Building Construction Articles

Pennsylvania College of Technology competitors earned gold medals in three competitions at the 2025 SkillsUSA Championships, held June 25-26 in Atlanta. More than 6,800 students – all champions at the state level – competed in 114 categories. The college brought home gold in TeamWorks, Technical Drafting and Welding Fabrication.

Penn College concrete science technology faculty shared their specialty with 110 children on June 2, teaching individual sessions to all four fifth-grade classes during Career Day at the Allentown School District’s Central Elementary STREAM Academy.

A home on Fifth Avenue hosted its first backyard picnic to close out the first of two years of service learning at the site. The Greater Lycoming Habitat for Humanity home is being built largely by Penn College students on land donated by the college. The three-bedroom structure, started in Fall 2024 and expected to be completed in Spring 2026, will provide a safe, sustainable home for a deserving family.

Alumnus Jeffrey L. Erdly, a longtime benefactor of Pennsylvania College of Technology with a distinguished career in the construction industry, was recently presented with an award by ASTM International, recognizing an ASTM member who has made significant professional contributions to the field of building technology and/or to multidisciplinary technical problem-solving in the construction industry.

Ernie Dojack, of Concrete Countertop Solutions, recently provided information and live demos to concrete science technology students enrolled in a Decorative Concrete class. Dojack, who has 15-plus years in the industry, showcased the difference between cast-in-place concrete countertop systems and precast concrete countertop methods and products.

An additional Pop-Up Employer Information Table has been added to Thursday's schedule at Penn College. Earlier, Friends in Action's appearance was announced. Now, TRINSEO will also be on campus looking to recruit students. Residential construction and polymer engineering students are encouraged to visit.

On Monday evening, Ellyn A. Lester, assistant dean of construction & architectural technologies at Pennsylvania College of Technology, appeared on WVIA-TV’s “Women Building the Future,” an episode of the “Keystone Edition: Business” program.

Ellyn A. Lester, assistant dean of construction & architectural technologies, will be a panelist on WVIA-TV’s “Keystone Edition: Business” program. The episode, “Women Building the Future,” premieres Monday, March 10 at 7 p.m. on the PBS affiliate for Northeastern and Central Pennsylvania.

Two residential construction textbooks authored by a Pennsylvania College of Technology faculty member were published recently by The Goodheart-Wilcox Co. Inc. Jack Jones, associate professor of building construction technology, wrote a new textbook: “Principles of Residential Construction: Essential Skills and Practices,” and authored the 14th edition of “Modern Carpentry.”

Fifteen students in Penn College’s concrete science technology major were among the close to 58,000 who recently attended World of Concrete, an international trade show that encompasses 700,000 square feet inside and outside the Las Vegas Convention Center.