University awards

• 2012 Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Awards in Memory of Charles B. Murphy: Brad Benhart, building management and construction technology (read a profile on Benhart)
• Continuing Education’s Award for Excellence in Distance Learning: Erin Bowen, technology leadership and innovation
• Fellowship for Study in a Second Discipline (2012-13): Nicoletta Adamo-Villani, computer graphics technology
• Outstanding Commercialization Award: Lonnie Bentley, computer information technology

Faculty service recognition awards

• 30 years: Zarjon Baha, building construction management; Bruce Harding, mechanical engineering technology; Alka Harriger, computer and information technology
• 25 years: Terry Burton, computer graphics technology; John Denton, electrical and computer engineering technology; Nancy Denton, mechanical engineering technology; Philip Mick, aviation technology; Anthony Oxtoby, electrical and computer engineering technology; JoDell Steuver, technology leadership & innovation (Columbus); Michele Summers, technology leadership & innovation (Lafayette)
• 20 years: Brian Alenskis, mechanical engineering technology (Richmond); Thomas Capozzoli, technology leadership & innovation (Kokomo); Terrence O’Connor, electrical and computer engineering technology (New Albany); Matthew Stephens, technology leadership & innovation; Kevin Taylor, electrical and computer engineering technology (Kokomo); J. Mark Thom, aviation technology; Bernard Wulle, aviation technology
• 15 years: Clark Cory, computer graphics technology; John Finnegan, computer graphics technology (New Albany); Michael Leasure, aviation technology; Julie Mariga, computer and information technology
• 10 years: Nicoletta Adamo-Villani, computer graphics technology; Dennis Depew, technology leadership & innovation; Ronald Glotzbach, computer graphics technology; Mark Shaurette, building construction management

The ceremonies and their student speakers are:

• College of Technology at Richmond and Anderson: Friday, May 4, 6:30 p.m.; Danylle Harman, organizational leadership and supervision, student speaker
• College of Technology at Lafayette, Saturday, May 5, 2:00 p.m.; Michael Smith, organizational leadership and supervision, student speaker
• College of Technology at South Bend, Monday, May 7, 6:00 p.m.; Kevin Miller, engineering technology, student speaker
• College of Technology at Columbus and Greensburg, Tuesday, May 8, 6:00 p.m.; Jacob Rutan, computer and information technology, student speaker
• College of Technology at Kokomo, Wednesday, May 9, 6:00 p.m.; Tyler Imbierowicz, computer and information technology, student speaker
• College of Technology at Vincennes, Thursday, May 10, 11:30 a.m.; Vance Perry, industrial technology, student speaker
• College of Technology at New Albany, Thursday, May 10, 6:00 p.m.; Munkhtsetseg Nandigjav, computer graphics technology, student speaker
• College of Technology at West Lafayette and Indianapolis, Saturday, May 12, 9:30 a.m.; Ellen Zouras, building construction management, student speaker. A posthumous bachelor of science degree will be awarded to Timothy D. Patterson, a former student in the College of Technology.

He will oversee operations for both College of Technology locations. The Columbus location is headquartered in the Advanced Manufacturing Center of Excellence, and the Greensburg location operates out of the Greensburg Learning Center.

“I am committed to advancing our current partnerships with Ivy Tech, IUPUC, BCSC, the Community Education Coalition and local industry to bring outstanding educational opportunities to the citizens of our region,” Fuehne said. “With the new Advanced Manufacturing Center of Excellence and other similar initiatives, it’s an exciting time for higher education and all education providers in the region.”

Fuehne joined the faculty of the College of Technology at Columbus as a visiting assistant professor in January of 2002. He has been very involved in the community with summer robotics camps, FIRST Lego League, and Boiler Tech Challenge.

Prior to his Purdue appointment, he spent 11 years in industrial positions focused on computational structural mechanics of oil tool equipment and exhaust systems.

Fuehne earned his doctorate and master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Texas A&M University and his bachelor’s degree in aeronautical/astronautical engineering from the University of Illinois.

His research and new Man to Machine (M2M) lab in the College of Technology are featured in the Spring 2012 edition of Innovation, the college’s alumni magazine. The issue is scheduled to be mailed in early May.

Other stories you’ll find include:

• A feature story on the college’s multidisciplinary approach to the changing face of the electric utility industry
• An examination of the college’s efforts to provide commercialization guidance and assistance to faculty and students
• Profiles of alumni Josh Hurst, mechanical engineering technology, and Candice Nash, organizational leadership and supervision
• Other issues that affect the education of Technology students

The print edition will be mailed in May to College of Technology alumni and donors. The online edition will appear at www.tech.purdue.edu/innovation in May as well.

The College of Technology at Columbus hosted 21 6th-9th graders at its inaugural Computer Animation Camp in early June.

The four-day camp introduced students to the Alice programming language to create animated stories and commercials. The week culminated with a competition to create commercials that were judged by guests from campus.

Dewey Swanson, associate professor from the Department of Computer and Information Technology, hosted the camp.

Many of the capabilities Alice provides in a drag-and-drop environment are the same concepts used in languages like C# and Java, Swanson said. Students were able to see their animations run immediately and understand the relationship between the instructions they provided the computer and what actually occurs.

“What they found in many cases, with quite comical results, is that the computer did what they told it to do, not what they wanted it to do.”

The camp coincided with the grand opening of the new Advanced Manufacturing Center for Excellence (AMCE) June 10. AMCE is the new home of the College of Technology at Columbus.

(photo: Winners of the Computer Animation Camp contest show off their prizes with camp coordinator Dewey Swanson (right).)

The event includes discounted admission, an ice cream social, and time to watch an elephant get a bath.

Registration (by August 12) is required for the event. Find full details on the event’s web page.

She spoke as part of the dedication of the Advanced Manufacturing Center of Excellence (AMCE), a shared, state-of-the-art facility that focuses on the development of an advanced manufacturing workforce for southeastern Indiana.

Read more.

The first year for the new bachelor’s degree in engineering technology is complete, and college faculty, students and administrators see nothing but potential for the program.

Offered at four Statewide Technology locations (South Bend, Kokomo, Anderson and Richmond), the new degree program was developed with flexibility and local needs in mind.

“The flexibility and breadth of the program is a big selling point,” said Duane Dunlap, associate dean for statewide technology. “Small and medium-sized enterprises need someone who can do more than one thing, such as electric systems, mechanical systems, database systems, LEAN, Six Sigma, etc.”

In addition, the 2011 Skills Gap Report by the Manufacturing Institute reports that the number one skills deficiency among current employees is problem-solving skill, making it difficult for current employees to adapt to changing needs. Dunlap believes the college is uniquely qualified and situated to serve those industry needs.

“If we’re to be a value-add in the community, we have to think about what are we doing in Indiana to keep jobs or to create new economic opportunity that didn’t exist before, or improve the quality of life in the communities that we serve,” he said.

The engineering technology degree allows students to customize a concentration during their final two years of the degree. Students in Kokomo, for example, may want to focus on electric vehicles or alternative energy; South Bend student can choose to concentrate on nanotechnology so that they can impact their local economy.

The degree was created through existing courses in the curriculum, spanning six academic disciplines. Some of the concentrations may require additional courses that will be developed.

The degree was also planned to create a seamless experience for students who start out at Ivy Tech Community College and transfer to Purdue’s College of Technology to complete their bachelor’s degree work.

“Manufacturers see education as important with students moving to an AS degree and then a BS degree. There is no other model out there like this,” Dunlap said. “It is the easiest transfer we have.”

Faculty and administrators from the two institutions have been invited to National Manufacturers Institute annual conference to talk about the statewide model on collaborating with regards to manufacturing education.

Because 82 percent of Statewide Technology graduates stay in the community where they study, BSET is expected to provide local businesses and industries with employees trained for their needs.

“The fact that initial enrollment was 60 percent above what we had expected shows that we are meeting a need. This four-year engineering technology program is designed to provide a skilled work force geared to the industries based in a specific region,” Dunlap said.

The BSET program builds upon six core College of Technology technical disciplines: computer graphics, computer and information technology, electrical and computer engineering technology, industrial technology, mechanical engineering technology, and organizational leadership and supervision. See a suggested plan of study.

The curriculum was developed over two years with input from community and business leaders, county and city officials, state work force development personnel, and faculty.

Donors have also recognized the value of the degree program. A scholarship in Richmond has been created, at the behest of the donor, for use by students in the engineering technology program.

Now and in the Future

• Fall 2011 enrollment: 63 degree-seeking students
• A new concentration in food and food stuff supply chain technology, which will serve several employers along the I-69 “food corridor” in Indiana. Read the full story.
• A new concentration in nanotechnology has been approved for South Bend.
• A new concentration in medical technology systems has been approved in Richmond.
• The degree program will have its first graduates in May 2012.

Would like to do:

• Add the program in New Albany with a construction management concentration focused on estimating and bidding
• Add the program in Columbus with a manufacturing leadership concentration