Page 24 - Penn State Mechanical Engineering Magazine 2020

Department News
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The Mechanical Engineering Knowledge Lab Project
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ME breaks ground on innovative undergrad lab
By Erin Cassidy Hendrick
To fully reimagine its undergraduate lab experience, the Penn State College of Engineering’s Department of Mechanical Engineering (ME) broke ground on a 5,700-square-foot space in the basement of the Reber Building.
Once completed, the ME Knowledge Lab will serve as
the learning and innovation hub for several required undergraduate courses at Penn State University Park, providing students with cutting-edge and impactful tools to prepare them for a dynamic career in the field.
“We expect our graduates to help solve today’s complex engineering challenges,” said Karen Thole, distinguished professor and ME department head. “That starts here, in their undergraduate education, by providing the best experience and technology.”
Once completed, the ME Knowledge Lab facilities will include:
• Collaborative design hub
• 3D printers and a light
makerspace
• Lab stations including
characterization devices for wind turbines, gas turbines, battery cells and materials
• Virtual reality learning site
• Autonomous vehicles lab
Thole explained, in synergy with the construction, a new curriculum has been designed to ensure the undergraduate ME education includes modern topics, while emphasizing problem solving skills for complex systems to prepare students for their future career paths.
To support that goal, a new undergraduate lab course
has been introduced to focus on real-world problems and provide opportunities for students to concentrate on topics that center around sustainability, big data, bioengineering, autonomy and robotics, advanced manufacturing, and energy.
Construction began in the summer of 2020. After a planned pilot program in the fall of 2021, the department will officially begin utilizing the space in spring 2021 for the new course.
“By knowing there will be modernized equipment, lab space and new course content with a strong emphasis on 21st-century workforce skills waiting for our students, we hope they will be excited and look forward to the new ME Knowledge Lab,” said Siu Ling “Pansy” Leung, director of ME undergraduate laboratories.
Rendering of the planned ME Knowledge Lab in the Reber Building on the University Park campus
Department News
24 MENews 2020