Dear Colleagues and Friends,

The Spring / Summer semester is off to an exciting start for those of us in the Padnos College!

We are thrilled to welcome rising 6th, 7th, and 8th graders to GVSU’s 22nd Science, Technology, and Engineering Preview Summer (STEPS) Camp on our campus in a few short weeks. Informal STEM programming, like STEPS, provides a space for kids to be curious, try new things, fail, brush themselves off, and try again. We’re thankful for our community partners, Bosch Community Fund and Howmet Aerospace Foundation, and our many volunteers for making STEPS a reality for our campers

Please save the date for PCEC’s annual Engineering Design Conference on Friday, August 4. At the conference we will display our students’ accomplishments during our Co-Op Employer Forum & Awards Presentation and an Industry-Sponsored Senior Project Showcase. You’ll have a chance to hear about exciting new updates at the Padnos College, including curriculum updates, new initiatives, and program offerings. If you’re unable to join us on Friday, we’d love to see you at our Alumni Night on Thursday, August 3rd!

Both events will be a wonderful opportunity to connect with other PCEC alumni and industry partners. We’ll send additional information soon and hope to see you there!

If you have questions or comments, follow this link to Connect with the Dean.

- Dean Paul Plotkowsi 

Join us for the Annual Engineering Design Conference. The Co-op Forum will be in the Eberhard Center, 2nd Floor from 1:00 PM-2:00 PM. The Senior Project Showcase will be in Shape Corp's Innovation Design Center from 1:30 PM to 4:00 PM

At the conference, we enjoy displaying our students’ accomplishments through our Co-Op Employer Forum & Awards Presentation and the Industry-Sponsored Senior Project Showcase. It’s always great seeing everyone there and we hope to see you on August 4th for this year’s EDC!

To view the full article please click here.

A team of five engineering students collaborated with industry partners, faculty from another discipline, and an African tribal elder to create a spearhead for a collegiate competition with a leader from the Maasai tribe in Kenya, which earned the GVSU Casting Club third place overall in the 42-'team "Cast in Steel" Competition. They earned first place for best design and process in the competition hosted by the Steel Founders' Society of America that was held in late April in Cleveland, Ohio. 

One of the club members said they want to open the GVSU Casting Club up to all students next year and take on other projects in addition to the next Steel Founder's Society of America competition. The Team's faculty advisor is Abishek Balsamy Kamaraji, assistant professor of engineering. Students who are interested in joining the club can connect with Kamaraji via email. 

Grand Valley and Corewell Health East received state funding to continue developing a medical device that will empower patients who are in active labor and protect caregivers from labor-support injuries. The labor assist device will empower persons who are giving birth by making it easier for them to lift and lower their legs during active labor. This movement is typically done by hospital staff or caregivers.

John Farris, Professor of Engineering, said nearly 20 students have contributed to the design and prototype of the device since the project came to them in 2017. Their next steps are product evaluation studies at hospitals in Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids, and Metro Detroit.  

To read the full article please click here.

The GVSU Science, Technology, and Engineering Preview Summer (STEPS) Camp is back for its 22nd year! We are thrilled to welcome rising 6th, 7th, and 8th grade campers and excited to once again be operating fully in-person. The aviation-themed camp will introduce campers to science, engineering, and technology. During the camp, campers manufacture an R/C  airplane where they utilize manufacturing tools and learn more about their personal capabilities and potential.

Sara Maas, Director of STEPS said “There are many summer opportunities for kids to participate in, so I am glad that STEPS continues to be a sought-after camp.  The best part about camp for me is seeing the changes in the kids from Monday to Thursday.  On Monday morning they are nervous and not too eager to raise their hands to answer questions.  By Thursday afternoon, they are chatty, excited, and confident.  Informal STEM programming, like STEPS, provides a safe space for kids to be curious, try new things, fail, brush themselves off, and try again.  The industry partner interactions are also very impactful for the campers.“

“The one-on-one attention and engagement students receive from camp counselors and peers during the in-person camp sessions is so beneficial,” said PCEC Outreach Coordinator and STEPS Camp Director, Sara Maas. “The kids learn so much from one another and the interactions they have with college students who are studying STEM majors at GVSU make careers in STEM seem attainable. It’s really very inspirational for the middle school students.”

In addition to creating R/C airplanes, campers will gain experience in coding and computer-aided drafting, try out a flight simulator, and participate in field trips to Orb Aerospace, West Michigan Aviation Academy, and Amway Aviation hangar. The campers will also get a private viewing of an engineering documentary at Celebration Cinema.

Thank you to our community partners: Bosch Community Fund and Howmet Aerospace Foundation.  Multiple R/C plane clubs assist campers with airplane construction and serve as pilots and pit crew during Fly Nights.  Warped Wings hosts the camp for flying of the R/C planes. 

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