Revisiting an award-winning outreach program
Published 05.04.2022
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Recognition as Penn College's "Outstanding Program of the Year" among student organizations begs a deeper dive into the resourcefulness that brought the campus IEEE chapter such acclaim.Advised by Scott D. Neuhard, assistant professor of electronics, the club last month developed and executed a community service initiative that involved teaching a troop of Girl Scouts about robotics and allowed them to earn one badge each in programming, designing and showcasing a robot.
"From engineering to programming to digital arts to psychology, developing robots lets you draw from talents in a wide range of areas," says the Girl Scout booklet that defines the badge requirements. "Maybe someday you can help invent what our future looks like!"
The five-hour IEEE event – a template for future opportunities to teach youngsters about possibilities in the field – helped five Cadettes from Troop 62057 in Lewisburg gain exposure to programming, sensors, the parts and design of a robot, proper documentation practices, and how to showcase a robot. Hands-on activities included manipulating code on a mobile device to control an mBot, building a simple pressure sensor, wiring an industrial proximity sensor and manipulating a six-axis Kuka robot arm.
Chapter members involved in the program, lending their knowledge and specialties to give back to the community in a meaningful way, are Brendan Chesebrough, of Josephine; Rebecca Marie Daily, of South Williamsport (incoming secretary); George Matthew Heberlig, of Elizabethtown; Michael Edward Highland II, of Slatington (outgoing vice chair); Wyatt David Jones, of Carlisle (incoming chair); Owen Dean Knepp, of Jersey Shore; ; Colton Michael Eugene Long (outgoing secretary), of Northumberland; Mahedi Yasir Nimoy, of Stroudsburg (incoming treasurer); Julio Cesar Ocampo, of Landenberg (incoming vice chair); and Devin S. Watson, of Shippensburg (outgoing chair).
Photos provided by Neuhard and Sara Exley, troop leader