Shuttleworth, Inc., a leading international conveyor and product handling equipment manufacturer, is providing the laboratory with state of the art Slip-Torque® conveyor technology. The donated conveyor system simulates a pharmaceutical processing application and was exhibited at trade events nationwide. This partnership with Purdue University Calumet (PUC) will provide students with hands-on exposure and learning opportunities in both electronic and mechanical fields.

PUC has teamed with several packaging machinery manufacturers from across the country to develop the country’s first bachelor degree program in mechatronic engineering technology. This degree program was designed to incorporate both mechanical engineering and electronics and will focus a great deal on packaging technology.

In discussing the new program and the additions to the lab Niaz Latif stated that, “with this new mechatronics lab, our students will learn advanced programming techniques, interfacing automated equipment, sensor design, machine design, and troubleshooting.” He also commented that, “students will become prepared to design, install and troubleshoot this type of equipment, making them especially valuable to employers.”

With a growing need for trained technologists to operate the high-speed, intricate equipment that makes up the $6 billion industry, this new PUC packaging lab will be able to supply both the resources and the tools necessary to educate future specialists on the essential skills required to operate the machinery used in the packaging industry.

Carol Shuttleworth, President and CEO, currently serves on the Dean’s Executive Council at the School of Technology Purdue University Calumet and on the Board of Directors of the Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute.

The competition required the students to find a unique solution to a real-world packaging issue: creating an automated palletizing system that would be fastest and least expensive to produce and maintain. The competition began on the Packaging Equipment Expo floor as the students worked face to face with vendors to develop a solution to the given problem. They worked late into the night and arose at 4:00 am the next day to produce a paper and 20 minute presentation on their solution. 

The Team put on a solid performance in front of industry leaders and was awarded first place for their efforts. Their solution took into account environmental impact, energy consumption, ease of use, and cost considerations. The award includes $4,000 in scholarships to be shared by the team of students. All team members felt the knowledge learned and the experience of seeing their future careers in front of them was very rewarding.

This was the first ever Student Design Contest held at PACK Expo, but will become a yearly event. The next competition will be held at PACK Expo International 2010, October 31 – November 3, 2010 at McCormick Place in Chicago.

• Dustin Leach
• Nicole Kirincic
• Armando Cabrera

Each student received a $1,500 scholarship from the Cisco/Panduit partnership.

The Fall 2009 recipients within the School of Technology are:

• Juan C. Acevedo, Electrical & Computer Engineering Technology
  • Omer Farook, Faculty Mentor
     
• Alejandro Chavez, Computer Information Technology
  • Samuel Liles, Faculty Mentor
     
• Alfonso Martinez, Electrical & Computer Engineering Technology
  • Omer Farook, Faculty Mentor

• Project title:  Advancing the Successful IT Student through Enhanced Computational Thinking (ASSECT)

The grant is from NSF Directorate of Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) under Computing and Communication Foundations (CCF) program, in the area of CISE Pathways to Revitalized Undergraduate Computing Education  (CPATH)