Building Construction Articles

Pennsylvania College of Technology joined Greater Lycoming Habitat for Humanity on Sept. 19 to break ground at 508 Fifth Ave., where, over the next two years, Penn College students will build a Habitat home on land donated to the organization by the college. “This is such a win-win project,” said Bob Robinson, executive director of Greater Lycoming Habitat for Humanity.

Jeffrey L. Erdly, originator of two Pennsylvania College of Technology scholarships and recipient of the college's Distinguished Alumnus Award, has boosted his institutional support with a gift of $500,000 toward an upcoming project on campus. Half of the donation is designated for an endowment that can be used for program materials, scholarships and more; the remaining $250,000 is earmarked for the creation of a materials library at the Carl Building Technologies Center.

Pennsylvania College of Technology held a groundbreaking ceremony Thursday for two projects funded, in part, by a $2 million U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration grant: construction of an 1,800-square-foot Clean Energy House and renovations at the Carl Building Technologies Center on main campus.

Representatives from Metzger McGuire, a leader in interior industrial concrete repair products, provided live concrete repair demonstrations to students in the Concrete Construction class. The company’s Pat Smith and Dan Kraff gave students hands-on practice using Metzger McGuire’s products to repair surface damage and damaged joints – and donated materials to the concrete science program.

Representatives of Keystone Precision Solutions spent a recent day on campus to share their expertise in emerging technologies in the architecture, surveying, construction and engineering industries. Although the team’s unmanned aerial vehicles were “grounded” due to rain, several classes visited the Bardo Gym to experience equipment, including a robotic total station, laser scanner and unmanned aircraft systems.

"Imagine a world without concrete," levels alumnus Joe DiBucci, building construction technology instructor at Penn College. (Impossible!) This energized episode of the "Tomorrow Makers" podcast brings loads of laughs and lots of insight about the world's most widely used building material — concrete. Have a listen to "Concrete Science."

"Concrete Science and Careers,” offered to K-12 FFA instructors by faculty experts from Pennsylvania College of Technology, is already yielding positive impacts – including plans for a more in-depth session for the teachers later this spring. Faculty offered instructor workshops on three Saturdays during the Pennsylvania FFA’s “Agricultural Cooperation Establishes Success” Leadership Conference near Harrisburg.

Students in the Decorative Concrete class, taught by Joe F. DiBucci, recently visited Lycoming Vault & Precast in Montoursville. The company produces a variety of precast concrete products, from septic tanks to light pole bases. “Traveling to a precast concrete plant was a great opportunity for the students to be able to see a different side of the industry,” said DiBucci.

Pennsylvania College of Technology students who are set to compete at the International Builders Show this month were hosted recently by the West Branch Susquehanna Builders Association, which presented the students with a check for $3,500 to offset the cost of their competition and travel expenses. The students are members of the Penn College Construction Association. Each year, the association sends students to the show, where they compete in the National Association of Home Builders Student Competition.

Eight students in Pennsylvania College of Technology's concrete science technology and residential construction technology & management majors expanded their horizons recently with a visit to World of Concrete, an international event dedicated to the concrete and masonry construction industries. The convention, held annually in Las Vegas, attracted 60,000 attendees to its 700,000 square feet of exhibit space and was featured on CBS "Sunday Morning" on Feb. 11.