Solar Panels Installed on Roof of Moser Hall

A 4,100 square foot solar panel was installed on the roof of Moser Hall creating a hands-on working laboratory for students to learn and understand this type of technology.
Using federal grant money, Carbon Vision of Shaker Heights installed the system, and it will generate 64,000 KW hours of electricity annually. Its life expectancy is 25 years and will provide a lifetime savings of $160,000. The panel sits on a solar flex rack developed by Northern States Metals, a Youngstown-based company.

Dr. Martin Abraham, Dean of the STEM College, said, “By having the panels here, we can get students engaged in understanding what the technologies are and what the needs are for converting the electricity that we generate into making electricity for the grid.” He added that the vision is to promote student innovation where they can start and grow a business by creating a device using solar panel technology.

Contractor for a Day Event

Each year the Youngstown Chapter of the Ohio Contractor’s Association (OCA) sponsors the “Contractor for a Day Event”. The event is open to all Civil Engineering and Civil & Construction Engineering Technology students. This year’s event was held on September 23 and started at 7:00 am with Tom Metzinger, of A.P. O’Horo, spearheading the day’s agenda.

The purpose of the event is to provide student’s first-hand experience of being on actual and various types of construction project sites. This year’s project sites included a roadway project and a bridge replacement project, both in Mahoning County, and a wastewater treatment plant in Vanport, Pa.

The students not only get to experience the feeling of being on an actual, in-progress project, they get to talk to the supervisors of the various projects, who take time to explain what the purpose of the project is, how the construction progresses, any problems or delays that may have happened on the project, and answer questions that the students may have.

OH Wow Fundraiser

OH Wow, the Roger and Gloria Jones Children’s Center for Science and Technology, held a fundraiser in downtown Youngstown on September 25, 2011, promoting science and technology for younger children.  The STEM College participated by hosting a tent, packed with examples of projects STEM students have engaged in over the years.  Over 600 attendees came to the event and sampled the activities, including all of the exhibits contained within the Center itself, as well as a broad array of activities occurring on the street. The musical group, Hey Kid, also was present to offer children’s songs as part of the afternoon.

The College was well-represented, displaying the Concrete Canoe , the Steel Bridge, the singing Tesla Coil, a wind turbine,  the supermileage vehicle, a display of minerals courtesy of the Smith Museum, and the solar telescope.  Prof. Ray Beiersdorfer presented his amazing sideshow of science, and brought a collection of Madagascar hissing cockroaches that caught the attention of the young guests.  Children and parents lined the street to see all of the activities, and the weather cooperated, giving everyone a wonderful afternoon of science and technology in downtown Youngstown.  The STEM College was pleased to be able to support this event, enhancing the stature of STEM in our community and expanding the interest for our future engineers and scientists.