Dedicated students demonstrate engineering passions
Friday, February 2, 2024
Photos provided by Scott N. Neuhard, faculty
A dedicated group of Pennsylvania College of Technology students demonstrated their passion for engineering by attending the IEEE Region 1 & Region 2 Student Activities Conference at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. IEEE is a professional association for electronics engineering, electrical engineering and related disciplines.
The Penn College contingent joined IEEE student chapters from schools throughout the Northeast and mid-Atlantic for the conference, which featured leadership training and friendly competitions. It was the first IEEE Region 1 & Region 2 Student Activities Conference since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Faculty and students who attended the conference pose for a group photo (from left, front): Owen D. Knepp, Rebecca M. Daily and Jacob P. Smithmyer; (from left, back): adviser Scott D. Neuhard, Wyatt D. Jones, Julio C. Ocampo and co-adviser Clark D. Sarge.
“The seniors were especially happy about the conference reboot. They patiently waited four years for the conference to come back to life, and it finally happened,” said Scott D. Neuhard, assistant professor of electronics & computer engineering technology and adviser to Penn College’s IEEE student chapter. Neuhard and Clark D. Sarge, instructor of electronics & computer engineering technology, accompanied the students.
The duo of Owen D. Knepp, majoring in automation engineering technology: robotics & automation, and Jacob P. Smithmyer, an electronics & computer engineering technology student, provided a conference highlight, according to Neuhard.
Participating in a drone workshop, Knepp, of Jersey Shore, and Smithmyer, of Huntingdon, were tasked to transport a payload across a room. “It quickly became clear that one drone was never going to carry that payload,” Neuhard said. “Owen and Jacob found a way to connect four drones together, tether the payload, lift off and transport it across the room.”
In addition to Knepp and Smithmyer, students representing Penn College at the conference included Rebecca M. Daily, of South Williamsport (club co-chair), and Wyatt D. Jones, of Carlisle (club chair). Both are enrolled in electronics & computer engineering technology. Also attending was Julio C. Ocampo, of Landenberg (club secretary), majoring in automation engineering technology: robotics & automation.
The next IEEE regional gathering is slated for April 6 at Villanova University.
