A group of seven students in Gannon University's Scholars of Excellence in Engineering and Computer Science (SEECS) program brought home a first-place award at the 2014 American Society for Engineering North Central Section (ASEE NCS) Conference in April.
The students, Shannon Arnold, Eric Boring, Shannon Gross, Lauren Ohler, Jerome O'Rourke, Aaron Stearns and Daniel Winge, were awarded first-place in the student poster competition for their Barber National Institute Project: Kit Assembly Machine for Mentally Handicapped Employees.
Their machine, which they named the Part Indicator Light-signaling Electronic (PILE) device, makes it easier for developmentally challenged personnel who have jobs putting together assembly kits, which include nuts, bolts, screws and other pieces, like the kind used in build-it-yourself furniture.
The seven students are enrolled in Gannon's mechanical, electrical and environmental engineering, and computer and information science programs. Through their scholarships with the SEECS program, which is funded through Gannon's National Science Foundation S-STEM Award No. 1153250, they were able to design the device over the course of five semesters.
View the first-place student poster for the Barber National Institute Project: Kit Assembly Machine for Mentally Handicapped Employees.
For their role as faculty advisers to the SEECS project, Barry Brinkman, Ph.D., assistant professor of computer and information science; Scott Steinbrink, Ph.D., associate professor of mechanical engineering; Karinna Vernaza, Ph.D., professor of mechanical engineering; and Theresa Vitolo, Ph.D., associate professor of computer and information science were presented with the Excellence in Service-Learning award at the Celebration of Faculty Awards and Scholarship in April.