Daily Archives: July 29, 2012

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Campers Explore Engineering Options

by Diane VanDyke

Several area teenagers explored various aspects of engineering during Montgomery County Community College’s Engineering Camp held in June.

Led by Engineering Associate Professor William Brownlowe and Physics Instructor Robin Zuhlke, the camp featured nanotechnology, robotics, material science, rotary flight, alternative energy, and engineering education and careers.

The participating students were Lily Farinas, Blue Bell; Kyle Pearson, Schwenksville; Anna Nguyen, Blue Bell, Kannan Ramanathan, Blue Bell; Ravi Ramanthan, Blue Bell; Desland Brown, Hatfield; Leland Brown, Hatfield; Maya Jog, Lower Gwynedd; and Neha Jog, Lower Gwynedd.

At the start of the week, the instructors assigned research projects on alternative energy fuels. After researching and exploring their topics, the students then shared their results with the group on the last day using Power Point presentations.

Lily Farinas, Kyle Pearson and Anna Nguyen, for example, worked together to discover how the use of thermophotovoltaic (TPV) cells could improve the efficiency of solar-powered vehicles.

“We want to use the heat generated from the sun and the car’s engine to power the entire car,” said Lily, showing a proposed model designed on the computer.

Another group with Kannan Ramanathan, Desland Brown and Neha Jog devised a positively charged mubox, or muon collector cube, to attract and collect negatively charged ions from the atmosphere to use for fusion energy.

“I really enjoy this camp because we have a lot of in-depth discussions and are involved in hands-on activities, like flying helicopters,” Neha said.

“Camp is really cool,” echoed Lily, who wants to pursue a science career. “We learned about why helicopters fly the way they do and built and tested airfoils in a wind tunnel. We also built and programmed robots.”

In addition to the various hands-on and research projects, an international industry engineer Jean-Jacques Reymond visited the camp and shared information about his education and career. Reymond is also an adjunct Engineering instructor at the College.

“We are trying to impress on the students the great need for engineers,” Brownlowe said. “It is important for students to pursue education and careers in engineering.  If we don’t have more engineers, it will affect our country’s ability to compete technologically in the world and will directly impact our economy and standard of living.”

To further expose the students to the College’s Engineering classes, Reymond invited the students to his class’s test flight of an unmanned aerial vehicle.

The Engineering Camp is funded by a grant from the Collegiate Consortium for Workforce & Economic Development. The Collegiate Consortium is a non-profit organization that is a partnership of Drexel University and five area community colleges, including Montgomery County Community College.

The College offers programs of study to prepare students for transfer to four-year schools of engineering as juniors, as well as for careers in a variety of industries including medical products, architectural and mechanical design, aerospace, automotive manufacturing, public utility systems, civil engineering, environmental services, biopharma and food processing.

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photos by Diane VanDyke

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Graduate Profile: Army Veteran, Police Officer Alex Bruckner Earns CJS Degree

by Neree Aron-Sando

In 2010, what Alex Bruckner needed was a little flexibility.

That year, the 25-year-old Eagleville resident had just been discharged from the U.S. Army after two tours of duty. He was enrolled in the Montgomery County Police Academy where he was assigned the rank of lieutenant (class leader). He was hired as a full-time police officer, and he got married.

“I’ve had a lot on my plate,” Brucker said.

“I chose Montgomery County Community College mainly because of its convenience since I live in the area,” he said. “I attended classes at the Blue Bell campus as well as the Pottstown campus and found the class schedule to be extremely flexible for the ‘working student.’”

Bruckner graduated in May from Montgomery County Community College’s Criminal Justice program.

Bruckner benefitted from the Post-9/11 GI Bill, but would have considered Montgomery County Community College a bargain without it.

“I would say that $300 to $400 for a college class is very affordable, and if the GI Bill was not available, MCCC still would have been my first choice,” he said.

After serving two tours in Iraq in a unit tasked with addressing IEDs (improvised explosive devices), he enrolled in the Criminal Justice Program at MCCC.

“The main objective for my unit was to clear the roads of IEDs. We would travel the roads in an attempt to spot the IEDs before they exploded on us,” said Bruckner. “Once we found the IED, we would execute a controlled detonation to neutralize the bomb so no one got hurt. I am very proud of the men I served with and the selfless sacrifices they have made.”

After living history, Brucker enjoyed studying it.

“I would say the most important experience I had at the college was being a student of Professor James Robertson and Dr. [Daniel] Rolph who were very knowledgeable history teachers,” Bruckner said.

“Professor Robertson was very quirky and presented history in a fun way that kept it interesting. Dr. Rolph was extremely knowledgeable as he works at the historical society and has spent much of his life studying history. Both men did a great job of presenting the facts of history and avoided the liberal slant that seems to plague many universities across America.”

With his career as a Montgomery County police officer already under way, he’s not sure if additional education is in the cards.

“One thing that I have realized in our current economic state is that just having a degree doesn’t pay the bills or get you a job. You need to be creative and motivated to pave your own way instead of relying on a piece of paper to do it for you,” he shared.

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Learn About Virtual Assistance Program at Info Session

by Diane VanDyke

Starting in September 2012, Montgomery County Community College will offer a new Virtual Assistance Certificate of Completion and an Office Administration AAS Degree with Concentration in Virtual Assistance to help experienced assistants gain the skills they need to work remotely in a satellite office, at home or in another location.

You can learn more about the Virtual Assistance certificate program and concentration courses during a free information session on Tuesday, Aug. 7, at 7 p.m. in room 101 of the Advanced Technology Center, 340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell and in room 218 of North Hall, 16 W. High Street, Pottstown. The interactive session will be shared between the campuses.

To confirm your attendance, please RSVP to Coordinator and Instructor of Computer Applications and Office Administration Theresa Sullivan at tsulliva@mc3.edu.

The Virtual Assistance program/concentration will provide students with up-to-date technology skills—such as web conferencing, application sharing and data security—and the soft skills of business planning, ethics, marketing and networking to perform their responsibilities independently.

You can register now for the fall 2012 semester.  For more information visit http://www.mc3.edu/academics/programs/ss-va.aspx or contact Theresa Sullivan at 215-461-1145 or tsulliva@mc3.edu.

Listen to Theresa Sullivan talk about the program with College President Dr. Karen A. Stout during the July 8th episode of Montgomery County Community College On The Air!