News Release

Creative students demonstrate senior projects

May 14, 2008

John Twardzik at the wheel of his
race simulator.

What do a solar-heated pet shelter, a realistic race car simulator, and a go-kart which can negotiate land and water have in common?

They and others were created by Penn State Harrisburg Mechanical Engineering Technology students as part of their course requirements for the senior design project.

The student efforts were put on public display Friday, May 2 with the seniors first explaining their projects in the Olmsted Auditorium and then actually demonstrating the inventions at the MET lab on campus.

Created by Randall Kelley from Fairfield and Ryan Peil of Scranton, the solar-heated shelter utilizes a veterinarian-approved heating pad powered by batteries charged by a solar panel on the roof. The pad, suitable for cats or dogs, is heated to an approved temperature considered by animal care professionals as reasonable and safe. The three foot by five foot shelter is constructed with common building materials and is heavily insulated.

Ryan Peil, left, and Randall Kelley
stand by their solar-heated pet shelter.

Students Eric Mcalman, Blakeslee, Josef Oggier, Auburn, and John Twardzik, Harrisburg, developed the racing simulator which puts the user in the driver’s seat of a formula race car complete with steering wheel, gear shift, and brake, clutch, and gas pedals. The realistic simulator "provides a thrilling ride with much less danger," the student said.

Kurt Juergensen, Bel Air, Md., Kyle Swartzentruber, Metztown, and Timothy Ambrose, Telford, designed and fabricated a one-person amphibious go-kart which they successfully tested in the nearby Swatara Creek. Destined for recreational use, the go-kart utilizes an 18-horsepower engine which the team tuned up while fabricating the body of the vehicle.

A three-student team created a motorized utility cart, beginning with a junk Chevrolet Corsica which they chopped down while adding a mechanical dump bed for hauling and a trailer hitch for towing. The cart will find a useful purpose on a family farm. The creators were Scott Hall, Blakeslee, Christopher Wehr, Tamaqua, and Jeremy Witner, Weatherly.

Left to right, Scott Hall, Chris Wehr,
and Jeremy Witner pose with their
utility cart.

Marco Rutigliano, Brooklyn, N.Y., and Nolan Zambelli, Allentown, designed a gray water system for use in a ranch-style home while Joshua Watts, York, fabricated a personal leg stretcher for better physical fitness and performance in martial arts.

Edward Daughenbaugh, Elizabethtown, created a high-speed hydraulic blanking press for use with sheet metal research while Le-Pham Hoang, Lancaster, and Michael Thomas demonstrated their radio telescope which will observe photons of electromagnetic energy emitted from celestial objects and Nicholas Rein of Mahwah, N.J., displayed his mechanical sign which will be placed inside the entrance to the MET suite in Olmsted Building.