The Student Showcase

Penn State Altoona’s Division of Business, Engineering, and Information Sciences and Technology hosts the Student Showcase twice a year at the end of the fall and spring semesters. Supported by the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, the event provides the campus community and general public an opportunity to see firsthand the fine work and talent of Penn State Altoona students. Throughout the day-long showcase, students from various disciplines share information about their research, internships, and capstone projects. This event also hosts the final phases of the Pechter Business Plan Competition.


 

Spring 2022 Student Showcase

Friday, April 29, 2022
Penn State Altoona is pleased to partner with the Blair County Chamber of Commerce and the Altoona Blair County Development Corporation for the Student Showcase.

Schedule

9:00 a.m.
Welcome
Dr. Corey Gracie-Griffin, Associate Dean for Research and Engagement, Associate Professor of Architecture
Penn State Altoona
Devorris Downtown Center, Auditorium

9:15-10:00 a.m.
Business Internship and Research Poster Presentations
Penn Building, Floor 3

9:20-10:45 a.m.
Pechter Business Plan Competition
Devorris Downtown Center, Room 003

9:20 a.m.-12:20 p.m.
Electro-Mechanical Engineering Technology Senior Capstone Project Presentations
Devorris Downtown Center, Auditorium

10:00-11:00 a.m.
Rail Transportation Engineering Presentations
Penn Building, Room 321

10:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
Security and Risk Analysis Internship and Capstone Project Presentations
Devorris Downtown Center, Room 001

11:00-11:15 a.m.
Arts and Humanities Research Paper Presentation
Devorris Downtown Center, Room 003

11:30 a.m.
Sigma Beta Delta Induction
Penn Building, Room 324

1:30-3:30 p.m.
Electro-Mechanical Engineering Technology Project Demonstrations
Ralph and Helen Force Advanced Technology Center and the Advanced Combustion and Energetics Laboratory (ACEL), Ivyside campus

Electro-Mechanical Engineering Technology (EMET) Senior Capstone Project Presentations

Devorris Downtown Center, Auditorium

9:20 a.m.
Joshua Hollingshead and Makayla Ianuzzi
Continuously Rotating Detonation Engine
The purpose of this project is to build a rocket engine that generates thrust through the continuous detonation of gaseous propellants. The engine will serve as a test article at the Advanced Combustion & Energetics Laboratory at Penn State Altoona.
Advisers: Dr. Jeffrey Moore and Dr. Grant Risha

9:40 a.m.
Alexander Cairns, Lucas Fox, and Liam Steward
Surveillance Balloon Package
The goal of this project is to use commercial-off-the-shelf materials to design and construct a surveillance package that completes various tasks. The package must autonomously drop ribbons at specific altitudes above ground level, record temperature and pressure readings, record images at a specific rate, and transmit all of the recorded data to a ground station.
Adviser: Mrs. Jordan Bittner
Note: This project is being sponsored by Lockheed Martin

10:00 a.m.
Elizabeth Brunelli
Packing Machine Conveyor Guarding System
This project entails the design and implementation of an electromechanical conveyor safety guarding system and additional parallel projects to standardize the plant and maximize safety.
Adviser: Mr. Craig Brennecke
Note: This project is being sponsored by North American Hoganas

10:20 a.m.
Matthew Geiner, McCaffrey Musachia, and Leah Myers
Nut Butter Mixing
The project will mix the peanut butter that The Organic Snack Company receives in the original bucket to allow quicker and complete mixing.
Adviser: Mr. Craig Brennecke
Note: This project is being sponsored by The Organic Snack Company

10:40 a.m.
Kirk Eichenlaub, Michael Novak, and Michael Schirf
Tennis Ball Launcher
This project is a dynamic tennis ball machine that is able to shoot 35 different shots onto the court at a variety of speeds and ball heights. Shots can be programmed using a touch screen PLC interface to practice up to three different shots in a loop to create drills.
Adviser: Mr. Craig Brennecke

11:00 a.m.
William Gardner, Cody Lohr, and Seth Shoup
Electric Skateboard
The project will be used as a mode of transportation. The goal is to produce a product that uses pressure sensors and a well-written program that allows for a fully functional board.
Adviser: Mr. Craig Brennecke

11:20 a.m.
Jacob Leydig, Skyler Moore, and John Telford
Robot Arm
A robotic arm with a claw shaped manipulator that can be operated remotely via Bluetooth.
Adviser: Mr. Craig Brennecke

11:40 a.m.
Joshua Eshelman, Kyle Fink, and Andrew Sherren
Energy Road Harvester
This project operates by harvesting mechanical vibrations produced by road traffic into electrical energy using piezoelectrics. The electrical energy produced is then used for low power applications or grid powering.
Adviser: Dr. Luay Taha

Noon
Ethan Cutshall
Bass Guitar Tuner
The Automated Bass Guitar Tuner will accept the analog electrical signal directly from the instrument, as well as user inputs selecting string and pitch to be tuned to. It will then safely and precisely tune the instrument via electric motor and mechanical tuning peg interface to within 10 cents of the desired note.
Adviser: Mr. Craig Brennecke

1:30 p.m.
Demonstrations
The students will demonstrate their projects in the Ralph and Helen Force Advanced Technology Center and the Advanced Combustion and Energetics Laboratory (ACEL) at Penn State Altoona, Ivyside Campus.

Security and Risk Analysis Internship/Capstone Project Presentations

Devorris Downtown Center, Room 001

10:00 a.m.
Bryce Bauer, Kevin Bishop, Andrew Lang, Miles Moate, and Zachary Westrick
Auditing Server Room and Designing IDS/IPS – Capstone project
Advisers: Dr. Syed Rizvi and Mr. David Barnes

10:20 a.m.
Robert Mills, Eric Cammarata, Alex Daw, and Grant King
Risk Management Framework for IoT Devices and Networks – Capstone project
Advisers: Dr. Syed Rizvi and Dr. Farhim Zaman (KPMG)

10:40 a.m.
Vanessa Gil Sanhueza, Paul Mulcahy, Justin Egbert, and Cody Dively
A Threat Visualization Dashboard for IoT Security – Capstone project
Advisers: Dr. Syed Rizvi and Ms. Tatiana Zwerling (IT Auditor – University Park)

11:00 a.m.
Cole Yeckley, Alyssa Bernal, Dylan Harvey, Yulong Liu, and Joshua Claus
Auditing Framework for IoT Devices and Networks – Capstone project
Advisers: Dr. Syed Rizvi and Ms. Katie Cover (Senior IT Auditor – Main Line Health)

11:20 a.m.
Alyssa Bernal
Internship with Penn State Altoona Office of Information Technology
Adviser: Mr. David Barnes

Noon
Joshua Claus
Internship with Penn State Altoona Office of Information Technology
Adviser: Mr. David Barnes

12:20 p.m.
Harry Felty
Internship with Reliance Bank IT
Adviser: Mr. David Barnes

12:40 p.m.
Vanessa Gil Sanhueza
Research Project-Understanding the Sociological Factors that Impact POC in Human Trafficking: A Risk Assessment
Adviser: Mr. David Barnes

Pechter Business Plan Competition Presentations

Devorris Downtown Center, Room 003
Coordinator: Mr. Paul Cooney

9:20-9:40 a.m.
Sara Herron
JoJo’s Boutique

9:40-10:00 a.m.
Joseph Pellicane
Popshop By Nunix

10:00-10:40 a.m.
Judges Deliberate

10:45 a.m.
Announcement of the Winner

Arts and Humanities: Research Paper Presentation

Devorris Downtown Center, Room 003

11:00-11:15 a.m.
Ian McMullen
“War Witch” on the Use of Children in Mining, Facts and Global Impacts
Using the French film, War Witch, as a guide, the paper looks to explore the use of children in mining, the means of control, the mineral exports, how it affects everyone, and possible solutions to the issues.
Adviser: Dr. Imene Belhassen

Business Internship and Research Poster Presentations

Penn Building, Floor 3
9:15 – 10:00 a.m.
Faculty Adviser: Ms. Cynthia Wood

Evan Dively
Value Drug Company
Evan assisted in the organization of Value Drug’s yearly expo which will expose their members to new products that their suppliers are offering. He arranged meetings and helped manage communications between the host site, hotels, suppliers/members, and any additional individuals/companies needed to have the expo run smoothly. In addition, he developed/organized Excel sheets to be able to keep track of attendees and information along with outlining a full agenda with logistics for the expo.

Makenna Dunio
Altoona Lung Specialist
Makenna engaged in many marketing initiatives to help promote the growth of the practice. She established a LinkedIn presence and developed a monthly newsletter to increase the practice’s search engine optimization. She also created and implemented a digital filing system.

Hunter Stoudnour
Sheetz, Inc.
Hunter worked in the Store Development and Real Estate department at Sheetz. He was a part of the Red Hat II research group. This group is responsible for researching and determining new metropolitan areas to build and expand the Sheetz brand. He also learned the process of site acquisition. This involved investigating the viability of potential sites with Senior Real Estate Site Selectors.

Rail Transportation Engineering Presentations

Penn Building, Room 321

10:00 a.m.
Gary Babcoke, Thomas Dalton, Kevin Hoffner, Evan Noll, Jacob Stolarski, and Malique Qualls
Everett Railroad Hollidaysburg Yard Reconfiguration Project
This project involves the redesign of a three-ladder track near Hollidaysburg, PA to accommodate the construction of a new locomotive shop. The new track configuration is done considering the real constraints of the yard, i.e. available materials, keeping the same yard capacity, and minimal disruptions of utilities. Separate foundation and structural designs of the locomotive shop are also provided.
Adviser: Dr. Faeze Ghofrani

Sigma Beta Delta Induction

Penn Building, Room 324

11:30 a.m.
Sigma Beta Delta Honor Society Induction
Sigma Beta Delta is a Business Honor Society. Eligibility for Sigma Beta Delta is offered to those students in the top 20% of the undergraduate business program and who reflect the society’s high standards of academic excellence. Please join us as we recognize our students’ academic achievement.

Inductees:

  • Alauna Feathers
  • Shyanne Middendorf
  • Abdul Rahman Rafie
  • Stephanie Swain
  • Caitlin Wolfe

Sigma Beta Delta Executive Committee

  • Mr. Dan Kerch, President
  • Dr. Jong Gyu Park, Vice-President
  • Ms. Melissa Kohler, Secretary/Treasurer