifically Penn State engineers, this is an excellent opportunity to act upon and communicate our passion for the profession. Sharing knowledge, experiences, and enthusiasm about engineering during this time helps us increase public awareness and brings technical vocations to life for students, educators and parents.

Eweek is a chance for engineers to participate in events aimed at informing educators, media and community leaders about our great profession and showing our commitment to service beyond self.

A coalition of engineering, education, and cultural societies, along with corporations and government agencies across the U.S. are at the core of making this Eweek a success. Some groups’ celebrations and activities during Eweek promote the importance of a technical education and a high level of math, science and technology literacy. Engineers volunteer their time to complete diverse, hands-on activities with students of all ages in order to motivate people to discover and pursue engineering or technology careers. Awards and recognition are frequently given at ceremonies and gala events, which helps to raise public awareness of the positive contributions that engineers make to our quality of life. The possibilities are endless in how the week is celebrated to show engineering pride!

The Penn State College of Engineering, and all its affiliated faculty, student groups and alums, could have widespread impact as leaders in creating, volunteering in, and promoting Eweek activities on and off university campuses, throughout the country and the world. On our campuses, a series of events could span the entire week to provide engineering students the opportunity to interact with other engineering students, faculty, and company representatives in both a professional and social manner, to educate the public about engineering, and to provide service to the community. With more than 10,000 undergrad and graduate students in its engineering programs, a faculty & staff of over 300 people supporting and educating students in engineering, and more than 90,000 alumni living and working around the world, Penn State can – and should – continue to make a difference.  After all, our College of Engineering programs rank 19^th (undergraduate) and 25^th (graduate) out of all accredited universities nationally (U.S. News & World Report, October 13, 2013). With all of the diverse and excellent representation that Penn State has in the profession of engineering or technical trades, we should not only make Eweek special, but also make a year round commitment to making a difference. Let’s commit ourselves, and those engineers around us, to making it happen.

The following website can be used as one resource for getting anyone started, or to see what may be going on during Eweek near you – or to see how you can contribute to our profession, visit the DiscoverE website.

Casey Moore is a Vice President and Principal of McMahon Associates, Inc. with executive management responsibilities for the firm. He is one of six of the firm’s Board of Directors and a registered professional engineer in five states. As regional manager, he is in charge of nearly $10 million in annual revenues and 70 people in the firm’s seven Mid-Atlantic regional offices, and also serves as a Senior Project Manager of the firm for client project work. He is a 1989 graduate of Penn State’s civil engineering program with a transportation and construction management focus.

 Mr. Moore is past president of the Mid-Colonial District of the Institute of Transportation Engineers. His professional service has been recognized with numerous awards including the 2010 Peter P. Quinn Leadership Award from GVF Transportation Management Association and the 2002 Young Engineer of the Year Award for the State of Pennsylvania from the PA Society of Professional Engineers.

by Jonathan U. Dougherty, PhD (’99 AE, ‘06g)

For students, career fairs represent dichotomy in action – intimidating and exhilarating – as you try to navigate the maze of company booths, make a good first impression, land that interview, and hope your efforts result in an internship or full-time job. I can tell you from over a decade of firsthand experience, those same feelings of intimidation and exhilaration are felt by recruiters. Now, don’t get me wrong, recruiters have the peace of mind knowing that they already have a job – something you, as students, are urgently searching for…mostly to please your Mom and Dad. Take it from the guy who spent 12 years at Penn State, college is probably the greatest time of your life so you are probably not in a rush to leave Happy Valley! But I digress…

Let’s take a journey inside the mind of the recruiter (with the caveat that not all recruiters are created equal and the reflections in this blog are not necessarily representative of all recruiters’ perspectives). For as much as you may think that finding an internship or permanent placement is a chore, I can tell you recruiting is a tough job also. Think about it, these folks, who are not always HR professionals, are coming to college campuses to find their future colleagues and company leaders, all while considering the perceptions and expectations of current company management, culture, and most importantly, their personal reputation. Companies spend, on average, one to one-and-a-half times a person’s annual salary to replace an exiting entry-level employee. That means that if those new hires don’t work out and leave the firm, management sees dollar signs walking out the door, and the recruiter may see their reputation depreciate at the company.

Because company culture is such a prevalent issue, whenever I am recruiting I’m looking for the intangible quality that cannot be defined in a rubric or on a sliding scale: Fit. For me and many others, fit trumps GPA and is held in the same regard with relevant work experience and leadership/community involvement.

Here are a few questions related to fit that may be going through the recruiter’s mind:

• Would I want to have this person in my home for dinner?
• Would I want to sit next to this person for six hours of business travel?
• Would I want to work for/with this person?

I want to stress here that academics are very important, but most good recruiters have done their homework on universities and specifically programs and departments where they actively recruit. They know the caliber of students who graduate from the rigorous Penn State engineering program, and that is why our University is consistently ranked so highly by recruiters – Penn State graduates are in demand! I mention this because in many instances academics are not the key differentiator; you need to find meaningful differentiators through work experiences, leadership roles, community service and outreach, and thoughtful relationships with the recruiter and company.

While the job of the recruiter is not easy, it can be very rewarding and fulfilling. Being able to interact with, mentor, and positively influence the future leaders of our industries and society is an awesome responsibility and one that good recruiters enjoy – and it is honestly one of the best parts of my job.

So, what are the 5 Need-to-Knows about networking with recruiters?

1. How you are perceived to fit into the organization may very well trump all your other amazing traits, including high GPAs.
2. Recruiters know the territory and they know the caliber of the candidate they are looking for to fill the role.
3. Be authentic in your approach. This will go a long way in developing a relationship with a recruiter, and when you have developed a good rapport with a recruiter, it is a lot harder for them to turn you down!
4. Recruiters love the Penn State College of Engineering and hiring its graduates. Your Nittany Lion pedigree will likely cut through the clutter of other candidates but it’s up to you to show that you live up to that reputation.
5. Recruiters have a tremendous task of finding future leaders for their organization, but at the end of the day they are real people and are usually pretty interesting if you get to know them.

Good luck in your career search!

We Are…Penn State!

Dr. Dougherty is director, corporate knowledge center for James G. Davis Construction Corporation, Rockville, MD. In this role, he leads the corporate education and knowledge management initiatives of the corporation. An award-winning teacher, Dr. Dougherty served as an adjunct professor in the Department of Building Construction at Virginia Tech and is an invited guest lecturer at several universities.

Dr. Dougherty received his B.A.E. from Penn State and continued his academic career at Penn State and earned his Ph.D. in architectural engineering. Prior to joining Davis, Dr. Dougherty taught for six years in the architectural engineering department at Penn State.

He currently serves on the advisory board at Penn State Wilkes-Barre, is president of the Penn State Alumni Society of Architectural Engineers, is a trustee for the Francis L. Greenfield Laborers’ Joint Training Fund, Washington, DC, and is a life member of the Penn State Alumni Association. 

Dr. Dougherty was honored as an Architectural Engineering Centennial Fellow by Penn State in 2010 and received the PSEAS Distinguished Service Award in 2013.  Most recently, Dr. Dougherty was named to Engineering News-Record’s (ENR) 2013 Top 20 Under 40 in the Mid-Atlantic and served as the 2013 Commencement Speaker at Penn State Wilkes-Barre.

You can connect with Dr. Dougherty on twitter @JUDougherty.

by Dr. Tim Simpson

If you are student, undergraduate or graduate, or faculty member wanting to do entrepreneurial “things” and haven’t heard of New Leaf Initiative yet, you are missing out on some great networking opportunities and are probably not aware of the new coworking space that is opening this February in State College.

New Leaf started more than 3 years ago by Spud Marshall, Christian Baum, and Eric Sauder, and has become an integral member of our local entrepreneurial ecosystem. When New Leaf first opened, it operated out of 100 South Fraser Street—across the street from Hammond Building, beneath Dunkin Donuts, the same place Freeze Thaw Cycles began. Marshall and Baum have since spun-out co.space, leaving Sauder and Serena Fulton, the newest edition to the team, to run New Leaf.

Now, New Leaf is on the verge of opening a 2,500 sq. foot coworking space in the 3rd floor of the State College Borough Building, located at 243 South Allen Street, one building south of the Schlow Library. New Leaf offers a variety of coworking memberships, which provide either 10, 20, or 40 hours per week of access to desks and private meeting space. The rates are reasonable and all inclusive, and more than 20 companies and local entrepreneurs have signed up thus far (full house is about 36 members, and they are gunning for >80% occupancy when they open next month).

So how do I know so much about New Leaf and their new endeavor?  Well, New Leaf has been my “secret office” in town while I’ve been on sabbatical (did you see me in their photos yet?). Working at New Leaf has provided unique insight into our local entrepreneurial ecosystem, from literally right across the street. It has been a great way to network with local entrepreneurs in a range of industries, as well as get to know people working in the Borough and Chamber of Business and Industry Centre County. There are some phenomenal people who are working very hard to make State College and Happy Valley a mecca for recruiting talented entrepreneurs into the area and, more importantly, providing opportunities to students and alumni to stay in the area to work on their latest invention and innovation. I’ve been renting my own desk space in New Leaf, and I’ve lost count of how many students and faculty I’ve helped connect to local ecosystem. It’s worked equally well in reverse, as I’ve been able to help connect many local entrepreneurs with people and resources at Penn State. In fact, being on the outside this year has been very eye opening in many regards, including how difficult it is for local entrepreneurs to navigate the wealth of resources at Penn State and connect with the right people (maybe it’s time for a 1-800-PSU-ESHIP number?).

There are other incubators and office spaces in town, and Penn State is involved with two facilities: (1) Technology Center at Innovation Park and (2) Zetachron in Science Park. Rates vary depending on what you need (e.g., $14-16/sq. ft. for office space; $20/sq. ft. and up for wet lab space), and there are some cool start-ups incubating there now. More important, however, is the list of successful former tenants of which I was previously unaware. It’s an impressive list when you read it.

I think New Leaf’s coworking space will complement these existing incubator spaces well and provide a shared working space within walking distance of campus, which may be attractive to students and faculty just starting out on their entrepreneurial journey. I’ve put down my own money (not PSU’s money or my grant money) for a 10hr/week membership, and I’m looking forward to helping shape the culture in this new space while continuing my entrepreneurial cross-training.

If this interests you and you want to learn more the New Leaf Initiative and their coworking space, check out the Grand Opening is Wed, Feb. 5 from 4-6pm in 243 South Allen Street.

Tim Simpson is a professor in both mechanical engineering and industrial engineering. He holds affiliate appointments in the School of Engineering Design, Technology, and Professional Programs (SEDTAPP) and the College of Information Sciences & Technology. From 2007-2012, he served as director of the Learning Factory, and now he serves as co-Director of the Center for Innovative Materials Processing through Direct Digital Deposition (CIMP-3D), a DARPA-funded Manufacturing Demonstration Facility for Additive Manufacturing. This is his second sabbatical. 

by Dr. Tim Simpson

So what does it really take to get a good idea to market? How much of that can I do as a faculty member and how do I avoid conflicts of interest with my research and my students? How should I be advising my graduate students to take their ideas forward and what should I be teaching undergraduates interested in design innovation?

These are the sorts of questions that I’m investigating by immersing myself in our local entrepreneurial ecosystem during my sabbatical. I’m hoping that this “entrepreneurial cross-training” will provide insight not only into the problems that we encounter (as faculty and as students) in bringing ideas to market but also into the “innovation assets” that are available to help at Penn State and in our local ecosystem.

What I have seen thus far is both exciting and overwhelming. It is exciting because there is considerably more going on now than there was five years ago, let alone last year. At the same time, it is overwhelming because there is so much going on across departments and colleges. While small pockets of activities may be coordinated, there is little to no coordination of these entrepreneurial activities across the university, which is both good and bad. Good because we need to explore many different models for innovation and tech transfer in order to learn what works best within our institutional culture. It’s bad when efforts are duplicated and resources are wasted, or we miss synergies between those with the passion and energy to get things done and those trying to effect change. Like any other large organization that struggles with getting everyone on the same page, we need to find new ways to communicate effectively about something that was on few people’s radar screens last year.

So while I don’t have all the answers, and I never will, I at least know the questions to ask. This is where learning starts—when you realize that you don’t know something, and you can start to ask questions and find the right people to answer them. To share where I am at in my learning, here are the questions you should be asking yourself:

Undergraduate Students

• Do you know that you own the Intellectual Property (IP) that you develop in your class projects?
• Are you aware of the new university-wide minor in entrepreneurship and innovation?
• Do you know about Innoblue?  Lion LaunchPad?  Nittany Entrepreneurs?
• Are you aware of the business plan and innovation competitions in Ag, Business, and Engineering? The seed funding available through SparkPlug.net?
• Do you know how to access the open source 3D printing resources at Penn State? The design and prototyping resources available in The Learning Factory?
• Have you talked to any students that have run Kickstarter campaigns?
• Do you know what SBDC is?
• Do you know about New Leaf?  co.space? Surge?
• Do you know any local entrepreneurs?

Graduate Students

• Do you know that Penn State owns the IP from your research?
• But did you know that you own the IP from your class projects as long as it isn’t tied to your research?
• Have you watched OTM’s new IP Training Module? Do you know what OTM is?
• Do you know how to file an invention disclosure?
• Have you heard of TechCelerator?  Do you know what Ben Franklin is?
• Have you ever heard of an NSF iCorps grant? SBIR/STTR grants?
• Do you know any graduate students that have spun-out companies based on their research?
• Do you know any local entrepreneurs that were once graduate students like you?

Faculty

• Did you know that Penn State owns your IP? Are you aware of Penn State’s new IP policy for industry-funded research?
• Do you know what OTM is? Have you seen OTM’s new Inventor’s Toolkit?
• Have you ever filed an invention disclosure? Do you know how Penn State manages its IP and decisions about patents?
• Have you ever tried to license something developed as part of your research? Do you know Penn State’s royalty return rates? Do you know what PSRF is?
• Do you know the Conflict of Interest policies for faculty start-ups?
• Do you know any faculty that have an NSF iCorps grant? SBIR/STTR grants?
• Have you ever sponsored a Learning Factory project to prototype an idea?
• Have you heard of TechCelerator? Do you know what Ben Franklin is and what they fund?
• Do you know any faculty that have started a company?
• Do you know that you can use your consulting time to work on your start-up?

Finding the solutions is the tough part. It requires work and lots of networking, and then more networking, and more networking, which is what I’m spending most of my time doing on sabbatical. I’m co-working in New Leaf, helping organize events for co.space, advising the development of networking website for State College, HappyValleyStartUps, helping a former graduate student launch and grow DecisionVis, participating in TechCelerator and “triage sessions” to see how Ben Franklin and SBDC work with faculty, sitting in on Cool Blue Mentoring meetings to see how MIT’s Venture Mentoring Services gets adapted to our ecosystem, and attending SCORE workshops to meet others in the community, shadowing local entrepreneurs and start-ups to hear their stories, talking to students about commercializing their ideas, co-developing a product based on what I’ve learned, and figuring out what and how to bring all this back into Penn State to benefit our faculty, students, and tech transfer opportunities because we are lagging behind many other universities.

Why are we behind? It’s not for lack of trying mind you. We have a phenomenal entrepreneurial ecosystem emerging here, and everyone is doing the best they can with the time they have. If this interests you, then get involved and share your ideas and input on ways to improve our ecosystem and help answer the questions you have about getting your ideas to market.

Tim Simpson is a professor in both mechanical engineering and industrial engineering. He holds affiliate appointments in the School of Engineering Design, Technology, and Professional Programs (SEDTAPP) and the College of Information Sciences & Technology. From 2007-2012, he served as director of the Learning Factory, and now he serves as co-Director of the Center for Innovative Materials Processing through Direct Digital Deposition (CIMP-3D), a DARPA-funded Manufacturing Demonstration Facility for Additive Manufacturing. This is his second sabbatical. 

With the assembled baobab machine: kneeling: Kelly Mulcahey: standing (l to r): Anthony Aliberti, Manan Gill, Emma Hocker, Dan Normanyo, Dr. Kodzo Gbewonyo, BioResources International, and Chris Hersh.

by Mike Erdman, Walter L Robb Director of Engineering Leadership Development

Dr. Brice Sinsin, Rector of the University of Abomey Calavi (UAC), traveled half-way across the globe to visit Penn State in the summer of 2013 and Penn State returned the favor over Thanksgiving break later that year. Penn State has been collaborating with UAC, in Cotonou, Benin, on the development of mechanized processes for agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa. These efforts include improving the processing of the highly nutritious indigenous fruit, baobab, as well as developing methods to extract a butter substitute from another local crop, pentadesma.

The team at the facility at the University of Abomey Calavi. First row (l to r): Anthony Aliberti, Kelly Mulcahey, and Emma Hocker. Standing (l to r): Dr. Flora Chadare, Manan Gill, Dr. Alphonse Quenum, Dr. Yann Madode, Dr. Julien Adounvo, Chris Hersh, and Mike Erdman

Mike Erdman, Walter L. Robb Director of Engineering Leadership Development at Penn State, visited Benin in January 2013 with students Erick Froede and Alyssa Joslin, and invited Dr. Sinsin to visit Penn State to further discuss opportunities for research and development. While here, Dr. Sinsin met with President Rodney Erickson, Vice Provost for Global Programs, Michael Adewumi, College of Engineering Associate Dean Renata Engel, and many others. Erdman returned to Benin in November with a team of 5 students – Kelly Mulcahey, Chris Hersh, Anthony Aliberti, Emma Hocker, and Manan Gill – where they delivered a new baobab processing machine for use in a cooperative farm in the north of Benin. While there, Dr. Sinsin invited them to provide a seminar to students and faculty on leadership and to tour various parts of the University and sights in southern Benin, including the Ouidah slave route and Python Temple.

For more information about Penn State’s ongoing work to develop an efficient baobab machine, read the Fall 2012 issue of Engineering Penn State.

by Rick Schutz (’72 E SC)

We, as Penn State alums, generally feel a pretty strong love and affinity for Penn State…and we typically want to give something back to good ‘ole State. The same goes for many Engineering Science and Mechanics (ESM) grads. How can we help current students in ESM to best prepare for good jobs, to make significant impacts in their workplaces and communities, and, in the best case, to make the world a better place?  As someone with many years of experience in the engineering working world I felt that maybe I could help in this effort. This is why I got involved in the ESM Alumni Advisory Board.

Once I got involved with the Board and heard about the current programs and research activities, I was blown away. One example is the intersection of engineering mechanics and medicine; this marriage is leading to once inconceivable breakthroughs. Along these lines, ESM and the Penn State Hershey Medical Center/College of Medicine is now offering a joint MD/PhD  that focuses on developing a new generation of physician engineering scientists who will bring transformational impacts to our society…now that’s what I call interdisciplinary!  Next, how can the study of why water bugs can walk on water or why geckos can stick to walls be important to the real world…would you believe it can help increase the efficiency of turbines?  Examples like this abound!

The mission of the Board is to advance the department’s world-wide recognition by recruiting and retaining diverse, quality students then preparing these students for the work environment while promoting the understanding, attractiveness and perceived value of ESM in industry, research and academia.

The group has 18 members from diverse fields of academia and industry who have benefited from the wonderful multidisciplinary training we all received in ESM. The board is comprised of professors, CEOs of small companies, consultants and small business owners with graduation years ranging from 1960 to 2012! That’s a lot of practical real-life engineering experience!

The Board is currently working to help not only current ESM students but also the department in areas of recruiting, communications, awards, informal mentoring and student/industry networking. As such, we’ve defined four major committees to accomplish these goals: communications and public relations; student and industrial relations; department and university relations; and development and alumni relations.

If you have the same desire I do to put your experience to work helping the department and its students make a mark in the world, get involved with our Board. Contact Jim Smiley, Board chairman, at jsmiley1@nycap.rr.com or Emily Gallagher, ESM alumni coordinator, at emg5174@engr.psu.edu for more information.

Rick Schutz is an independent computer software professional in the Washington, DC area. For fifteen years, he was a department manager at PEC Solutions. Prior to this, he worked as an advisory engineer for IBM.

A member of the Engineering Science and Mechanics Alumni Society, serving as chair of the board’s communications and public relations committee, Rick earned a master’s in computer engineering from the University of Michigan. At Penn State, he was a member of Tau Beta Pi, the Symphonic Wind Ensemble, and the Penn Statesmen jazz band.

by Dean A. Lippold

Chances are high that in your career you will work on a global team. The team might be composed of people from different countries all working in the same office or it may be a dispersed team with its members spread out across several countries. A global team might involve you working in another country leading a team of local nationals.

These diverse teams can be of extreme value to the organization if harnessed effectively. Conversely, if ineffectively managed the teams may withdraw into themselves, providing little in the form of productive output and causing irreparable damage to the team and to the organization they are meant to serve.

When working with global teams, you must do more than you would in traditional team. The following points should be carefully considered in order to maximize the team’s success:

Communicate Effectively. Over communication may be important to ensure everyone gets the latest information, especially if teams are widely dispersed and time is short.  But communicating in the wrong manner will derail a team and cause a loss of time in the end. Consider the following when sharing information with global teams:

• In what form does each individual embrace information most effectively?
• Typically a person from a low context country, such as the United States, Germany and Sweden, prefers to communicate in a direct, transactional fashion. Conversely, a person from a high context culture (ie: Far East, Middle East and South American countries) views relationship building as an important part of the communication process.
• Communication must increase in proportion to the diversity of the team and the distance the team members are from one another.

Appreciate the Values. It is important to understand not just what people do, but also why they find value in doing so. Understanding the value of the team’s customs and approaches will help you discover clues on how to effectively motivate the team, as well as help you establish respect with them.

Team Building. It is important that you encourage and sustain collaboration, especially in a team that is culturally diverse and/or dispersed. The team must not only work with you, but you will also need to ensure they are working effectively with each other.

Establishing Credibility and Respect. You will often be required to participate from a distance or in an environment where you have no previous history. To be effective over the long run, you must quickly build respect and credibility by going out of your way to help, learning from the team, and meeting in person during the initial stages of the team’s formation.

Spending time thinking about and adjusting your individual style to these points will help you become more effective when working with global teams.  Often times, just demonstrating to the team that you are serious about these points will go a long way to helping you and the team be successful.

Mr. Lippold is currently Vice President of Research and Development at Dean Foods, Broomfield, Co. He has spent his career working for top companies within the food & beverage industry where he has been responsible for developing new products, packages and processes, cross-functional team leadership, and organizational development.  He has held assignments in the U.S. as well as abroad, which have given him first-hand experience and appreciation of the challenges associated with leading multicultural and dispersed teams. Mr. Lippold graduated from Penn State in 1991 with a degree in chemical engineering.