YOUTH OUTREACH EVENTS BACK ON
A Truck-Lite recruiter talks with students at a Penn State Behrend career fair.
TRUCK-LITE HEADQUARTERS MOVES TO KNOWLEDGE PARK
Truck-Lite Co., LLC, a worldwide lead-
AFTER A PANDEMIC-FORCED HIATUS, the college’s K-12 outreach programs, including Women in Engineering Day, First LEGO League, and the STEAM Fair, pictured here, returned to in-person formats. Melanie Ford, director of Youth Education Outreach and the Engineering K-12 Outreach Center, was as eager for a return to in-person programming as attendees were. “The best way to ignite a young person’s interest in science, technology, and mathematics,” she said, “is through hands-on educational engagement.” Follow facebook.com/BehrendOutreach to learn about upcoming programs.
FASENMYER CONFERENCE: BY THE NUMBERS
Every Behrend engineering student is required to complete
a senior capstone design experience, demonstrating hands-on design for a real-world application. Students showcase the results of their work at the Richard J. Fasenmyer Engineering Design Conference, held before spring finals each year. Fasenmyer, a 1969 graduate of Penn State, was a longtime supporter of the School of Engineering; he was the founder of RJF International Corp., a world leader in the manufacture and distribution of interior wall coverings, industrial matting products, and specialty films.
In 1995—the first conference:
31 Projects presented 17 Projects sponsored by industry 79 Student presenters
This year—the 23rd annual conference:
81 Projects presented 32 Projects sponsored by industry 293 Student presenters 50 Faculty members overseeing projects
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er in LED lighting systems for commercial vehicles, has relocated its headquarters to Behrend’s Knowledge Park, where the company will have better access to engineering and technology talent as it prepares for the transportation industry’s shift to electric vehicles. “As the transportation industry shifts toward electric vehicles, developing new innovations for customers relies on our ability to attract, develop, and retain qualified talent,” said Brian Kupchella, CEO of Clarience Technologies, the parent company of Truck-Lite. “Relocating our headquarters to Knowledge Park and expanding our association with Behrend creates a strong pipeline of future electrical engineers, data scientists and business leaders.” The company believes the future research and development capabilities needed to design components in nextgeneration electric vehicles will require its workforce to have deeper expertise in electrical engineering, software programming, and advanced analytics. By locating its new headquarters at Knowledge Park, the company will have more access to a specialized talent pool. The move also increases opportunities for Truck-Lite to engage in Penn State Behrend’s Open Lab environment, which provides access to student and new graduate talent, faculty expertise, and facilities. Truck-Lite is building two research labs in Behrend’s Advanced Manufacturing and Innovation Center: a 1,745-square-foot product-modeling lab and a 4,075-square-foot photometric testing facility, which will be used to study the light emitted by LEDs, lamps, and other devices. 5
